The earthquake compounded existing suffering in Myanmar, as the military regime continues violent attacks on its people, Dr. Sasa tells CSI.
Dr. Sasa discussed the earthquake, persecution of Christians, the Rohingya crisis, and ongoing violent military attacks in Myanmar with CSI’s Abigail McDougal on April 10, 2025. csi
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 4,000 people in Myanmar on March 28 brought “unspeakable loss, pain, and suffering,” Dr. Sasa told Christian Solidarity International (CSI) in an interview on April 10. But the natural disaster comes “on top of one misery after another,” amid ongoing violent attacks by the military regime that took power in a coup in 2021. Dr. Sasa, who goes by only one name, belongs to the National Unity Government party elected in Myanmar in 2020, and he now serves as a leader in the resistance movement.
In the four years since the coup, the people of Myanmar have suffered from COVID-19, Cyclone Mocha, Typhoon Yagi, and now the earthquake — all in addition to continued military oppression. Peace negotiations repeatedly fail to bring a ceasefire.
The international community must act to bring stability to this strategically located “gateway” to the continent, says Dr. Sasa. Coordinated international leadership could exert pressure on the military through financial sanctions, cutting weapons supplies, and fully implementing the bipartisan U.S. BURMA Act.
Military attacks on Christian villages
Although the military declared its own ceasefire after the earthquake, Dr. Sasa noted, the regime has attacked the people of Myanmar at least 20 times since March 28. On April 10, an air strike on a church in Chin State killed a pastor and his whole family. Another attack this week in the majority-Christian Kachin State killed 20 people, including women and children.
In the last four years, the military regime has destroyed more than 100,000 buildings across the country — houses, churches, hospitals, and schools — with bombs from China and Russia. More than 300 places of worship have been destroyed.
Christian villages face horrors including forced labor, rape, torture, and killings by the military, said Dr. Sasa, who is himself a Christian. Within the military, Christians who join are prohibited from holding high-ranking offices. The danger predates the 2021 military coup, however. Religious minorities had already lived under a “reign of terror” for decades. Attacks on Rohingya Muslims escalated in 2017, meeting internationally recognized criteria for genocide and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Policies of persecution
Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs “systematically” targets Christians and other religious minorities, Dr. Sasa emphasized. Under direction of a Buddhist military general, the ministry is “particularly set up to persecute and to cause maximum pain” to groups that do not share its religious views, like Christians, Muslims, and Hindus.
But even Buddhist groups that do not adhere to the state-approved Buddhist authorities face persecution. “They kill Buddhist monks. How can you kill your own monk if you are practicing Buddhism?” asks Dr. Sasa. “I have many really good Buddhist friends. They don’t even like to kill a mosquito.”
“That’s how they deceive people: on one side, they kill the monk. On the other side, they build the pagoda.”
Hope in God’s love
In some cases, Christians have used the remains of bomb shells to make church bells.
“In a moment like this, it’s even more important that we show the light of love across nations,” said Dr. Sasa. “Jesus told us we are the light to the world; we are the salt to the earth.”
Amid the search for national freedom, Dr. Sasa points to the hope of redemption even for their oppressors.
“The question that we ask ourselves is: If we don’t show love, who will?”
CSI supports earthquake relief efforts
In response to the earthquake, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has begun providing emergency aid to survivors through well-connected partners on the ground. CSI’s ongoing projects in Myanmar focus on the Christian Karen minority and include the distribution of aid to internally displaced persons and support for a boarding school for refugee children in Thailand. Now, by working with local groups, CSI’s partners are able to reach even remote regions of Sagaing and provide essential items to families in need who might otherwise be overlooked in the distribution of aid.
While the military attacks continue, the humanitarian crisis only worsens.
Watch the full interview:
