By: Petra Chase, Peak Associate

Content warning: brief mention of genocide. 

In Burma, April is a time for celebrating a new year. During the five-day festival called Thingyan, people pour and throw water on each other on every street, a symbolic cleansing of past sins. Padauk, the national flower, blooms under the summer sun, framing faces and illuminating scenes with golden yellow.

This year, however, Burmese people came together to respond to a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on March 28. Over 4,000 people have been reported dead, almost 4,800 injured, and 129 missing. These numbers are likely a lot larger. 

A natural disaster is tragic enough. Under a corrupt and genocidal military dictatorship, it’s even more horrifying. The military has continued to attack ethnic minorities by keeping on its airstrikes on unarmed settlements. When it comes to rescue efforts, civilians are mostly left to their own devices. Since the military seized power in 2021 and set the country’s democratic progress back, mutual aid and resistance have been the norm for Burmese people in the country and abroad.

Less than a week after the earthquake, Burmese SFU students co-organized a fundraiser to support rescue and relief efforts. Along with students from UBC, they worked with Burmese Plate, a local catering company, to sell 100 orders of halal danbauk, a Burmese take on the South Asian dish chicken biryani. 

Burmese Plate is a home kitchen that sells and delivers Burmese food around Metro Vancouver. Their mission is “to share our Burmese culture with the communities here, and also to help the communities back there in Burma.” To learn more about their initiative, I interviewed Aung Thu, owner and chef, and Jessica Aung, marketing and operations manager. “I like to cook, and I started to help the community in Burma who needed help,” said Thu.

Having lived in Burma myself, I related to them about missing the staple dishes that are hard to come by in this part of the world. “Most people don’t know where’s Myanmar,” said Thu. Aung added, translating, “It’s very rich in culture with so many different ethnicities [ . . . ] and we want to showcase that culture.”

With over 135 distinct ethnic groups and a melting pot of influences from their regional neighbours, the country’s cuisine ranges from variations on the Hokkien lor mee (braised noodles simmered in a thick, gravy-like soup made of cornstarch and eggs) to fragrant, spicy curries, including ingredients like chickpeas and tea leaves, and various fermented foods. Burmese Plate first brought some of these flavours to new taste buds when they began with a stall at Richmond Night Market two years ago.

Their current fundraising efforts have focused on two main dishes that are very different, but similarly sentimental. There’s the aforementioned danbauk, which uses South Asian-inspired spices, but with the addition of raisins for a punch of sweetness. “Danbauk, for me, is more of a nostalgic dish because when we were younger, we had it a lot at events,” said Aung. “I’m so glad that [Thu] decided to cook here, then I get to try danbauk right here,” she added.

Kyay oh si chet, garlic oil pork noodles, is Thu’s other specialty. It’s a dry vermicelli noodle dish with a Chinese inspiration, and in Burma, entire restaurants revolve around it.

Aung explained, “When the earthquake happened, at first he started contacting his friends in Yangon and then they started organizing a small fundraiser.” She added, “Then he realized that the Burmese communities suffering from the earthquake [are] much greater than we thought.” 

Thu said their collaboration with SFU and UBC was “to let the communities know through the students clubs what’s happening in Burma right now, and also with the intention that our efforts are at least contributing to lessen the suffering in Burma.” SFU does not have an official Burmese student club, although students plan on starting one. 

A coalition of students from Canadian universities, including SFU, have raised $4,762 so far for Better Burma, an organization they say have “consistently supported communities in need and have the connections to ensure funds reach those directly affected by the earthquake.” Donating directly to people on the ground is important, as the military is known to pocket foreign aid. 

I also reached out to a Burmese international SFU student whose family lives in Mandalay, close to the epicenter of the earthquake. “For a while, I couldn’t reach them through any communication platform — not even international calls,” he said. “Not knowing whether they were safe or not made me feel helpless, and my thoughts were racing. Thankfully, I was eventually able to get in touch with them through my distant cousin, who lives on the outskirts of the city and went in to check on my family. While I was relieved to hear they were OK, the emotional toll of that uncertainty still lingers.” 

The student said SFU reaching out during the earthquake was a reminder that “we’re not alone.” He said the Burmese community appreciates check-ins, mental health resources, and spaces for connection and solidarity. “It’s time for an official Burmese club at SFU. Having a dedicated space where we can support each other, celebrate our culture, and come together during difficult times would be incredibly meaningful.”

In an interview with The Diplomat, another concerned Burmese citizen abroad, Julie, explained how the diaspora “have more power to do campaigns more freely abroad than people [inside] Myanmar.” She added, “Even if we contribute only a little, it means a lot in Myanmar.”

Burmese Plate plans on hosting more fundraisers for these dishes, typically with delivery and pickup in Richmond, Vancouver, and Burnaby. They hope to someday open a restaurant, which would make it the third Burmese-owned restaurant in the Vancouver area. But until then, you can find out about upcoming fundraisers and try Burmese food by following them on Instagram, @Burmeseplate.yvr and Facebook. 

If you want to support Burmese Plate’s partner initiative on the ground, you can also donate at gofundme.com/f/npbt7-support-earthquake-relief-in-myanmar.