Sawt Falasteen - Like 'living in hell': Quake-hit Mandalay monastery clears away rubble

"Some of the buildings have been around for longer than me," said Wayama, a grey-haired monk at the place of worship in Myanmar's second city.

"So it makes me sad to see them destroyed," he said.

Donning only crimson cloths around their waists and simple slippers, Wayama's young colleagues at the Thahtay Kyaung Monastery worked to remove piles of debris.

Teams of two piled loose bricks and other crumbled material into large sections of fabric, heaving the rubble aside to make way for walking.

Wayama said his heart aches for more than just the monastery.

"There are a lot of buildings that were destroyed here that have been around for more than 100 years.

"It makes me said to see damages in other places too," he said. "I want everyone to be ok."

The Southeast Asian country of over 50 million people is still coming to grips with the scale of damage caused by the deadly quake, which so far has resulted in nearly 3,000 confirmed deaths.

But with four years of civil war having left infrastructure in tatters, relief efforts have been complicated and the toll is expected to rise.

- 'Day after tomorrow' -

Nyo Nyo San was in the Mandalay monastery at the time of the deadly earthquake.

When the shaking began, she stayed put, thinking they were only small tremors -- the type she had experienced in the past.

"But this time, the earthquake was much stronger, and bricks were falling around the monastery," she said.

"I felt like I was living in hell, and I ran to escape outside."

Mandalay has suffered some of the worst damage from the recent earthquake, flattening buildings and upending the lives of many of its more than 1.7 million residents.

Rattled by aftershocks in recent days, hundreds of people are still sleeping in tents and under tarps outdoors, unsure of when they can return to permanent shelter.

Across the country, infrastucture already damaged by years of war has now received another blow.

Nyo Nyo San said she plans to return home to her village soon.

But in order to make the journey, she needs to pass through the Sagaing region -- the epicentre of Friday's quake.

"The Sagaing bridge is broken, and the roads are destroyed," she said.

"I hope to be able to go home the day after tomorrow."

O.Farraj--SF-PST