In Myanmar, five young doctors united to defy the junta and provide medical care to those injured during the violent aftermath of a military coup four years ago. Each of them continued to support the democratic cause. For 32-year-old Dr. Min, this meant fleeing to the jungle to administer battlefield triage to rebel forces fighting against the army. However, when an earthquake struck his hometown of Mandalay, Dr. Min felt compelled to cross combat zones to check on his family and assist his group of doctors once again.

The junction sees healthcare providers as enemies, having closed at least seven private hospitals in Mandalay that were seen as sympathetic to the resistance and jailed doctors and nurses. Despite this, Dr. Min joined a group of medical volunteers and rushed to the devastated city. Residents were desperately searching through the debris for survivors. Eventually, the sounds of trapped victims ceased, and Dr. Min witnessed the bodies of his four friends being pulled from the rubble of a 12-story condominium.

Dr. Min and his friends, who defied the coup, were not breathing when found. Before the coup, Dr. Min enjoyed a normal life, influenced by his father’s resistance against military rule. When the military jailed Myanmar’s elected leaders, Dr. Min joined peaceful protests. The public hospital where he worked refused to send ambulances to collect the casualties, so he joined a civil disobedience movement.

Dr. Min and his friends began treating civilians targeted by the junta, including many gunshot wounds to the head. Dr. Min once helped an old woman into a private ambulance, only for soldiers to strafe the van with gunfire. He then escaped to the jungle, where professionals formed an armed struggle against the junta. The unit Dr. Min joined started with 80 soldiers and has lost about 20 on the battlefield. When the earthquake struck, the junta diverted supplies to the capital and set up roadblocks to prevent volunteers from entering towns.

Residents are now sleeping in makeshift shelters and facing the threat of disease. The junta’s soldiers sometimes force them to find new shelter. Dr. Min believes that the junta prioritizes shutting down hospitals and blocking doctors over saving lives after the earthquake. After witnessing more bodies emerge from the rubble, Dr. Min took a break, fearing that there were no more lives to save. However, his family was still alive when he returned home. Overwhelmed by the last four years, Dr. Min left home again.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/world/asia/myanmar-earthquake-doctors.html