Building an Underground Operating Theater to Protect from Airstrikes

Antonio Graceffo

Thirty-four-year-old Saw Emmet is a qualified civil engineer who joined the Burmese civil-disobedience movement, shortly after the 2021 military coup, and eventually made his way to the jungle to serve as a combat medic. He said that, as fulfilling and useful as his work on the front lines was, he did not hesitate for a moment when a hospital in Karenni State asked if he could help build an underground, reinforced operating theater to keep patients and doctors safe during airstrikes.

While still overseeing construction of the operating theater, he was offered his next project: helping to build a university in resistance-controlled areas. He has now found a new calling in keeping the helpers safe. In the outside world he would be called a freelancer, but inside the revolution area he works only for food and a place to stay.

Asked about the greatest difficulties in construction in a war zone, Saw Emmet said material availability and technical access were serious obstacles, but transportation has been a near-crippling challenge.

Schools and hospitals now have to be built in remote areas to avoid becoming targets for airstrikes. Paved roads often cannot be used because they are under government control or are being targeted. As a result, most transport is done by truck along nearly invisible jungle paths that become impassable in the rainy season and long and difficult in the dry season.

The first step in the project was building a road through the jungle, a muddy and time-consuming task. A surface of rocks had to be laid, often by hand. When the rains came, large puddles formed, making it difficult to get vehicles in and out. Trucks carrying heavy loads of construction materials would sink up to their axles.

Saw Emmet said that on a similar project in another country there would have been multiple excavators. Here, they had only one small machine, and it, like the trucks, also became stuck in the mud. It broke down several times.

“But the operators, they are very good,” he said, laughing. “They can operate the excavator and also they can fix the broken parts.” After five years without access to spare parts, operators have become experts at fabricating replacements or repurposing components from other vehicles. “Because of them, we could finish a lot of work.”

To build a bunker that extends underground and can withstand explosions, several layers of thick concrete are required, reinforced with heavy rebar. The materials must be special-ordered and transported by truck through the jungle. Shipments are broken up in case one truck is captured or hit by a bomb. By the time the materials arrive, the price has tripled.

Excavation presents another challenge. The hole must be deep enough to accommodate not only the operating theater but also thick layers of concrete. Engineering calculations must account for angles and soil stability so the walls do not collapse during construction.

The concrete itself was highly specialized. It was needed in large quantities, and the mixing, pouring, and timing had to be precise and coordinated with the weather. As with other materials, sourcing it was difficult and expensive, and much of the mixing and pouring had to be done by hand.

“We didn’t have a boom pump, so we had to pour with manpower,” Saw Emmet said. Normally, an entire floor would be poured and cured at once. Because the process took so long by hand, they had to create construction joints, pouring and drying the floor in sections.

He joked that universities do not teach engineers how to design bomb-proof structures, so in wartime they must rely on past knowledge and additional reading to solve new problems.

Saw Emmet said he is not the only civil engineer working with the revolution. Many serve in headquarters and logistics, planning defensive fighting positions, trenches, and bunkers for the resistance. “In this revolution time,” he said, “the soldiers and the resistance forces and other organizations focus on the battle front line, because we need to win.”

His own role, however, is different. As an unattached engineer working with civilian institutions, he focuses on protecting noncombatants. “The revolution is now five years after the coup. It is a very long time. And there are many people fleeing their houses to other places in the jungle. They need a safe place, a safe house. Because in Karenni, the Burma Army cannot directly get into Karenni, but they can carry out airstrikes and mortar shelling. Some of their airstrikes hit civilian areas. When I hear the news that civilian IDP camps were bombed and how many people died, I feel very sad.”

He said the revolution needs to win quickly, but in the meantime they must protect the people standing with them. “So I want to help with my profession.”

He believes engineers and other educated civilians will play a crucial role in rebuilding the country. “There’s a lot of engineering work that needs to be done. Roads and bridges and also a water supply,” he said. “In Karenni, there are only a few places where we can get water.”

Water shortages are a constant problem for internally displaced people’s camp, and the combination of limited water and instability makes it difficult for families to grow food. He said engineers could help address this, if they had access to the necessary materials.

He returned to his broader mission. “We need to win this revolution fast so we can do other rehabilitation work for the states and for the country.” In addition to supporting the resistance during the war, he said engineers will be essential to rebuilding society afterward.

He argued that even before the coup, construction standards in many parts of the country were poor.

“Last year we had the earthquake in Sagaing and also in Mandalay, and many buildings collapsed. So many people died. But there are other countries where earthquakes happen, like Japan or Taiwan. In Japan, they have many disasters like earthquakes, storms, and tsunamis, and no one dies. They have many skilled professionals, many professional engineers. They already consider disasters when they make a building code. So they prepare and improve their engineering.”

He pointed to technologies such as base-isolation systems, installed at the foundation of residential buildings to reduce earthquake damage, and said Burma needs similar approaches.

At the same time, he said the country must address basic failures in workmanship and materials. Investigations after the earthquake found substandard materials, improperly installed reinforcement steel, and concrete that did not meet design strength because contracts were awarded to the lowest bidder.

“So we need to improve technically, and we also need to educate the worker associations and the clients,” he said. “If they have adequate general knowledge about their property and their buildings, I am sure we can prevent that kind of disaster.”

Until that day comes, Saw Emmet remains one of the many teachers, doctors, nurses, and other civilians focused on keeping people alive and safe so they can build a better country when the war ends.

Antonio Graceffo is an economist and China expert who has written extensively on Burma.