The agency [the UN's World Food Program] now has more than 800 metric tons of food
stocks in Rangoon, "and will deliver these food resources to all areas in need,"
it said. The agency also plans to airlift additional supplies into Burma,
such as high-energy biscuits, "as soon as possible."
(Higgins, 2008)
I think the response is very slow from authorities concerned regarding the dispatch of rescue teams, experts and food supplies to the most affected areas. Nobody seems to know the exact time when the rescue team will be at ground zero. The locals are left to struggle on their own, which is quite a norm in Asian countries. I hope that food and aids will get there to the locals "as soon as possible", to quote the World Food Program Agency.
According to an email from one of the employees from the World Food Program (WFP), the WFP officials have met with the Burmese Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Recovery. The government officials mentioned that the needs for affected areas were:
They have set up a distribution channel from the Yangon (Rangoon) International airport to Pathein (Bassein). A liaising team at the airport will accept the donated materials and deliver them by helicopters from Yangon (Rangoon) to Pathein (Bassein). The social welfare department will then deliver the donated materials to the Pathein (Bassein) communities.
I didn't see any mentioning of how to get to the affected villages yet.
Source:
Higgins, A.G. (2008, May 7). UN Begins Food Distribution in Cyclone-ravaged
Burma. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved May 7, 2008 from http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=11807
UN Begins Food Distribution in Cyclone-ravaged Burma
07 May 2008 Labels: Essays
Activists Call for US Government to Provide Emergency Assistance to Cyclone
05 May 2008 Labels: StatementsPress Release: May 5th
U.S. Campaign for Burma Press Release
Contact: Jeremy Woodrum (202) 246-7924
(Washington, DC) The United States Campaign for Burma today called for the U.S government to respond to a major humanitarian crisis in Burma made by tropical cyclone Nargis, by providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma. The military regime has placed disastrous restrictions on humanitarian organizations operating inside Burma, forcing some to stop their operations. During this humanitarian crisis the regime must allow relief organizations to reach the most vulnerable populations. Delivery of assistance must be immediate and unfettered by the authorities.
The Burmese military regime did almost nothing to warn the people of Burma. Instead, the regime's newspapers have been chock-full of propaganda about why the people of Burma should vote "yes" on a referendum that is an attempt to entrench military rule for many years to come.
The junta's security forces and militias, who have been quick to attack and arrest democracy activists, are playing no role in helping the victims of the cyclone. According to Aung Zaw, editor of the respected Irrawaddy magazine based in Thailand, said "People are very angry with the slow response coming from the military government."
In contrast, everyday villagers and citizens are beginning to clear the debris by hand. Buddhist monks, who led nationwide, peaceful protests aimed at ending military rule in Burma last autumn, are now on the streets, cleaning debris together with the people and helping the victims.
Cyclone Nargis devastated major parts of Burma, including major damages in the country's largest city of Rangoon and throughout the Irrawaddy Delta region, Bago (Pegu) Division, Karen State and Mon State. Wind speeds of 120 mile per hour (190 Km/hr) and rain lashed the region from the night of May 2nd to the morning of May 3rd. During over seven hours of turmoil, up to half of the houses in Rangoon were destroyed and many others lost their roofs. Satellite Townships (similar to suburbs) in Rangoon, such as Hlaing
Tharyar, Shwe Pyi Thar, Dagon Myothit North, and Dagon Myothit South were hit hardest. In Irrawaddy Division, two Townships -- Kyaik Lat and Latputda -- were almost completely destroyed. On Heingyi Island, there are nearly 100,000 people without homes or shelter. In Pyinsi Village in Pyar Pone Township, out of 3,000 villagers, at least two thousand are missing. The Burmese military junta claims that 4,000 were dead, but the actual number of deaths is believed to be much higher.
It is estimated that it will take several weeks to restore electricity and telephone communication in Rangoon. The entire city is paralyzed and hundreds of thousands of people are panicking. It is widely expected that the Burmese military regime will make only symbolic efforts to help those affected. Residents of areas hardest hit by the storm have yet to receive assistance and their basic survival needs are in peril.
