Something unprecedented is happening in Burma, says Dave Eubank of Christian NGO Free Burma Rangers (FBR). People of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds are coming together in pursuit of long-term solidarity—something that seemed impossible just a few years ago.

The reason for the solidarity is stark: the shocking coup in February 2021 preempted a violent crackdown of the military, which has now killed more than 2,000 people in a countryside civil war. FBR’s deputy director says he and his teammates are now regularly training ethnic-minority and majority culture people alike in how to help people get out of the fire zone.

In their fight against a common enemy, the people of Myanmar face incredible danger and loss. And yet, says Eubank, the unity they are experiencing “has never happened in Burma, never in my 29 years here.”

“What you have,” says Eubank, “is hope.”