Myanmar | Caring for cracks and wounds
Rising death toll from March 28 Myanmar earthquake. In this humanitarian crisis, spazio + spadoni calls all to be family
The death toll from the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand is getting worse and worse. If on Friday there was talk of 144 dead and 732 injured, a few hours ago Adnkronos reported from the Wall Street Journal impressive figures: 2,028 dead and 3,408 injured.
The Us Geological Survey, moreover, estimates that 10,000 could be reached.
A catastrophe, in every sense of the word. Loss of life and collapse of the economy. Not to mention that the disruption of health services fuels the spread of disease.
Many buildings evacuated, while rescuers and ordinary people continue to dig, even with their bare hands, through the rubble. Sixty hours after the Great Wall Hotel collapsed in Mandalay, a woman was pulled out still alive, a small seed of hope amid so much pain.
The World Health Organization (WHO) appeals: at least $8 million in funds are needed-“the emergency is at a maximum level.” There is a need for medicines and medical equipment, and thousands of injured are in urgent need of assistance.
And Unicef shines a spotlight on millions of children at risk. For Director-General Catherine Russell, “This earthquake is another terrible blow to Myanmar’s children, many of whom were already facing conflict, displacement and deprivation.”
Exacerbating the situation is not only the aftershocks but the resumption of the military offensive against rebels by Myanmar’s military junta, which has been in power since the 2021 coup.
The madness of hatred in the midst of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
It has been four years since the army took control of the country by force, deposing the democratically elected National league for democracy (Nld) government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. A coup that has created a climate of increasing violence, causing various problems such as poverty and increased displacement. But the civil war continues: air raids resumed even an hour after the magnitude 7.7 quake.
Also for this reason, more and more people capable of works of mercy are needed. An international community of world citizens who feel the urgency of proximity and stand in solidarity with these brothers and sisters who are experiencing days, as well as years, of profound difficulty.
There are many on the ground and from afar who are lending their help: from the various international volunteer organizations to the many local associations, including the Misericordie.
Beyond affiliations, only one concept is important for spazio + spadoni: the fact of conceiving oneself as an “inhabitant” and therefore responsibly merciful to those who suffer and to what happens, whether near or far...
It is also up to each of us.
To you who are reading, who are in your home and living, albeit between ups and downs, your usual day.
It’s up to me, to you, to us, because the world is our common home,
and if there are cracks and wounds, we all need to take care of them.
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- Father Piero Masolo (Pime)