Taipei: Several students from Myanmar studying in Taiwan said students from their country may need financial support after a massive earthquake hit Myanmar on Friday afternoon.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Ministry of Education (MOE) reports that there are 2,973 students from Myanmar currently studying in Taiwan. A junior at Yuan Ze University in Taoyuan mentioned that he did not expect to be directly affected since his family lives in Yangon, well south of the earthquake's epicenter. However, he noted that many ethnic Chinese in Myanmar reside in the central part of the country, where there was heavy damage. The combination of this natural disaster and the ongoing political unrest in Myanmar is likely to put considerable pressure on students and their families back home.
The student highlighted that many students from Myanmar come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and might require financial support in the near future. A Ph.D. student at National Chi Nan University in Nantou County expressed similar concerns. Although her family survived the earthquake, she worried about other students who depend on family support for their living expenses and tuition. The difficulty in transferring money after the disaster could pose additional challenges.
She further mentioned that her school has reached out and assured her that they would provide relief in case of an emergency. The situation remains uncertain, and students from Myanmar in Taiwan are closely monitoring developments back home.