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Breaking News: 'No Foreigners, No Cameras' in the Irrawaddy delta: Burme...
Burma's reclusive military junta has banned foreign aid workers from entering the Irrawaddy Delta, the region hit hardest by Cyclone Nargis, sources in the military said.
Burma Prime Minister Lt Gen Thein Sein on Tuesday told local Burmese businessmen assigned to help the reconstruction in Rangoon and the Irrawaddy Delta that foreigners would not be allowed in.
During the meeting held at Rangoon Military Command Headquarters, Thein Sein also said that anyone assigned to relief and reconstruction would not be allowed to carry cameras, the source said. Burma's reclusive military junta has banned foreign aid workers from entering the Irrawaddy Delta, the region hit hardest by Cycl... more -
Local officials attacked by cyclone victims in Rangoon division
A local official in Rangoon Township received serious head injuries when three desperate cyclone victims attacked him for failing to distribute aid supplies on Friday, a local resident said.
Three victims, whose homes and properties were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis on Friday, attacked the chairman of the Ward Peace and Development Council of Kwungyan in Thwante town, southwest of Rangoon, for failing to distribute relief material provided by Medicines San Frontiers (MSN), also known as doctors without Border.
"The chairman sustained injuries on his head but was not hospitalised," the local said.
The MSF last week donated several bags of rice to the ward's Buddhist monastery to be distributed to cyclone victims. But the abbot of the monastery handed over the rice to the local authorities saying he was not capable of calculating and therefore requested the authorities to take charge of the distribution.
The local resident said the authorities failed to distribute the supplies and held on to it for two days. When the villagers asked about it, the authorities could not give a proper answer.
"So, the three men were outraged and started attacking the Chairman," the local, who wished not to be named, said.
He added that several people in the ward, affected by the cyclone, were looking forward to the relief and after waiting for two days, people started thinking that the authorities must have distributed the rice among themselves without giving it to the victims.
The MSF's aid is the first relief that the villagers saw and were desperately waiting to get a share to alleviate their sufferings. A local official in Rangoon Township received serious head injuries when three desperate cyclone victims attacked him for failing to d... more -
How to help Cyclone Nargis victims
International and domestic aid agencies accepting contributions for assistance for those affected by the cyclone in Burma.
ADRA International
Myanmar Cyclone Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(800) 424-ADRA ext. 2372
http://www.adra.org
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"Nargis Victims of Myanmar Trust"
Bank:
Washington Mutual
address:
Yorba Linda Financial Center 1358
20385 Yorba Linda Blvd,
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
Phone:
1-800-788-7000
Name of account: "The Nargis Victims of Myanmar Trust"
Account # 34033 45916
ABA# 321180748
Swift Code# WMSBUS66
Routing # 322271627
If you are going to sent the check, please use this address and payable to "The Nargis Victims of Myanmar Trust"
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Action Against Hunger
247 W. 37th St., 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
(877) 777-1420
http://support.actionagainsthunger.org/donate
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American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
JDC: Myanmar Cyclone Relief
P.O. Box 530
132 East 43rd St.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 687-6200
http://www.jdc.org
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American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(800) 889-7146
http://www.ajws.org
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American Red Cross
International Response Fund
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
(800) HELP-NOW
http://www.redcross.org
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American Refugee Committee
430 Oak Grove St., Suite 204
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 872-7602
http://www.arcrelief.org
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AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave.
Stamford, CT 06902
(800) 486-4357
http://www.americares.org
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Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team
6810 Tilden Lane
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 984-0217
http://www.amurt.net
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Baptist World Aid
Myanmar (or Burma) Relief
405 North Washington St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 790-8980
http://www.bwanet.org
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CARE
151 Ellis Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30303
(800) 521-2273
http://www.care.org
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CHF International
8601 Georgia Ave., #800
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(866) 779-2CHF
http://www.chfinternational.org
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Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
2850 Kalamazoo Ave., S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49560-0600
(800) 55-CRWRC
http://www.crwrc.org
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Church World Service
28606 Phillips St., P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
(800) 297-1516
http://www.churchworldservice.org
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Concern Worldwide U.S.
