The country of Myanmar has been in crisis for years. A civil war has been going on since 2021. And then, last Friday, a devastating earthquake hit, leaving at least 3,000 people dead. The tragedy only deepened the humanitarian crisis in the country.One person watching the situation closely is Kim Aris. His mother is Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the country's de facto leader before the military ousted and imprisoned her after a coup four years ago. When Aris spoke to NPR earlier this week, he wasn't even sure where his mother was, or whether she was safe. The earthquake has brought more devastation to Myanmar raising questions about whether the country's military can stay in power – and about the future of its ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the current crisis in Myanmar?
The country of Myanmar has been in crisis for years. A civil war has been going on since 2021. And then last Friday, a devastating earthquake hit, leaving at least 3,000 people dead. The tragedy only deepened the humanitarian crisis in the country.
The situation is very difficult. It's very dire. There is a shortage of food, water, electricity, internet, water.
In the aftermath of the quake, resistance groups and the country's military rulers declared a temporary ceasefire. But there are reports the military continues to launch attacks. Elena Vuolo is the World Health Organization deputy head in Myanmar. She says her team has been focused on getting trauma and surgical kits to hospitals.
We're also working to make sure that this earthquake does not disrupt a health system that was already fragile. Because after all, this earthquake is just an additional crisis within a very dire humanitarian situation.
Even before this earthquake struck, UN officials said that nearly 20 million people were in need in Myanmar. One person watching the situation closely is Kim Aris. His mother is Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the country's de facto leader before the military ousted and imprisoned her after a coup four years ago.
When Aris spoke to us earlier this week, he wasn't even sure where his mother was or whether she was safe.
Well, we believe in Napidor prison. It's very hard to confirm anything. Near where the earthquake hit. So we're very concerned about her well-being, obviously. But it's very hard to confirm anything.
Consider this. The earthquake has brought more devastation to Myanmar, raising questions about whether the country's military can stay in power and about the future of its ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang.
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Chapter 2: How is the humanitarian situation after the earthquake?
We had the Myanmar country acting director for a major aid organization on the program who was describing that his teams are able to move, they are getting access, but it's incredibly difficult and there is vast need for medical supplies. Acknowledging the horror of the situation, does it open any doors, any opportunities for a change in your mother's circumstances?
We can only hope. But at the moment, there isn't any indication of that, and I haven't heard of what the results are of that earthquake in the prison, really. I've heard that she's safe, but there's no way of confirming that.
I need to ask about a part of your mother's record. She won, as we said, the Nobel Peace Prize. She has also come under criticism for her response to the Rohingya crisis for refusing to acknowledge the military's role in massacres.
That's incorrect. She never refused to acknowledge the military's role. She refused to condemned the military on the account of genocide. That's something else. But she always said the military were responsible for... She defended the military at the International Court of Justice against allegations of genocide. No, she wasn't defending the military. She was actually defending her country.
That's something very different. She was working with the military, but not in any way against the Rohingya. She was always trying to do everything she could for the Rohingya, even before it came to the And the fact is that she was doing more for the Rohingya than anybody else in the world, which the media at the time failed to report on because it didn't fit their narrative.
Well, I will ask you with no narrative or agenda, but just part of what has prompted criticism are the basic facts that there was a horrific exodus of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh. The Secretary General of the United Nations called what was happening in Myanmar ethnic cleansing. And your mother was the de facto leader.
My question for you, did she ever express any regrets about how she handled that situation, whether she might have been able to do more?
I don't get to talk to my mother about political issues really, since we only communicate over the phone often, and we know the military will be listening in. But I think actually she may have some regrets, but it wouldn't be the ones you think. She will be able to hold up her head and say she was doing everything she possibly could for the Rohingya.
And if you read the evidence which is out there, I'm sure you would agree.
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