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Myanmar Cyclone: Karen refugees a 'forgotten story'
Nine refugee camps stretch along western Thailand's border with Myanmar, but Mae La, with a population of 43,000, is by far the largest.
"I came to the camp 10 years ago after the army burned our village and took our rice," one young mother told me.
Most of the camp's residents arrived after being forced to flee their homes due to the violence in Myanmar, as documented by the United Nations.
The refugees' stories were often identical: Direct military attacks by the Myanmar army, forced labor, destruction of homes and food crops, and enslavement.
The camps are overseen and run by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a union of 11 international non-governmental organizations that provide food, shelter and non food items to refugees and displaced people from Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The Mae La camp is situated about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Mae Sot, a Thai border town known for its cross-border trade in gems and teak, and more recently, as the home to the Sylvester Stallone movie character, John Rambo.
The first view of the camp is spectacular -- hundreds of wooden houses with roofs made from leaves dot the lush, hilly landscape, as limestone cliffs rise steeply in the background.
There were no guards and little fuss while entering the camp, which somewhat reflects the plight of these displaced people.
The conflict between the Myanmar government and the Karen and other ethnic groups such as the Karenni, Mon and Shan is considered by many analysts as the longest-running civil war in the world. Yet, according to TBBC director Jack Dunford, it has become a "forgotten story."
The recent storm that hit Myanmar's delta region, killing at least 78,000, has raised the question of whether border camps will be inundated with new refugees.
But Saay Tae Tae, a coordinator with the Karen refugee Committee, believes it would take months, if at all.
"The Delta is where most of the Karens live, but it would be very difficult for them to get here. Travel is very restricted by the army, and the people have no money to pay for transport," Saay said. "It will take four or five months until we see the real picture." Nine refugee camps stretch along western Thailand's border with Myanmar, but Mae La, with a population of 43,000, is by far the larges... more -
Children's drawings of Cyclone Nargis
The Burmese children’s drawings bear silent eloquent witness to the devastating experiences that they and their families went through during the cyclone and its immediate aftermath.
Now the problem facing the Cyclone victims is getting rice seed, getting their fields cleaned and ready for planting, they have to do this even while there are still carcasses of dead animals and some of the bodies of their community members still lying in the fields and their homes are not yet rebuilt. The Burmese children’s drawings bear silent eloquent witness to the devastating experiences that they and their families went through ... more -
Why one girl refuses to remember
Nway pretends that it never happened. The storm didn't come. The wind didn't tear her home to pieces. The cyclone didn't sweep her mother and father away.
In those brief moments, when she tunes out the questions, the 7-year-girl from Myanmar can step back in time -- before May's Cyclone Nargis took everything away.
That's the girl aid workers from World Vision International, a Christian humanitarian group, found when they met Nway in her demolished village a month after the cyclone.
"When she was asked about the cyclone, she turned away and said she didn't remember anything about it, and left," says Ashley Clements, a World Vision worker who met Nway.
International relief groups know how to rebuild devastated countries like Myanmar. But how do they rebuild the lives of children like Nway? That's the challenge faced by groups trying to help child survivors of natural and manmade disasters.
Aid workers who deal with these children say the experience can drain their souls. They try to comfort children in Darfur, Sudan, who have seen their mothers raped; children in China who have seen their parents buried under rubble; children in Louisiana who watched their homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
No matter where they encounter these children, these aid workers face the same question: How can a child remain a child after experiencing a tragedy?
Rose Kimeu, a disaster response specialist for World Vision in African and Latin America, says many children don't know how.
"They don't laugh. They don't smile," Kimeu says. "They have this look in their eyes that's very sad... It's something that breaks my heart over and over."
---**Go to the link to read the full story, the next section is called "How they become a child again" Nway pretends that it never happened. The storm didn't come. The wind didn't tear her home to pieces. The cyclone didn't sweep her m... more -
Doctors Without Borders:Survivors of Cyclone Nargis Still Living in Dire Condition...
MSF medical staff have in the past month carried out more 17,000 consultations, with an average of 500 per day in the last week of May. At first, more than half the patients were treated for injuries caused by the cyclone, but very soon other pathologies linked to the dire conditions in which people lived dominated the consultations. Some MSF teams have seen a high number of respiratory infections and cases of diarrhea, which could be linked to a lack of access to clean water, absence of shelters, and exposure to heavy rains in recent weeks.
