Support needed after devastating earthquakesWe express our deepest sympathy for the people affected in Myanmar and Thailand as well as in neighbouring countries.Chiang Mai, Thailand, 02.04.2025. After the strong earthquake on 28.03.2025, the situation in Myanmar remains unclear and difficult. With a magnitude of 7.7 on the Richter scale, it was the most severe quake in the region in almost seven decades. There was also extensive property damage in the neighbouring countries of India, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and Laos.In Myanmar, hopes of rescuing people alive from the wreckage of destroyed buildings are fading. Those who managed to flee collapsing buildings in time have lost their homes and, in many cases, their livelihoods. Hospitals are overburdened, and many bridges and roads have been destroyed. This devastated infrastructure is making it even more difficult to bring urgently needed goods – such as food and medicines – to the affected regions. The World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared the highest level of emergency and is warning of possible disease outbreaks.The earthquake hit Myanmar at a time when the country was already in a precarious situation. Four years earlier, the military in the Southeast Asian country had once again seized power in a coup. Since then, the military regime has used repression and violence against all those who question its legitimacy. In many cases, the resistance movement has also resorted to armed struggle against the military. In many parts of the country, the civilian population has been affected by military operations and attacks by the military for several years.There is little trust in civil society in the military's crisis management. Even after the earthquake, the military in Myanmar continued to carry out air strikes. As in the past, many actors fear that the military regime will not automatically make incoming aid from abroad available to the people most in need, but could use aid for its own purposes.Our Myanmar coordinator Lisa Wevelsiep in Chiang Mai reports:"At present, emergency relief is being organised by a number of local organisations. Some employees of our partner organisations are also providing support through their networks. They have been working with groups from the affected areas for a long time, particularly in Sagaing and Mandalay, and have good contacts there."She conveys the urgent request from our partners:"We rely on financial support so that we can provide targeted support for those affected."Please support our partner organisations with a donation so that they can provide the following items to affected persons, even in places that are difficult to access:Water and basic foodstuffsmedical products (e.g. medication, rehydration salts and hygiene products)temporary accommodation++Donate now++ with the keyword: Earthquake Aid Myanmar--------------------------------------------Account name: KURVE Wustrow e.V.IBAN: DE23430609672041646801BIC: GENODEM1GLSBank: GLS GemeinschaftsbankKeyword: Earthquake Aid Myanmar--------------------------------------------More information from our Myanmar Coordinator at our head office in Wustrow: Jessica Belke, jbelke [at] kurvewustrow [dot] org (jbelke(at)kurvewustrow.org), 05843-98 71 51Further information on the earthquake can be found on the following pages:++Frontier Myanmar, English-language news magazine++Progressive Voice with press statement: ‘Civil society calls for disaster relief for earthquake survivors and affected communities in Myanmar’