Burma's Military Too Slow to React to International Aid after Cyclone Nargis

By Zin Linn

Although the United Nations has offered international aid for the thousands of victims of cyclone Nargis which struck Burma (Myanmar), the unsympathetic military leaders of the poverty-stricken country are still turning a deaf ear to the world body. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team has been put on standby to take action to the humanitarian needs if and when required. The UN officials say it could take days before the extent of casualties and damage is known. The humanitarian agencies cannot go in without the permission of the government and hence they would have to seek UN's help. Meanwhile, United Nations agencies and international aid organizations met on 5 May in Bangkok to make preparations for a major disaster relief effort in Burma, where a cyclone killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless over the weekend. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is "deeply saddened" by the loss of life and destruction suffered by the people.

Nearly 4,000 people were killed and thousands were missing in Burma's devastated cyclone regions, state television reports. "The confirmed number is 3,934 dead, 41 injured and 2,879 missing within the Yangon (Rangoon) and Irrawaddy divisions," the evening news report said, radically increasing the toll from the storm that hit on 2 May. reviously the government had said at least 351 people had died during Cyclone Nargis. On the other hand, the local people’s estimation of fatalities is as higher as over 10,000.

According to observations of the Burmese Meteorology and Hydrology Department, at 14:30 Burmese Standard Time Cyclone Nargis was crossing over Haing-Gyi Island in Irrawaddy Division. At the time, the cyclone was still picking up speed and headed towards the east. Officials said that due to the high speed of the cyclone, communities in its path will be confronted with winds of 80 miles per hour accompanied by heavy rainfall. In addition, ocean storm surges of up to 12 feet (3.5 metres) are putting residents of coastal communities at high risk, meteorological officials said.

Military-run Myaddy television station said five regions had been declared disaster zones following Saturday's storm, which packed winds of up to 190 kilometers per hour (120 mph). Early on 3 May, the Nargis, at a wind speed of about 192 kilometers per hour with a diameter of 240 km, hit the biggest city Yangon (Rangoon), the largest city and former capital of Burma (Myanmar) and home to more than six million people. The storm took place for over 10 hours.

Seventy-five percent of the buildings in the Irrawaddy's Labutta Township had flattened and tens of thousands made homeless as the storm swept through parts of the country the following day, according to state media. But, the self-determining observers said that the Bo-ga-lay Township was totally devastated and over three thousand lives were assumed to be perished.

Two-third of dwellings was damaged in suburb of Rangoon. Hlaing-thar-yar, Shwe-pyi-thar and New-Dagon townships were severely battered. Some quarters were blown away completely. But, private spectators could not reach there for bad communication. Downpour, inundation, blocked roads and disrupted communications are getting in the way to assess the full extent of the damage as yet.

In Phyarpone Township, a village called Pyin-si has been disappeared and only 700 villagers survived out of 3000. In Haing-Gyi, there are nearly100, 000 homeless people in the town alone. The military regime provided no rescue-and- relief support. Hundreds of thousands of people's lives are at stake, if no rescue and relief programs start immediately.

In Rangoon, all the roads are still blocked with fallen trees. There is no public transportation system. Almost all land-line and mobile phone-systems are out of service, except very few CDMA lines which are reconnected recently.

All trees around Shwe-da-gon pagoda and along U Wi-sar-ra road were uprooted. All big pagodas are damaged. Only Ka-bar-aye road has been cleaned by uniformed-soldiers from nearby defense industries. The key road to Min-ga-la-don airport or the Prome road has been blocked with fallen-trees and closed so far. No one knows situation about the area where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s home located. All satellite dishes and advertisement signboards were also fallen down by the storm.

The city was thrown into almost total darkness during the night, security concerns mounted as reports of lootings and robberies increased in some poor suburbs. Looting took place especially at numerous food markets, where shoplifter took vegetables and other eatable items. Many shops sold their goods through partly opened doorways for security reason.

The most concerned matter is that all hospitals are hit hard too and patients have to wait for medical personnel in the dark. If International Organizations failed to meet them in time, there may be more unnecessary consequences. The most important thing is to provide drinking-water and medicines for people in the flooded areas especially in the Irrawaddy delta.