"In many areas, especially where death rates have been high, we are seeing more and more people suffering from mental health problems," says Alena Koscalova, MSF medical coordinator in Yangon. "Some can not talk anymore, others are highly depressed after they lost their loved ones. In the coming weeks, we will try to address this problem by giving trauma counseling and psycho-social support with mental health specialists."
Over a three month period, MSF expects to carry out around 50,000 consultations at a rate of 500 per day. MSF aims to respond to any disease outbreaks within 24 hours of the reports and to ensure that any patients with severe health problems will be referred to secondary level health facilities. So far, no disease outbreak or alarming rates of malnutrition were reported by MSF’s 36 mobile teams in the delta.
Four weeks after the relief operations started, food, shelter, and access to clean water and remain the biggest needs of the victims. Food supplies have been largely insufficient as specialized agencies have not been able to set up proper distribution channels and in many areas, people have barely received enough to survive, if anything at all. Tens of thousands of people have seen their houses destroyed, lost all their properties and food reserves and have to rely on external assistance.
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Doctors Without Borders is truly one of the most extraordinary organizations on this planet. No matter where tragedy strikes they are there to give aid and life to those who suffer regardless of what they need. While I feel helpless in being able to do as much as I would like to help these people, I know that through helping DWB I am helping them and that gives me peace of mind.
If you wish to help the people of Burma, Doctors Without Borders is for sure a good way to get that help to them. This is another tragedy that I fear is falling out of the consciousness of people now that the initial news cycle is over. However, millions still suffer and the international community must then in my opinion step up and hold the military junta in Burma accountable for the deaths of those who did not receive aid in time due to their dictatorial rule of this country. MSF medical staff have in the past month carried out more 17,000 consultations, with an average of 500 per day in the last week of May... more -
1.5 million survivors in Myanmar without shelter
A severe shortage of housing has left hundreds of thousands of cyclone survivors in Myanmar exposed to heavy rain as the monsoon season begins, aid agencies said Saturday.
The United Nations and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said there was an urgent need for tarpaulins to provide temporary shelter to an estimated 1.5 million homeless survivors. Otherwise, the threats of hunger and disease could intensify, they warned.
"Exposure to the elements five weeks after a disaster of this magnitude has to be a major concern," said John Sparrow, a spokesman for the IFRC. "People are in a weakened condition. They are sick; they are hungry. Without shelter, their whole situation is seriously exacerbated."
Sparrow estimated that only a quarter of those who need shelter materials have been reached.
The U.N. estimates 2.4 million people were affected when Cyclone Nargis hit May 2-3, and warns that more than 1 million still need help, mostly in the hard-to-reach Irrawaddy delta.
John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said "relatively few" of those survivors who were badly affected by the storm have not received any sort of aid. But he said the U.N.'s effort needs to be stepped up because many survivors still need help and supplies.
"I think people are getting to all the main places, although it's not always as easy as it should be," he said. "There's no evidence of starvation at the moment, although as I say many people are still in significant need of aid."
U.N. officials and aid groups have criticized the regime for hindering access to the delta, saying it has prevented enough food, water and shelter from reaching desperate survivors.
The U.N. also said Saturday that a lack of funding was hindering the aid effort, with only $20 million of the required $50 million received to finance logistic efforts that allow it to extend aid operations into remote regions.
A severe shortage of housing has left hundreds of thousands of cyclone survivors in Myanmar exposed to heavy rain as the monsoon seaso... more -
Cyclone Nargis Fundraiser
We are launching an Appeal, to raise $500,000 (CDN) online for emergency aid in response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis. You can use the link below to donate by credit card, so that those in need will receive your money faster. If you are a Canadian taxpayer, the government will match $1 to every dollar of your donation until June 11th, 2008 at no extra cost to you. We are launching an Appeal, to raise $500,000 (CDN) online for emergency aid in response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis. ... more
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Myanmar cyclone: Burma 'to let in all foreign aid workers'
Burma's top leader has agreed to let all foreign aid workers into the country for relief work in cyclone-hit areas. UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon made the announcement after meeting with Gen Than Shwe and 10 other junta officials in Burma's capital. Ban was there for what was called "a last-chance effort" to persuade them to accept much-needed aid and relief experts.
