Myanmar Anniversary | Baptist World Alliance

Standing with the People of Myanmar

Five Years of Suffering

Five years ago, the military coup in Myanmar shattered a fragile democratic transition and plunged the nation into ongoing violence, fear, and uncertainty. What began on February 1, 2021, has become a prolonged humanitarian and spiritual crisis – one that continues to weigh heavily on the people of Myanmar and on all who long for justice, peace, and dignity for every human life.

As a global Baptist family, we will not forget. We continue to lament the suffering, and we recommit ourselves to prayerful solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Myanmar.

Prayer Points from Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
Pray for the people of Myanmar.
– For comfort, healing, and hope for those who have suffered loss and trauma
– For protection over children, women, and the most vulnerable
Pray for peace and justice.
– For an end to violence and the opening of pathways toward reconciliation
– For wisdom and courage for peacemakers and community leaders
Pray for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
– For safety, shelter, food, medical care, and education
– For strength for families living in prolonged uncertainty
Pray for the Church and Baptist family in Myanmar.
– For endurance, unity, and protection
– That the Church would continue to be a light, refuge, and source of hope
Pray for advocacy and global awareness.
– That the international community would not grow weary or silent
– For sustained advocacy, humanitarian access, and compassionate action

Providing Aid and Advocacy  

Myanmar Anniversary
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On February 1, 2021, the military seized control and declared a state of emergency. One leader in Myanmar wrote to us, “With guns in hand the military has ruled with an iron grip, arresting and destroying many lives.” In the immediate aftermath and the years since, the BWA has advocated for a restoration of just peace and the release of those falsely arrested and imprisoned. 

When a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, a nation already in need was devastated even further. Baptist World Aid responded, partnering with the Myanmar Baptist Convention to distribute food and water, set up medical camps, and provide temporary shelter. 

But the long-term needs are still great. The years have passed, but the challenges remain. May we stand together in declaration that we have not forgotten the suffering of our sisters and brothers. 

With BWA member partners across the nation encompassing 1.7 million people and 5,800 congregations, we will not turn away. We invite you to stand together now with the global Baptist family in supporting the people of Myanmar in prayer and humanitarian action.

A History of Solidarity

Since 1989, the BWA has passed multiple resolutions calling for the establishment of peace, human rights, and the rule of law. In a 2006 resolution, the BWA “call[ed] upon the Myanmar authorities to lift the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, the legally elected president.” A 2013 resolution lamented “that large numbers of innocent civilians have been killed and many women have been raped as part of a strategy of violence. More than 200 Kachin Baptist villages have been lost and at least sixty-six places of worship have been destroyed.” This resolution further called for “solutions to this conflict and to all situations of ethnic cleansing through the power of prayer and nonviolent peacemaking.” 

While many of these resolutions have drawn attention to the severe atrocities faced by ethnic Christians, in a 2019 resolution the BWA also raised our support on behalf of Rohingya Muslims who in recent years have faced genocide. Click below to read the resolutions in their entirety.

Resolution on Myanmar, Violence, & Religious Liberty
Resolution on the Kachin Crisis
Resolution on Religiously-Motivated Violence

Small Stream of Mae La Camp

The Mae La Refugee Choir shares a lament entitled “Small Stream of Mae Lae Camp.” 

By the small stream of Mae La Camp
We sat down and cried
By the small stream of Mae La Camp
We sat down and cried

In the heat of many days
Through sleepless nights in the foreign land
We are hungry, thirsty for freedom
When freedom is so far away

How shall we sing the song of freedom?
When freedom is shackled and chained
How shall we sing the song of joy?
When freedom is shackled and chained

Oh my God. Oh my God
Why have you abandoned
Oh my God, Oh my God
Why have you forsaken us?