Man mourning 170 close

When the call for prayer last Friday sounded in Sagai, hundreds of Muslims rushed to five mosques in Central Myanmar.

They sought to hold their prayers on the last Friday for Ramadan, a few days from the holiday ID, which would mark the end of the holy moon.

Then, at 12:51 local time (06:21 GMT), a deadly earthquake occurred. Three mosques fell apart, including the largest, fibro that killed almost everyone inside.

Hundreds of kilometers, a former mosque mosque imam, did not feel the earthquake in the mei border town.

In the following days, he learned that about 170 of his relatives, friends and members of his former congregation were killed, mostly in mosques. Some of them were leading figures in the near Muslim community of the city.

“I think of all the people who have lost their lives, and the children of the victims – some of them are young children,” he said at the BBC. “I can’t restrain your tears when talking about it.”

More than 2,700 people were killed in an earthquake near Sagain and Mandala, the second city of Myanmar. It is expected that the death toll will grow when rescuers continue to pull the bodies from the rubble.

While the region was known for its ancient Buddhist temples, significant Muslim populations were also in cities.

500 Muslims were estimated at the mosque, according to the country’s leader, Mina Hlaing on Monday.

Eyewitnesses to Sagain told the BBC that the road where the mosques, Myoma Street were the worst hit in the city. Many other houses on the street also collapsed.

Hundreds of people were looking for asylum next to the road, or because they are now homeless, or too afraid to return to their homes in case there is a push. It is reported that the food reserves were deficient.

More than 60 people are said to be crushed in collapse, while in myodaw and moekya mosques. On Tuesday, the bodies were still pulled.

There are signs that believers tried to avoid, according to soy NE oo, which received some reports from surviving members of its community.

He now lives in the Thai city of May, along with his wife and daughter, after escaping Myanmar shortly after that The coup that took place in 2021.

According to him, bodies found outside the main prayer hall were found, in the area where believers wash themselves. Some of them were also found by squeezing the hands of other people, which looked like attempts to distract them from the destroyed building.

Among the many loved ones, NE Oo lost was one of his wife’s cousins. Her death, he said, was “the most painful affair I survived” in my 13 years as imam.

“She was the one who showed her love for us the most,” the soy said. “Everyone in the family loved her. The loss for us is unbearable.”

Another of the wife’s cousins, a well -respected businessman who made the Islamic pilgrimage in Mecca, also died.

“He always called me Nyi Lay (” Little Brother “in Burmese) … When I married his wife, he said we were a family now and he always treated me as his little brother,” the soy said.

“He was always close to us when we needed. I lost those I love as brothers like him.”

Some of the close friends who died include former Imam Soe Nay Oo, whom he remembered his strong work ethics and excellent talent in reciting the Quran.

The director of the local state school, who was also the only trustee of the Myoma mosque, also died. She remembered the soy not oo as a generous soul, which often pays for mosque programs out of pocket.

He said that every time he hears another person from the dead community, he feels a new wave of grief. “I feel devastated … It always comes to my mind, the memories I appreciate them.

“Although they were not close relatives, they always welcomed me, watched my prayers and prayed together.”

The fact that they died during Ramadan is not lost on it. “I would say that everyone returned to the Allah house. They will remember as the martyrs,” he said.

Like other parts of the Myanmar affected by the earthquake, the community is fighting to handle a lot of bodies.

This was complicated by the constant struggle between military junta and resistance groups. The Muslim cemetery in Sagain is close to the area controlled by the rebel defense (PDF) and has been closed for several years. The military continues to bomb some parts of the wide Sagatski region after the earthquake.

The Muslim community of Sagang was to move the bodies of its dead in Mandala, crossing the Iravadi River, using a single bridge that connects two cities, reports SOE Nay OO.

Their bodies remain in the largest mandala mosque for burial. Some were not buried within 24 hours after death by Islamic tradition.

“For Muslims, this is the saddest thing we can’t bury our families at the end of the journey,” he said.

The survivors tried to help rescue, even if they cope with the injury. “Some of my community told me to pray for them. Honestly, they couldn’t even describe their losses when I speak to them.”

Soy, no, it wasn’t far from its former congregation. Allegedly Many other people from the Myanmar who moved abroadHe feels guilty of the survival.

“If I was an imam, still at the moment of the earthquake, I would go with them – I can accept peacefully. If not, at least I might be on the ground to do whatever I can.

“Now I can’t go back. It hurts to think about it.

Soe nay oo started to sob. “This is a sad and disappointed feeling I have never felt it before. I am the kind of person who was unlikely crying.

He adds that he couldn’t sleep all day. His concern was reinforced by the fact that he had not yet heard from some family members, including his brothers and sisters who were in the mandala.

Soe Nay OO has stopped its work in a human rights group in Thailand and is currently helping coordinate rescue efforts in sagging – to share any information he can get from his contacts in the city.

He estimated at least 1000 Muslims in the region who still need help.

“I only feel relieved every time someone on earth asks for help and I can help them.”