"We call on the US Government to provide emergency assistance to the Burmese people immediately through humanitarian agencies," said Aung Din, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. "Cyclone Nargis directly hit Burma; its tsunami-like effect requires the United States and the international community to respond immediately or many more people will die."
"It is critical that any aid provided not be delivered through the notoriously corrupt government. The military and the organizations run by
the wives of the Generals will only siphon off money and keep supplies for themselves. Money and humanitarian assistance should only be provided to trusted, international humanitarian organizations who can reach the victims of the cyclone directly," added Aung Din.
Thai PM insults Burma
03 May 2008 Labels: EssaysIs Samak Sundaravej a Thailand Prime Minister? If it is, what kind of PMs he is.
Burma Junta’s Prime Minister, Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, started a three-day official visit to Thailand at April 29. After a meeting, Mr. Samak said to the media that Burma Generals had no plan to release the detained Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi before or after the constitutional referendum.
“They are not releasing her, but they will not interfere with her. They will put her on the shelf and not bother with her, which is unacceptable to foreigners.”
What did he mean?
He said the Generals would not release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi but he was still saying they would not interfere and bother with her. Does putting an extremely important Burmese Democracy Leader into house arrest for 13 years not mean interfering or bothering? I am wondering how he could become a PM of Thailand. As a very special person of a country he should know better that it is not only bothering Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but also bothering all the Burmese people. In fact, it means much more than bothering, it is abusing the whole country.
Out of all, his next comment on Burma’s most admired leader made the Burmese people angry and disgusted. Everyone was taken aback by surprise.
“We think it's OK if she is put on the shelf. But others admire her because of it”.
Damn it! Stupid guy says stupid words! He is insulting a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He is insulting us, insulting Burma. He is insulting his neighbour. He is insulting the whole world, all the people who love the truth. What a shame for him as a PM saying this kind of words!
Burmese will not be angry if Samak is not a PM. I really find it hard to believe that these kinds of words are said by a PM, our neighbour’s leader as well. I believe that not only the Burmese but also the Thai people, even their King, and others are disappointed on his senseless comments. They will also feel ashamed by such comments.
Finally, people come to know that he is just a heartless or brainless Prime Minister.
A Burmese.
The rape of Burma: where did the wealth go?
Labels: ArticlesBy SEAN TURNELL
(Source - Japan Times)
2 May 2008
SYDNEY — Burma, once the richest countries in Southeast Asia, today is mired in deep poverty — its economy ruined by nearly 50 years of economic mismanagement under military rule. And yet, over the last few years Burma has also emerged as a significant producer of energy in Southeast Asia. Thanks to large fields of recoverable natural gas located offshore, Burma now earns substantial foreign exchange revenues. At present, most of these revenues ($1 billion to 1.5 billion per year, depending on price fluctuations) come from Thailand. Gas from Burma, piped onshore from the Gulf of Martaban, generates around 20 percent of Bangkok's electricity supply.
If all goes well, new gas fields recently discovered in the Bay of Bengal will provide even more gas for China's Yunnan Province. To get the gas into Yunnan, a much longer pipeline — running the length of Burma — must be built. The project will be as difficult as it will be controversial. But, with no environmental or labor standards to contend with, few doubt that the pipeline will proceed.
So, given its newfound energy riches, one might expect Burma's public finances to be rather flush, with surpluses aplenty to spend on health, education and much else that the country so desperately needs. Alas, almost none of Burma's gas revenues actually feed into its budget, owing to a rather ingenious device employed by the Burmese junta. The device is simple. Like many countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, Burma has a dual exchange rate system. The official exchange rate pegs Burma's currency, the kyat, at a rate of six to one against the U.S. dollar.
The informal or black market exchange rate determines the value of the kyat according to supply and demand in the marketplace. Trading kyat in the black market is formally illegal, but it is the only way that people unconnected to the regime can ever hope to come across foreign currency.
According to the informal exchange rate, the kyat's worth is currently about 1,000 to one against the dollar. Given this dual exchange rate system, hiding Burma's gas earnings becomes easy. By recording earnings at the official exchange rate, they are worth nearly 200 times below what they should be.