About 78,000 people died and 56,000 are missing after the 2 May cyclone. Ban called Gen Than's decision "a breakthrough."
Yesterday, Burma's junta told Ban that the first phase of relief effort is over. Ban took a "carefully managed tour" of the Irrawaddy delta yesterday to see for himself the damage caused by Cyclone Nargis. It was reported that Ban was taken to a well-managed relief camp, known by locals as a "happy camp." The visit was filmed by state run media, depicting scenes that sharply contrasted the reports from international aid agencies on the ground in Burma that the majority of the 2.4 million affected had yet to receive aid.
The international community remains skeptical about the junta's optimism about relief progress in Burma. Ban Ki-moon said he was "very upset" by what he saw during his tour, and encouraged Burmese not to lose their hope and courage. Burma's top leader has agreed to let all foreign aid workers into the country for relief work in cyclone-hit areas. UN secretary gener... more -
Myanmar cyclone: starvation warning for Burma children
Thousands of children in Myanmar will starve to death in two to three weeks unless food is rushed to them, an aid agency warned Sunday as an increasingly angry international community pleaded for approval to mount an all-out effort to help cyclone survivors.
The United Nations said Myanmar's isolationist ruling generals were even forbidding the import of communications equipment, hampering already difficult contact among relief agencies.
A U.N. situation report said Saturday that emergency relief from the international community had reached an estimated 500,000 people. But the regime insists it will handle distribution to victims of Cyclone Nargis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has been unable to sway Myanmar's leaders by telephone, said he was sending U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes to Myanmar this weekend. Thousands of children in Myanmar will starve to death in two to three weeks unless food is rushed to them, an aid agency warned Sunday... more -
Myanmar: many Burmese attribute cyclone to karma
About 80 percent of Burma's estimated 52 million people are Buddhist, and many there rely on the principle of karma to explain the storm. Many of Burma's people believe cyclone Nargis is a karmic consequence of its military rulers' brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks last year.
The word "karma" is often misunderstood by Westerners as one's inescapable destiny, scholars say. In Sanskrit, the word means "action" and refers to the act that creates one's fate, not fate itself. For Buddhists, particularly those in Southeast Asia, karma regulates morality as firmly as Newton's law rules motion: to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. About 80 percent of Burma's estimated 52 million people are Buddhist, and many there rely on the principle of karma to explain the sto... more -
Myanmar cyclone: Burma death toll jumps to 78,000
The official death toll for Burma's cyclone disaster has jumped to almost 78,000 people, with nearly 56,000 missing, according to state TV.
Previously, Burma was giving a toll of 43,000 dead and 28,000 missing while the Red Cross and United Nations had estimated a death toll above 100,000. Aid agencies are frustrated at the slow progress of aid to areas worst hit.
Cyclone Nargis battered southern regions of Burma, including the Irrawaddy Delta, on 2-3 May. A BBC reporter in the delta this week saw little sign of official help and foreign aid workers have been barred from the area. Heavy rain has been lashing the region, compounding the misery of survivors. The UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, John Holmes, is due to visit Rangoon, Burma's main city, on Sunday in a bid to persuade the military government to grant more access to UN relief workers and expand its aid effort. The official death toll for Burma's cyclone disaster has jumped to almost 78,000 people, with nearly 56,000 missing, according to stat... more -
Myanmar praises Muslim Aid efforts
The country which is reluctant in accepting foreign aid has praised Muslim aid for its relief in the cyclon-hit country. Myanmar Ambassador U Tin Oo thanked Pakistan and its people for their help.
Wahidi briefed the ambassador on relief activities of Muslim Aid. He said 250 families had been provided food by his organisation and they were imparting training to people for water purification.
Earlier this week Islam channel (sky ch 813) appealed for money to help relif efforts in Myanmar, using presenters such as Yusuf Chambers who regularly appears on the Islamic channel Peace Tv (sky ch 823). The country which is reluctant in accepting foreign aid has praised Muslim aid for its relief in the cyclon-hit country. Myanmar Ambas... more -
Doctors Without Borders:Responds to Cyclone In Myanmar
Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, formerly called Burma, on May 2, 2008, affecting several areas of country, and causing a huge number of deaths. More than a week later, large parts of the population remained without drinking water, food, and shelter, and little international aid had reached people in need.
