Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in southeast Asia and has a population of about 54 million, most of whom are Burmese speakers. Myanmar neighbours Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China and India and is an ethnically diverse nation with 135 officially recognised distinct ethnic groups. The influence of Buddhism in Myanmar life is significant, with 89% […]

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in southeast Asia and has a population of about 54 million, most of whom are Burmese speakers. Myanmar neighbours Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China and India and is an ethnically diverse nation with 135 officially recognised distinct ethnic groups. The influence of Buddhism in Myanmar life is significant, with 89% of the population identifying as Buddhist.

Since 2008, Myanmar was governed by a power-sharing arrangement between the civilian government and the military. The arrangement ensured that the military never fell under civilian control. The military expected this arrangement to preserve its dominance in politics, however in November 2020 a national election took place in which they won only 71 of the 1,117 seats. Their opposition, the civilian National League for Democracy party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, increased its majority in the polls. The election loss of the military sparked a violent coup on 1 February 2021, hours before the newly elected parliament was due to convene for the first time.

On that date, Myanmar’s Senior General and other military leaders declared a year-long state of emergency in response to supposed ‘voter fraud’, overthrowing the government and returning the country to full military rule.

The junta-officially called the State Administration Council-detained and held 76 year old Aung San Suu Kyi. She was charged with corruption and other crimes and was sentenced to six years in jail. The charges also placed lawmakers from her party and other parties, as well as many activists, under house arrest.

A few days after the coup, mass protests erupted in Yangon and across the country. Tens of thousands of people, including health workers, bankers, and teachers, joined what was originally a peaceful civil disobedience movement, refusing to go to work until the elected government returned to power. While there were some isolated incidents of violence, security forces largely allowed peaceful demonstrations to take place throughout the month of February. But towards the end of the month, the junta deployed increasingly violent tactics, water cannons, beatings, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

Soon after, the military launched waves of aerial bombardments and artillery strikes. Entire villages believed to support the opposition were decimated. Since the beginning of the coup, over 1,500 airstrikes have killed an estimated 940 people, injured 880 and destroyed approximately 140 religious buildings, 70 schools and 30 hospitals.

Now in the third year since Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government, a bitter and costly civil war continues, which does not seem to be any closer to ending.

Although initially more powerful, the military have now suffered humiliating battlefield defeats, and recent reports indicate that there is a severe and growing shortage of military personnel, which has clearly worried them. In February 2024, the military enacted a forced ‘conscription clause’ in Myanmar’s constitution; a clause which had been dormant since 2010. The compulsory conscription law requires that any males aged between 18 and 34 and are physically capable of serving in the military, must now do so. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in more people attempting to flee across borders to other foreign countries. Many are doing this illegally because of the difficulty in obtaining a passport from Myanmar. Others are joining resistance forces to battle the junta regime or are dying by suicide- the thought of what they will be forced to do while living seeming too much.

Even if the military junta are defeated, the opposition is fragmented. This group includes people from several diverse ethnic minority groups who have not been able to overcome their political differences. To give you a sense of what this means for churches in Myanmar, one of the Lutheran synods was unable to begin their General Assembly last month because church members from opposing political groups barricaded the roads so that those travelling to the assembly were not able to pass.

Life is incredibly difficult for the women living in Myanmar. They have lived with and continue to suffer through trauma. They are worried for their children and grandchildren’s future as the education system in Myanmar is collapsing in government run schools and most of the women’s families cannot afford to send their children to the international schools. They have noticed the financial strain on their family caused by their husband’s inability or loss of work, and they feel the impact every day from the electricity services experiencing partial, intermittent, or total shutdowns. Those who live in the city know that even if they cannot hear gunshots, the villages in the rural areas where their loved ones live remain under fire.

It is with their country’s burdens in mind, that women from the Federation of Lutheran Churches in Myanmar member churches flew to Bangkok, Thailand, for the Lutheran Women’s Biblical Life conference, supported by the Mekong Mission Forum and LCA International Mission. During the conference, as the women reflected on their daily reality where they live amid conflict which has had horrific consequences, they were reminded that they are God’s creation.

By their own strength, the women will not and have not been able to give and receive forgiveness; not when the military and even fellow church members treat them and their families and friends with such maliciousness. But when they rest in whose they are – when they remember that Jesus gave himself on the cross, to die, to bleed, to re-create them into someone beautiful, then his grace flows through them to others. This grace is not an excuse to sin, but rather, a reason to love and serve. This grace works despite them, and us; it works to remake us, to save us. In the moments when they (and we) fail, God is there to forgive, restore, and empower us to try again in the new life he has given to us.

The conference theme of Biblical reconciliation was particularly timely and significant. At a time when many in Myanmar are living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, when telecommunication cut-offs are the new reality, and when stories of soldiers firing rocket launchers, burning down homes, cutting off food supplies, and shooting at fleeing civilians is a daily occurrence, the women spent time reading and meditating on God’s word and leant into their relationship with their loving Heavenly Father.

Through the Biblical women’s conference, the Holy Spirit breathed over the women in Scripture and song, in story and sermon, in heart-whispers and bold witness saying, “you are my beloved, you are my handiwork”.

Many of our partner churches are working in new territory for the kingdom of God; therefore, spiritual attack is their everyday reality. As a member of a congregation, school, or family, or a couple or individual, you are invited to commit to praying for our partners in mission. For regular prayer point updates, go to www.lca.org.au/international-mission/act-now/pray

Read more stories about our partner churches in Myanmar at https://www.lcamission.org.au/category/stories/international-partners/myanmar/