104 East 40th St., Suite 903
New York, NY 10016
(212) 557-8000
http://www.concernusa.org
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Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
(805) 964-4767
http://www.directrelief.org
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Episcopal Relief and Development
815 Second Ave., 7th Floor
New York, NY 10017
(800) 334-7626
http://www.er-d.org
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Food for the Hungry
1224 East Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
(800) 248-6437
http://www.fh.org
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Habitat for Humanity International
Cyclone Nargis
121 Habitat St.
Americus, GA 31709-3498
(800) HABITAT
http://www.habitat.org
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International Medical Corps
1919 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 400
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(800) 481-4462
http://www.imcworldwide.org
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International Relief Teams
Attn: Myanmar Cyclone
4560 Alvarado Canyon Road, Suite 2G
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 284-7979
http://www.irteams.org
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International Rescue Committee
(Note on checks: Myanmar)
P.O. Box 96651
Washington, DC 20090-6651
(877) REFUGEE
http://www.theIRC.org International and domestic aid agencies accepting contributions for assistance for those affected by the cyclone in Burma. ... more -
More aid reaches Rangoon, but still needs to reach delta
Though more aid, including an aircraft from the United States, made its way into Burma on Monday, UN agencies and NGOs doubted whether it will reach needy survivors in time.
At least 10 flights of the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) landed in Burma's former capital Rangoon today, carrying relief material. The first of such aircraft was from the United State's Army, which flew into Burma from Thailand.
The World Food Program said they have sent three flights with relief materials on Saturday.
Matt Cochrane, media spokesman for IFRC said, "We had 10 flights of aid arriving in Rangoon today, and have further flights planned this week, of which at least nine aircrafts will land on Friday."
"We have been able to send aid but the challenge is whether the relief material reaches the worst affected areas," Matt Cochrane said.
Some of the relief supplies airlifted include tarpaulin, jerry cans to carry water, mosquito nets, emergency shelter kits and hygiene kits Cochrane. He added that they have been able to send in at least nine expert aid workers to Burma.
"We got some experts who have gone into Burma. Their role is to try to make sure that needs can be accessed and identified and reach the right aid to the right people," he added.
Despite being affiliated to the Myanmar Red Cross Society and having been able to send in a few experts, the IFRC said reaching people in the heart of the Irrawaddy delta is still a problem.
Cochrane said one of the main reasons was because nearly all infrastructures have been destroyed. Roads have been damaged and bridges knocked down so communication is extremely difficult.
"So we are carrying relief material by boats," Cochrane said.
An IFRC boat carrying relief supplies on Sunday sank on the Irrawaddy River near Bogale town when it hit a submerged tree root.
"Yesterday [one of] our boats sank in the Irrawaddy area, [but] luckily no one was hurt," Cochrane said.
A US embassy spokesperson in Bangkok said while the Burmese government allowed a C–130 military plane today with relief supplies, their aid workers and experts have not yet been granted Visas.
"They have not got visas yet," said the US embassy spokesperson, who declined to be named, adding that barring experts going into the cyclone affected areas slowed down the process of reaching the most needy victims. Though more aid, including an aircraft from the United States, made its way into Burma on Monday, UN agencies and NGOs doubted whether... more -
Burmese journals face restrictions on cyclone coverage
Burmese authorities have placed restrictions on journalists covering the deadly cyclone, but Burmese reporters have more freedom to move inside the country than foreigners.
Burmese journalists were free to travel to the hardest-hit disaster sites, but were not allowed to publish detailed photos of dead bodies or report that survivors were not getting enough aid.
"Journals are covering pictures of devastated general cyclone scenes of Rangoon and Irrawaddy Division," said an editor of a weekly journal who does not want to be named. "But we cannot mention about the insufficient aid for cyclone victims in delta regions and we are not allowed to publish close-up photographs of dead bodies in our journals."
Meanwhile, local journalists were closely watched by authorities and found it difficult to conduct interviews with survivors and take pictures of the scenes. They are only allowed to mention the death tolls broadcast or published in official state media.
"If you are carrying a camera, some authorities come and ask some questions, and we can only take photos when they are away," said an editor who returned Sunday from Kunchankone and Kawhmu Township, which is close to Rangoon.
A young weekly-journal reader said, "I just saw some general pictures of devastated Rangoon. I did not see some pictures of dead bodies and the real situation of the delta, which people outside talk about."
The cyclone hit hardest in the southwestern parts of the delta, where tens of thousands are dead and many more reported missing.
"I am not satisfied reading such general views of the cyclone in journals," the young reader said.
But some experts and analysts said that Burma has more media freedom than it did five years ago, when journalists were not allowed to cover natural disasters and crimes at all.
"The journals here cover as much as they can about the cyclone, but it is just enough as Burma has had no freedom of expression for many years," said the editor of a local magazine who does not want to be named. "But they could not portray the actual situation of cyclone refugees in the delta and the detailed scenes of the regions."
People are angry at the government for not issuing a proper warning to the public about the approaching storm, the editor said.
"The villages should be destroyed by the cyclone but people should not die like that," he added. "They [the government] could have saved people by moving them to other cities before the cyclone hit." Burmese authorities have placed restrictions on journalists covering the deadly cyclone, but Burmese reporters have more freedom to mo... more
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