By May 14, 4 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) cargos planes carrying a total of 140 metric tons of relief supplies, including tents, medical material and drugs, pumps and generators for water and sanitation activities, and ready-to-use therapeutic food had arrived in Yangon. Another plane with supplies is scheduled to arrive in Yangon from Jakarta on Friday. The first plane with nearly 40 tons of emergency relief items arrived on the morning of Monday, May 12.
MSF has now more than 250 staff and between 10 and 20 new staff arriving daily. MSF teams are working in Pyanpon, Bogaley, Haingyi, Pyinsalu, Tongwa, Labutta, Thingangon, and Chaungzu. Another team traveled to Dedaye on May 14 in order to assess the situation.
MSF has hired two large boats to use in Pathien (Bassein), an MSF operational hub, bringing the total number of boats used to transport aid in the Irrawaddy Delta to ten. This is combined with the ten trucks that MSF is using to bring aid from Yangon to Pathien. So far, MSF has managed to distribute 275 tons of locally purchased and existing stocks of relief supplies, including food, plastic sheeting, and oral rehydration sachets, in the region. On May 14, MSF teams distributed aid to around 15,000 people and distributed a total of 6,000 plastic sheets
More at the link about Doctors Without Borders and their exceptional work in Myamnar and around the world. They are in my opinion the most reputable organization if you are looking for one to donate to in order to help the people there who need it so desperately. And with reports more erratic weather is heading to the same location, they will need these types of organizations who can gain access to their country. Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, formerly called Burma, on May 2, 2008, affecting several areas of country, and causing a huge number of de... more -
Myanmar Day 2: Operation Blessing Brings Relief
MYANMAR (formerly Burma) - Operation Blessing International is one of the only international NGOs on the ground, bringing relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. In this first-hand report, OBI staff travel deep into a remote village to deliver rice and water purification tablets.
MYANMAR (formerly Burma) - Operation Blessing International is one of the only international NGOs on the ground, bringing relief to th... more -
Tragedy of dead and survivors in Myanmar grows worse
Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis headed out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta in search of food, water and medicine, but aid workers said on Sunday that thousands will die if emergency supplies don't get through soon.
Buddhist temples and schools on the outskirts of the storm's trail of destruction are now makeshift refugee centers.
The U.N. humanitarian agency said in a new assessment that between 1.2 million and 1.9 million were struggling to survive in the aftermath of the storm that struck eight days ago. Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis headed out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta in search of food, water and medicine, but aid workers s... more -
Burma presses for vote as millions face starvation
State-run TV news in Burma today has broadcast repeated calls for people to vote in this weekend's controversial referendum, making no mention of the tens of thousands killed and missing in a devastating cyclone one week ago. Voting has begun despite international appeals for the ruling military to focus on recovery efforts.
Meanwhile the UN is said to be furious at the Burmese military's confiscation of two planeloads of food aid intended for the disaster victims. France and the U.S. have called for aid deliveries to go ahead even if permission from the ruling military junta is not forthcoming.
The referendum got under way today predominantly in the north and far south of the country: the vote has been postponed for two weeks in the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis. Around 50 per cent of Burma's population are eligible to vote, but even before the disaster many saw it as skewed in the military's favour. Officials hope to secure backing for a new constitution.
Western diplomats say up to 100,000 people may have been killed by Cyclone Nargis, while more than one million have been left without shelter, and many more are at risk of starvation and dehydration.
Undercover journalists for Al-Jazeera have mentioned heavy security presence on the streets and intimidation from the military for a 'yes' vote to back the new constitution. This is to be followed in 2010 by a general election, and both polls have been labelled a "road map to democracy" for Burma by the ruling military. The draft constitution guarantees 25 per cent of parliamentary seats to the military and allows the president to hand over all power to them in a state of emergency.
The rules would also bar from public office Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the pro-democracy movement who is currently in custody. Her National League for Democracy party won a general election in 1990, but their victory was ignored by the junta. State-run TV news in Burma today has broadcast repeated calls for people to vote in this weekend's controversial referendum, making no... more -
Mangrove Destruction Partly To Blame For Myanmar Toll: ASEAN Chief
The destruction of mangrove forests that served as a buffer from the sea is partly to blame for the massive death toll from a cyclone in Myanmar, the head of the ASEAN regional bloc said Tuesday.