Thus, Burma's gas earnings of around $1.2 billion for 2006-07 are rendered into a mere 7.2 billion kyat in the country's public accounts — less than 1 percent of the regime's official public spending. Recorded at the market exchange rate, however, these earnings translate into 1.2 trillion kyat — an amount large enough to eliminate Burma's budget deficit, as well as the destructively inflationary money printing that is the regime's preferred method of public finance.
So where do Burma's generals hide all the money they keep away from the state's budget? No one but the generals knows for sure. An inspection of the vaults of the country's Foreign Trade Bank might be a good place to start, however, as well as those of some accommodatingly unscrupulous banks offshore.
Whatever the precise location of Burma's riches, these hoards enable the junta to spend at its whim. A nuclear reactor, a new capital city, military pay increases — all of these and more have been on the menu of late. The one group that almost certainly will not benefit from any of the largesse is the Burmese people themselves, who are entitled to it and for whom it would mean an end to lives of poverty and want.
Sean Turnell is professor of economics at Macquarie University in Sydney. © 2008 Project Syndicate. www.project-syndicate.org
Atrocities by the military regime
Labels: VideosIt has been a few years since these videos were taken. Sadly, nothing much has changed in Burma. In fact, there are now more atrocities being committed against the innocent civilians of Burma by the military regime.
BBC report from Newsnight - June 2005 - details some of the tactics the army in Burma uses against their own people. Concludes with an interview with Labour MP Vera Baird
18 April 2007:
To ACT NOW: www.witness.org/shootonsight. Video advocates BURMA ISSUES travel deep into the jungles of eastern Burma to document one of the world's most urgent and most forgotten emergencies. (The video was co-produced with WITNESS)
The Burmese military has embarked on one of the worst offensives in its 30 year campaign to destabilize the lives of rural ethnic minorities. Half a million live driven from their homes. INTERNATIONAL ACTION IS NEEDED!
Burma: It Can't Wait Campaign
Labels: News, VideosThis is a one-month campaign in support of human rights and democracy where people from all walks of life, including the celebrities, come together to talk about human rights in Burma and her pursuit for freedom from the military regime. The campaign hopes to raise a million voices of support for Burma in 30 days. It was organized by US Campaign for Burma.
They will be posting daily videos on their site here. Let us join them on their journey of 30 days to support for Burma's freedom.
Our Plight
01 May 2008 Labels: EssaysRecently, I read with much sadness the report of the death of a young man, by the name of Kyaw Zin Naing, who set himself ablaze to protest against the rising costs of living in Burma. He was only 26-years old. After a month of suffering with almost 70 percent burns on his body, he finally succumbed to death. As most of the media is busy covering the news of upcoming referendum in Burma, the desperation of this lone protester seems to have been overshadowed by such news. Nothing was also known about the fate of his family members. I remember reading in one of the very few media reports on him, mentioning that he had a young child. For such sacrifice, which was given very little attention, I wonder how his family will feel. Would they blame him for leaving them to fend for themselves in an already difficult life or would they have been devastated by sheer oblivion of their own Burmese people who seem to be not much impacted by his protest?
Nowadays, whenever I read about various articles on my country, the bulk of them seem to touch upon the poverty, repressions (which are in the form of arrests, and torture, sometimes leading to an eventual death or immense sufferings), and the declining states of health and education for the people. With the GDP growth of only 5.5% (2007 est.) [1] and the majority of the people earning less than US$ 5 per month when the estimated living expenses for a family of five would cost more than US$ 110 per month [2], it seems little wonder that the other side of Burma, well-known for its scenery, rich culture, and ever smiling faces of the people, does not get reported as often in the media.
When I went back to Burma for a visit in the middle of last year, the sights of up-to-international-standard shopping malls, hotels and restaurants were aplenty in Rangoon, the old capital of Burma. So was the number of poor, homeless and starving people. Over the years since the military regime took over control, the gap between the rich and poor in Burma has widened to an unbelievable level. I estimated that only around 20% of the whole population will be able to frequent to the above-mentioned places. So what about the remaining 80% of the population? Many of them make up of working class families struggling to bring two proper meals a day for the whole family, the poverty-stricken and starving people. It was heart-wrenching for me to see my own fellow countrymen, especially very young children, resorting to begging at many tourist attractions. Their need for daily survival has left them with no other choice.