According to Chris Kaye, WFP Country Director for Myanmar and acting UN resident coordinator in Yangon, the cyclone caused severe damage in the low-lying city with extensive flooding and roads blocked by falling trees and debris. "The Irrawaddy delta was hit extremely hard, not only because of the wind and rain but because of the storm surge," said Chris Kaye, the U.N.'s acting humanitarian coordinator in Yangon.

According to UN officials, the water supply is unfit to drink in the aftermath of the destruction, raising fears of water-borne diseases. Electricity is not working, landline communications are disrupted, mobile phone communications work sporadically, and radio and television networks are not operating.

Dozens of vessels and numerous sampans anchoring in the Rangoon River were sunk by the forceful wind, said some citizens. There would be many more boats sunk in the rivers and creeks of the delta.

Military regime has declared five divisions and states, namely Rangoon, Pegu, Irawaddy, Karen and Mon, as natural-disaster-hit regions. A national central committee for prevention of natural disaster was also formed with Prime Minister General Thein Sein as chairman to promptly and effectively carry out relief and resettlement tasks.

Shari Villarosa, the top American diplomat in Rangoon, said she was up most of Friday night enduring the whipping winds and torrential downpour that climaxed early Saturday morning.

"The Burmese are saying they have never seen anything like this, ever," Villarosa told The Associated Press. "Trees are down. Electricity lines are down. Our Burmese staff have lost their roofs. There is major devastation throughout the city."

Villarosa expected the damage to be much worse in rural areas where families live in flimsy huts. "That was likely clobbered," she said.

Some people expressed anger that the military-led government had done little so far to help with the cleanup.

"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

Rangoon residents cannot afford to buy construction materials to repair their homes for bad communication and soaring prices. The price of gasoline jumped from US$2.50 to US$10 (euro1.62 to euro6.50) a gallon on the black market and everything from eggs to construction materials had tripled, residents said.

The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups outside of Myanmar called on the international community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and urged the military junta to allow aid groups to operate freely - something it has been reluctant to do in the past.

It is good news that the military regime of Myanmar has invited World Vision to provide assistance in the form of zinc sheets, tents, tarpaulins and medicine. The agency is coordinating with authorities to explore an airlift of emergency supplies into the country from one of its global warehouses.

World Vision Relief agency estimates 2 million people affected: Shelter, water are most urgent needs - World Vision appeals for $3 million in global donations to provide aid.

World Vision assessment teams have been deployed to the hardest-hit areas to determine the most urgent needs. The agency is already providing clothing (sarongs and t-shirts) as well as tarpaulins and blankets to 100 households in the capital, along with 10,000 kg of rice and 7,000 liters of water.

However, people of Burma or Myanmar are bitterly infuriated the junta’s generals who failed to take responsibilities for the victims in the storm-hit areas. Although the country has been suffering disastrous troubles from the Cyclone Nargis, the generals are going to take advantages in the upcoming referendum on 10 May. Situation of the 5 disastrous provinces seems disordered in any aspect, especially to get food and shelter. In addition, every communication system cannot be in service within a month. In such circumstances, even ballot-stations in those areas may not be set up in time, the referendum date should be postponed. But, the generals are going ahead with their seven-step plan without having any sympathy on the people’s sufferings.

Actually, majority of people have already decided casting ‘No Vote’ to the military-proposed draft constitution in the referendum on 10 May. People have also seen a good point aftermath of the Cyclone. If they supported the junta which cares only luxuries for themselves and neglects the miseries of people, they could have been under the yoke of the military dictatorship for another hundred years.

Now in Rangoon, people are saying one another that the Cyclone showed us a forceful way of how to uproot the military dictatorship. That’s why the junta is reluctant to welcome the International Aid Agencies into the country around 10th of May, 2008. They do not want to allow any international eyewitnesses during the referendum. However, the Cyclone paves the way for the international observers toward the historic referendum in military-ruled country.

- Asian Tribune -