More than 15,000 people have died after the cyclone swept through the Irrawaddy river delta over the weekend and pounded Myanmar's main city of Yangon, the country's state media reported.
"Why the impact is so severe is because of the increase of the population," said Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which military-ruled Myanmar belongs.
This has led to an "encroachment into the mangrove forests which used to serve as buffer between the rising tide, between big waves and storms and the residential area," he said in a speech in Singapore.
"All those lands have been destroyed. Human beings are now direct victims of such natural forces."
Surin was giving a keynote address at the launch of a new centre at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies to focus on non-traditional security threats. These include climate change, degradation of the environment, and diseases such as bird flu.
The official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the devastated town of Bogalay, in the heart of the Irrawaddy river delta where the storm swept ashore, had suffered most of the losses.
The Irrawaddy is one of the most heavily silted rivers in the world because of deforestation and intensive agriculture activities along its banks, the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation said on its website.
It said land outside the reserved forests has been converted for agricultural use and mangrove forests within the reserve "are now disappearing at a rapid rate."
The centre cited a study which said that if the rate of destruction between 1977 and 1986 was maintained, all mangrove forest would disappear in 50 years.
The destruction of mangrove forests that served as a buffer from the sea is partly to blame for the massive death toll from a cyclone ... more -
Burma embassy takes holiday
I honestly can't believe this.
Western aid experts in Bangkok will reportedly have to wait at least another 4 days to be able to get into Burma with their aid, because the Burmese embassy in Bangkok has closed for a local holiday!
Apparently none of the urgent visas will be processed until Monday or Tuesday, something that the UN WFP aren't best pleased about:
"This is too long to wait for people whose lives are at such a precarious balance."
I honestly can't believe this. ... more -
Burma 'wants aid not foreigners'
Burma wants supplies but not foreign aid workers, its foreign ministry says, hours after the UN chief urged military leaders to prioritise relief workbased on the foreign ministry statement, Burma's government appears unwilling to cooperate. It would accept cash or emergency aid, it said, but not international teams. "Currently Myanmar (Burma) has prioritised receiving emergency relief provisions and is making strenuous efforts to transport those provisions without delay by its own labours to the affected areas" governement says.
Want to learn more about Burma/Myanmar?
http://current.com/items/88942692_why_do_some_people_ca... Burma wants supplies but not foreign aid workers, its foreign ministry says, hours after the UN chief urged military leaders to priori... more -
Call for aid to Myanmar regions hit by Cyclone Nargis
On Saturday May 3rd, Cyclone Nargis hit Burma with wind speeds of up to 120 mph, devastating the costal and inland regions. As of Tuesday May 6th, state officials have estimated the death toll at possibly 100,000. Over 40,000 people are missing and millions more are homeless. Priority emergency relief needs are shelter, food, water, medicines and electricity. Washed-out roads have left many people in more remote areas completely inaccessible. In seven of the worst affected deltas, communities are reporting 90-95% damage. Food is available, but costs have risen 50%. The cost of fuel has risen 100%.
Follow the link to see the different groups and their relative level of access to different regions.
The risk of cholera outbreak is apparently high. Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is on my shortlist. On Saturday May 3rd, Cyclone Nargis hit Burma with wind speeds of up to 120 mph, devastating the costal and inland regions. As of Tues... more -
Yangon Music School Is Now Disaster Relief Organization
With the whole city devastated, water pumps out, no electricity and no help from the military regime in sight, local organizations are coming together to support each other and provide relief to homeless families.
Gitameit music school, which is normally a local NGO that provides scholarships to students from all over Myanmar as well as outreach programs both by their teachers and their students to orphanages and monastery schools in poor townships of Yangon, is focusing it's resources on disaster relief and is accepting donations that can go directly to helping the people of Yangon.
Please visit the above site for updates and information from inside Yangon on what is being done and how you can help. With the whole city devastated, water pumps out, no electricity and no help from the military regime in sight, local organizations are... more
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Cyclone Nargis
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Cyclone Nargis
