Aiding Oppression or Saving Lives? The Dry Zone's Humanitarian Reckoning

Yet, amidst this widespread devastation, a vital force is reaching those in dire need: the resilient people of Myanmar themselves, connected through grassroots networks that include local civil society organisations. These organisations, despite operating with extreme caution due to the SAC's crackdown, are at the forefront of the emergency response.

Risking their own safety, local civil society organisations, volunteer networks, youth groups, and faith-based actors continue to lead response efforts in the hardest-hit areas. In the aftermath of the quake, they delivered essential food, provided crucial health care, conducting rapid needs assessments, and restoring a semblance of dignity to families shattered by loss. These groups possess an agility, trust, and deep understanding of the communities they serve that is unparalleled. They are saving lives not because of abundant resources, but because of their profound sense of duty and unwavering commitment. As one local CSO member stated:

"We do not differentiate which territories are under whose control. We go where there are needs and gaps. So, in the end, we reach areas under NUG, SAC, or mixed control. We go where the big organisations cannot reach." 

This CSO, for instance, provided earthquake relief within a week to the worst-hit areas, delivering emergency food, water, basic healthcare, non-food items (NFIs), and cash assistance while conducting rapid needs assessments with community members.

Even before this devastating earthquake, nearly 20 million people in Myanmar – one in three –required humanitarian assistance due to the protracted political instability, frequent climate disasters, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Now, the scale of this crisis has dramatically escalated. In the Dry Zone, many individuals have been displaced multiple times, first by armed violence, then by floods, and now by the earthquake. They seek refuge in monasteries or under makeshift tarpaulins, deprived of basic necessities and clinging only to the hope of a better future and their strong determination to survive. The following stories from the ground illustrate the immense burdens they carry.

Ma May, a pregnant woman from Depayin Township in Sagaing Region, was forced to flee her home months ago when junta forces burned her village. Already displaced and vulnerable, the earthquake struck while she sheltered in a temporary structure, leaving her with a crushed leg. Local volunteers were her lifeline, referring and taking her to a small clinic. “This is the second time I’ve lost everything,” she shared. “But I have to survive – for my baby.”

Ko Aung, a 13-year-old boy originally from Mingun, also fled armed conflict with his family, seeking safety in a monastery on Sagaing Hill. The earthquake shattered their hopes when the building collapsed, tragically killing every member of his family. Ko Aung survived with injuries and now faces the world alone. In a cruel twist, just days after the disaster, military forces resumed attacks on villages near Mingun. For children like Ko Aung, the cycle of war, displacement, disaster and psychological trauma is a relentless nightmare. He needs more than just shelter; he urgently needs protection.

Returning to the harrowing account of the local CSO staff member, her words expose the perilous reality for humanitarians in Myanmar. In the eyes of the junta, aid workers serving areas outside military control are not neutral; they are perceived as threats. Conflict does not pause for natural disasters. Aid workers face the constant risk of arrest, surveillance and violence simply for delivering essential aid to those in desperate need. The fact that the response team was composed entirely of female members speaks volumes. Men, particularly young men, face a heightened risk of arbitrary detention, arrest and torture by regime soldiers and their allies, and are vulnerable to forced recruitment under the conscription law.

We are witnessing a dangerous and tragic repetition of history. The Myanmar junta has declared that international aid groups must obtain "approval" before providing assistance to earthquake-affected communities  – a clear attempt to control and politicize the humanitarian response. This echoes the devastating aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, when the military regime blocked crucial international aid, putting countless lives at grave risk. It was only through the recognition and support of local responders that aid finally reached those in need. The lesson from Nargis remains starkly relevant today: bypassing local actors in favor of junta-controlled channels not only delays critical assistance – it costs lives.

Even as communities grapple with the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, they have been subjected to relentless violence. The junta subsequently continued its aerial bombings and artillery attacks on civilian areas, including schools, clinics, and religious sites. Children were  killed in their classrooms, entire families buried under rubble. These were not isolated incidents  but part of a systematic campaign of terror aimed at dismantling resistance.

In the context of ongoing atrocities, the continued attempts by some international actors to maintain partnerships with the military SAC, recently renamed the State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC), represent a profound moral failure. Some have even coordinated humanitarian aid through its ministries. But to shake hands with the regime while it bombs innocent children has not been neutrality; it is a morally and ethically indefensible act that risks legitimizing violence.

The UN and international agencies must take a principled stand to retain their legitimacy. Engagement that inadvertently enables harm is not principled diplomacy; it is a betrayal of the very people they claim to serve.

To protect lives and uphold fundamental humanitarian principles, we urgently call upon the international community to take the following immediate actions:

• Stop channelling aid through SAC/SSPC-controlled structures. These channels are not neutral and demonstrably fail to reach those most in need.
• Engage directly with the National Unity Government and other legitimate local governance structures that can facilitate genuine access to affected populations.
• Establish an independent humanitarian coordination platform specifically for local civil society organisations and frontline responders, ensuring it is free from SAC/SSPC control.
• Provide flexible, conflict-sensitive funding that directly empowers local responders, particularly those operating in hard-to-reach and contested areas.
• Prioritize listening to and amplifying local voices, especially those of women, youth, and displaced communities who possess invaluable insights into both the needs and the inherent risks on the ground.

This is not merely a matter of aid effectiveness. It is a question of fundamental moral clarity. The international humanitarian system must make a decisive choice: deliver principled aid that reaches those in desperate need or continue down a path that, through silence, risks legitimizing violence.

The Dry Zone is facing more than just a humanitarian emergency. It is now at a critical juncture – a stark test of whether the international system will uphold its core principles or abandon them by providing access and convenience as justifications. 

The people of the Dry Zone are running out of time. Communities who have already lost everything now face the continued threats of disease, hunger and violence. Yet, they have managed to survive through courage, through solidarity, through the unwavering support for each other and their local organisations.

To ignore this profound suffering – or worse, to inadvertently aid the perpetrators of this suffering – is to betray the very essence of humanitarianism.

The question before the world is simple: Will you stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar or with those who inflict such devastating destruction upon them?

If we choose the latter, history will not only remember those who bombed villages but also those who remained silent as it happened.

The future of  humanitarian responses in Myanmar hinge on where we place our trust. Let us place our trust in those who selflessly risk their lives to help others – the local civil society organisations and communities – not in those who are the root cause of the suffering.

This is our collective moral test. Let us not fail it.

Authors

Min Htet¹, Hsu Wai¹, Felix¹, Su Aung¹, Ei Phyoe¹, Phyoe Khaing¹, Wai¹, Thae Htwe¹ Ri Ki²

1 MTYC Foundation
2 Ethnic Health System Strengthening Group