CHARLOTTE — As Myanmar citizens observed a “silent strike” in defiance of the ruling junta Feb. 1, the anniversary of the military coup, Burmese Catholics in Charlotte are praying for those they left behind.
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) was on the path to democracy after more than five decades of military rule, but the political, economic and social freedoms begun in 2011 were abruptly ended by a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. This triggered anti-coup protests featuring people banging pots and pans, blowing horns and clapping hands.
Government killings and detentions followed. Nearly 1,500 people have died, including at least 50 children, and more than 11,000 people have been arrested since the coup. The Christian minority has particularly been a target of government reprisals.
Intense fighting between the Buddhist-majority military junta and rebel forces in ethnic minority areas, including the predominantly Christian Kayah, Chin and Karen states, has forced civilians to flee to forests or take shelter in churches and schools.
Mark Kuhp and his family are parishioners at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte. They’re one of more than 50 Burmese Catholic families that meet regularly for prayer services and Mass at OLA.
“We have been very sad. We have been praying for peace for our country,” Kuhp told the Catholic News Herald. “We especially pray for the people who have relatives, close relatives, who have been killed in our home country. They’re being killed by the military government. A lot of people have died.”
Kuhp left Myanmar in 2008 to escape the regime. He used to work for the Diocese of Charlotte’s Refugee Resettlement Office and still helps with interpretation services. He had looked with hope as Myanmar moved towards democracy, then watched as the country fell back into violence last year.
“So many people have fled over the years,” he said, but added, “I’ve not seen it this bad (before).”
Fighting has intensified recently. Churches and other community institutions are caught in the middle of the violence and deliberately targeted by government forces.
Kuhp prays that peace can be restored soon in his homeland.
Pope Francis has also been praying for the persecuted people of Myanmar.
For more than a year, “we have watched with pain the violence staining Myanmar with blood,” the pope said at the end of his general audience Feb. 2.
Joining an appeal launched by Myanmar’s bishops, the pope called on the international community “to work for reconciliation between the parties involved. We
cannot look away from the suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters. Let us ask God, in prayer, for consolation for that tormented population.”
“We’re grateful that Pope Francis is interested in us,” Kuhp said. He said he hopes the attention to his home country will also help end the violence.
— Kimberly Bender, Online reporter. Catholic News Service contributed.