Myanmar: Earthquake Devastation Amid a Climate of Military Indoctrination

Earthquake in a Country Already in Crisis

On March 28, 2025, Myanmar was shaken by a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake centred near Mandalay. The earthquake struck with ferocity, toppling buildings, severing roads, and overwhelming a country already weakened by civil war and military rule. For a nation already suffering, the earthquake added another tragic layer to a multi-dimensional crisis.

Human Toll and Immediate Impact

The disaster’s human toll was staggering.The death count has surpassed 3,600, with thousands more injured or displaced. The UN has warned that the death toll is likely to rise significantly as search-and-rescue efforts continue in remote areas. Over 120,000 buildings, including homes, schools, and hospitals, have been damaged or destroyed.

Especially hard hit were the townships in central Myanmar, including Magway, Sagaing, and Mandalay, where many families had already been displaced by military conflict. Entire villages were reduced to rubble, with survivors forced to sleep in makeshift shelters or out in the open.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that more than 17 million people have been affected in some way, either through displacement, injury, or lack of access to food, water, and healthcare.

Healthcare System on the Brink

Myanmar’s healthcare system, already crumbling due to years of underinvestment and targeted military attacks on clinics in rebel-held areas, is now on the brink of total collapse. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that emergency response teams have been deployed to provide trauma care and perform emergency surgeries. Yet access remains a serious problem: many roads are impassable, and communications infrastructure is down in the worst-affected zones.

MSF has been operating mobile clinics in remote villages and setting up temporary facilities for urgent care, but staff report a lack of surgical tools, medications, and clean water. The scale of the disaster, combined with pre-existing systemic weaknesses, means thousands are receiving little or no medical assistance.

In areas like Sagaing, where both the earthquake and military operations have devastated infrastructure, clinics are overwhelmed with patients suffering from crush injuries, burns, untreated infections, and psychological trauma.

“The level of need we are seeing is extraordinary,” said one MSF field coordinator. “We’re stretched thin, and many people are still trapped under rubble or stranded in remote communities.”

Médecins Sans Frontières, https://www.msf.org/msf-steps-response-myanmar-following-devastating-earthquake

Aid Bottlenecks and Political Roadblocks

Compounding the humanitarian disaster is the military junta’s control over aid access. International agencies have faced delays and denials when attempting to enter affected areas, especially those controlled by resistance groups. Aid convoys have reportedly been blocked or redirected, while the military insists on centralized coordination under its oversight.

In addition, the U.S. government’s response has been constrained, as under the Trump administration’s 2025 aid cuts, only a modest $9 million was committed and a small USAID team was deployed. In contrast, China and Russia quickly provided funding and manpower, leveraging the crisis for geopolitical gain. Meanwhile, there has been a surge in misinformation. Pro-military outlets falsely claimed that international aid groups were exaggerating the scale of the crisis to discredit the regime. This deliberate spread of disinformation has hampered the public’s understanding of the situation and eroded trust in external help. The UN therefore, has called for an urgent ceasefire to allow aid workers unimpeded access. Yet as recently as April 10, the junta resumed shelling in Karen and Chin states, violating its own declared ceasefire.

Military Indoctrination and Control

While the earthquake tore through Myanmar’s cities and villages, the military junta continues to dominate the country’s intellectual and emotional terrain through systematic brainwashing and propaganda.

Propaganda in Schools

From an early age, Myanmar’s children are taught a version of history and civic duty that glorifies the military and vilifies dissenters. For example, students in Naypyidaw were given pro-junta propaganda leaflets during national exams, which is an alarming indicator of just how integrated the military narrative is in the education system.

The curriculum omits or distorts key events such as the 2021 coup or the Rohingya genocide. Teachers who deviate from the official script face arrest or worse. In many schools, especially in urban centers controlled by the military, education has become a tool not of enlightenment but indoctrination.

Soldier Indoctrination and Isolation

The Myanmar military exerts almost complete control over its soldiers. They live in tightly controlled compounds, are paid directly by senior officers, and have their personal finances and relationships monitored. This isolation ensures that they remain psychologically dependent on the institution and disconnected from the broader public.

Young recruits are subjected to intense ideological training. They are taught to see civilian protesters as threats to national unity, and insurgents as enemies of the state, regardless of the reality on the ground. Their training is not just military but psychological conditioning.

Defectors interviewed by Al Jazeera have confirmed this. Many said they were told that all opposition fighters were backed by foreign intelligence agencies and were enemies of Buddhism and Myanmar itself. Nonetheless, as Ali Fowle mentions in Episode 223, defectors would be unlikely to plead guilty as it would massively inhibit their continuation of living, therefore, mentioning brainwash can be seen as a way out, and a way to explain what one has done without taking the blame.

Civil Society and Resistance

Despite these efforts, the military’s hold on the public mind is not absolute. The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which surged after the 2021 coup, continues to operate underground. Teachers, healthcare workers, and bureaucrats have refused to work under junta orders, even amid economic hardship and threats of violence.

Frontier Myanmar published an interview with a Karen National Union (KNU) leader who noted that people were finally beginning to see through the lies.

“The military’s propaganda worked for decades,” he said. “But now the people have seen the truth. Their cruelty is impossible to hide.”

The KNU and other ethnic armed groups have also launched educational campaigns to de-program youth who were raised on military narratives, distributing underground newspapers and holding informal classes in liberated zones.

Social Media: A New Battlefield

The military’s propaganda war has also gone digital. The junta uses social media to spread rumours, attack resistance figures, and promote nationalist ideology. Pro-military influencers are funded to distribute pre-written talking points across platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram.

This media blitz often targets foreign organisations, suggesting they are neo-colonial actors seeking to destabilise Myanmar. Ironically, even while blocking foreign aid in practice, the military portrays itself online as the sole protector and provider for the people.

Conclusion: Two Catastrophes, One Nation

Myanmar’s catastrophe is both physical and psychological. The March 2025 earthquake shattered buildings and lives, exposing the weaknesses of a fractured state. But behind the rubble lies a deeper, older structure: a regime built on fear, control, and ideological conformity.

If Myanmar is to rebuild, it must do more than pour concrete or deliver food parcels. It must dismantle the machinery of brainwashing, free the media, and restore education as a tool for truth — not tyranny.