The person mourning 170 family members

As the decision to prayer rang out in Sagaing final Friday, tons of of Muslims hurried to the 5 mosques in central Myanmar.

They have been keen to carry their final Friday prayers for Ramadan, simply days away from the festive interval of Eid that may mark the tip of the holy month.

Then, at 12:51 native time (06:21 GMT), a lethal earthquake struck. Three mosques collapsed, together with the most important one, Myoma, killing virtually everybody inside.

A whole lot of kilometres away, the previous imam of Myoma mosque, Soe Nay Oo, felt the quake within the Thai border city of Mae Sot.

Within the following days, he discovered that round 170 of his family, mates and members of his former congregation had died, largely within the mosques. Some have been main figures within the metropolis’s close-knit Muslim group.

“I take into consideration all of the individuals who misplaced their lives, and the victims’ youngsters – a few of them are younger youngsters,” he advised the BBC. “I am unable to maintain again my tears after I discuss this.”

Greater than 2,700 folks have died within the quake which occurred close to Sagaing and Mandalay, Myanmar’s second metropolis. The demise toll is predicted to rise as rescuers proceed to tug out our bodies from rubble.

Whereas the realm was identified for its historic Buddhist temples, the cities have been additionally residence to a major Muslim inhabitants.

An estimated 500 Muslims died whereas praying of their mosques, in response to figures given by the nation’s chief, Min Aung Hlaing, on Monday.

Eyewitnesses in Sagaing have advised the BBC that the street the place the mosques have been, Myoma Road, was the worst hit within the metropolis. Many different homes on the road have additionally collapsed.

A whole lot of individuals have sought shelter by the aspect of the street, both as a result of they’re now homeless, or are too afraid to return to their properties in case there are aftershocks. Meals provides are reported to be scarce.

In Myoma alone, greater than 60 folks have been stated to be crushed within the collapse, whereas scores extra died within the Myodaw and Moekya mosques. Extra our bodies have been nonetheless being pulled out on Tuesday.

There are indications that the worshippers had tried to flee, in response to Soe Nay Oo, who has obtained a number of reviews from surviving members of his group.

He at present lives within the Thai metropolis of Mae Sot along with his spouse and daughter, after escaping from Myanmar quickly after a coup that passed off in 2021.

There have been our bodies discovered exterior of the primary prayer corridor, he stated, within the space the place worshippers wash themselves. Some have been additionally discovered clutching different folks’s palms, in what regarded like makes an attempt to tug them away from the crumbling constructing.

Among the many many family members Soe Nay Oo misplaced was one in every of his spouse’s cousins. Her demise, he stated, was “essentially the most painful factor that I’ve endured” in his 13 years as an imam.

“She was the one who confirmed her like to us essentially the most,” stated Soe Nay Oo. “Everybody within the household cherished her. The loss is insufferable for us.”

One other of his spouse’s cousins, a well-respected businessman who had carried out the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, additionally died.

“He at all times referred to as me Nyi Lay [‘little brother’ in Burmese]…After I married my spouse, he stated we’re household now and he at all times handled me like his personal little brother,” stated Soe Nay Oo.

“He was at all times there for us every time we wanted him. I’ve misplaced these whom I really like like brothers like him.”

A number of the shut mates who died embody Soe Nay Oo’s former assistant imam, whom he remembered for his sturdy work ethic and noteworthy expertise in reciting the Quran.

The principal of the native public college, who was additionally the one feminine trustee of the Myoma mosque, additionally died. She was remembered by Soe Nay Oo as a beneficiant soul who would typically pay for mosque programmes out of her personal pocket.

He stated each time he hears of yet one more individual from the group who died, he experiences a brand new wave of grief. “I really feel devastated… it at all times involves my thoughts, the reminiscences I cherish of them.

“Regardless that they weren’t shut family, they have been those who at all times welcomed me, adopted my prayers, and who prayed collectively.”

The truth that they died throughout Ramadan will not be misplaced on him. “All of the departed have returned to Allah’s residence, I might say. They are going to be remembered as martyrs accordingly,” he stated.

Like different elements of Myanmar affected by the quake, the group is struggling to take care of the sheer variety of our bodies.

It has been sophisticated by ongoing combating between the navy junta and resistance teams. The Muslim cemetery in Sagaing is near an space managed by the insurgent Individuals’s Defence Forces (PDF), and has been closed to the general public for a number of years. The navy has continued to bomb some elements of the broader Sagaing area following the quake.

Sagaing metropolis’s Muslim group has needed to transfer the our bodies of their lifeless to Mandalay, crossing the Irrawaddy River utilizing the only real bridge connecting the 2 cities, in response to Soe Nay Oo.

Their our bodies are being left at Mandalay’s largest mosque for burial. Some haven’t been buried inside 24 hours of their demise per Islamic custom.

“For Muslims, it’s the saddest factor, that we can’t bury our households by ourselves on the finish of their journey,” he stated.

The survivors have been making an attempt to assist in the rescue, at the same time as they deal with the trauma. “Some from my group advised me to wish for them. To be trustworthy, they could not even describe their loss in phrases after I communicate to them.”

It’s arduous for Soe Nay Oo to be removed from his former congregation. Like many different folks from Myanmar who’ve migrated overseas, he feels survivor’s guilt.

“If I have been the imam nonetheless, on the time of the quake, I might have gone with them – that I can settle for peacefully. If not, at the very least I could possibly be on the bottom to do something that I can.

“Now I am unable to return. It is painful to consider it.

Soe Nay Oo started to sob. “This unhappy and annoyed feeling I’ve proper now, I’ve by no means felt this fashion earlier than in my life. I’m the sort of man who would hardly cry.

He provides that he has not been in a position to sleep for days. His fear has been magnified by the very fact he has but to listen to from some members of the family, together with his personal siblings who have been in Mandalay.

Soe Nay Oo has paused his work for a human rights group in Thailand and is at present serving to to coordinate rescue efforts in Sagaing – sharing any info he can get from his contacts within the metropolis.

No less than 1,000 Muslims within the space have been affected who nonetheless want help, he estimates.

“I really feel aid solely every time any person on the bottom asks for assist, and I may help them.”