Many of my foreign friends in Singapore commented that almost all the Burmese maids who came to work in Singapore , are degree-holders. They were puzzled as to why a degree-holder would come to another country to work as a maid. Being recorded as one of the countries having the lowest public investment in the world for health and education sectors [3], the dire states of health and education are alarming. Majority of the underpaid teachers seek to find an alternative income by conducting private tuitions to students and giving favor to those who attend their tuitions. The remaining students who could not afford to do so are subjected to a sub-standard level of education system where the teachers are heavily overworked as well. The need to earn enough to make ends meet has driven many of the educators in Burma to resort to accepting briberies from well-to-do students in exchange for better grades. As the military dictators in Burma concentrate in holding onto their power by expanding their military, maintaining a good level of standard in education becomes secondary or rather of little importance to them. So we end up with many young graduates who cannot find a proper job, indicating that the piece of paper with their degree is almost worthless.
The health care in Burma poses an even more serious problem. The overcrowded hospitals, where every patient had to purchase everything including little items like bandages from private medical shops, and the lack of proper medical instruments such as simple things like needles, pose a serious problem with an increasing rate of HIV infections for the patients. Many of them enter the hospital with one ailment and may end up being infected with another due to the deteriorating state of the hospital.
Having to face all these problems every day, many of the Burmese people try to seek greener pasture in other countries. Some of them survived. Some of them had tragic ends like the recent case of 54 people being suffocated to death on their way to Thailand [4]. Even those who had made it to other countries still have to struggle to survive and to fit in the unfamiliar surroundings, and unfavorable conditions.
A lot of focus has been on the political system of Burma. However, I wonder how many of the ordinary people in Burma fully understand the meaning of "democracy". To them, their immediate concern is about their struggle against those things that I mentioned above: poverty, declining rights in health and education, etc. They believe that change in the political system in Burma from military regime to democracy government will alleviate their sufferings. However, they have waited for this change for more than 20 years. Seeing the inability of the international community to intervene and influence the Burmese military regime, the belief and hope of Burmese people have turned into desperation. Such desperation must have led ordinary individuals like Kyaw Zin Naing, who had no association whatsoever with any activists' groups, to commit an attempt of self-immolating himself.
On 11 June 1963, there was a similar protest of self-immolation by Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, in Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Min City) as a show of protest against a brutal regime that suppressed Buddhist monks and civilians. It was a turning point which led to the change in the regime in Vietnam [5]. Much international coverage was given to this incident with the famous picture of Thích Quảng Đức engulfed in flames.
However, I feel that Kyaw Zin Naing's case has not been portrayed to represent the great significance and seriousness in desperation of the civilians in Burma. It was just a news report, mingled with many other reports out of Burma. Even in the minds of some of my fellow countrymen, it seemed to have been just an isolated case of impulse.
But I sincerely hope that you can put yourself in the shoes of Kyaw Zin Naing to imagine what probably went through his mind before making the decision to douse himself. Was it just suicide? No. He knew for certain that there will be the presence of many worshipers at Shwe Dagon Pagoda on a Full Moon Day and the fact that he chose to commit his act at that particular place simply indicates his hopeful intention to let as many people know of the plight of poverty-stricken civilians in Burma. He probably took it as an act of self-sacrifice since he had to leave his young family behind and anticipated that his sacrifice would ignite something to bring change in Burma, like in the case of Thích Quảng Đứ.
Therefore, I would like to urge my fellow countrymen and the international community not to turn a blind eye to the hidden meaning behind Kyaw Zin Naing's attempt of self-immolation. It is much more than simply an act of one individual's impulse. Let us give him the honor that he duly deserves.
References:
[1] CIA - The world factbook - Burma (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html)
[2] World Socialist Website (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/may2002/burm-m10.shtml)
[3] DFID (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/countries/asia/burma.asp)
[4] CNN Report (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/10/thailand.myanmar.ap/index.html)
[5] Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc)