Episode #328: In the aftermath of Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, Htuu Lou Rae paints a grim picture of systemic neglect and discrimination faced by the country’s Muslim community. The disaster struck during ‘Eid al-Fitr, the holiest day of Ramadan, when mosques were packed with worshipers. Tragically, many of these mosques—centuries old—collapsed due to decades of state-imposed bans on their repair. Rae highlights how successive regimes denied routine maintenance of these religious sites, effectively turning them into death traps.
Beyond the earthquake’s physical toll, Htuu Lou Rae describes a deeper, ongoing crisis: institutional and social discrimination that continued through the rescue phase. He reports that junta-led efforts largely ignored Muslim victims, and even civil society-led aid responses may be compromised by lingering anti-Muslim sentiment. Online abuse and discriminatory denial of housing further underscore the community’s marginalization.
Htuu Lou Rae also warns against the junta's cynical manipulation of Muslim suffering to attract international aid—particularly from Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan—while hoarding resources for its own benefit. He advocates bypassing both the junta and the National Unity Government (NUG), calling instead for aid to flow through trusted organizations like USAID and Muslim-led civil society groups. Despite the bleakness,
Yet Htuu Lou Rae sees a silver lining amid all the challenges. He has observed growing public solidarity across ethnic and religious lines, and envisions a coordinated, independent relief mechanism to address the crisis effectively. “Doesn’t that make more sense and isn’t [it] also going to, at the same time, help the country recover from this multi-layered humanitarian crisis?”