Archive for May, 2008
Problems With ‘Citizen Journalism’
Posted on May 15, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International, Media.
The inability of foreign correspondents to enter Burma and the government’s strict censorship of the local media make the country a perfect breeding ground for citizen journalism. Burmese and foreigners living there take photographs, write stories and engage in acts of journalism. Without the presence of many professionals, such citizen journalism has been crucial to spreading information on what happens in the closed, isolated land of Burma. But there can also be pitfalls.
Burmanet, which disseminates a daily collection of international articles and commentaries on Burma, put out an alert to its readers to beware of false photographs of the cyclone and its aftermath. It says that while many photographs are legitimate, people have been sending around images that might have come from the Tsunami. Burmanet says this is worrisome because it will affect the relief efforts.
This could have serious consequences, compounding the difficulty of the already complicated efforts to coax the Burmese regime to let in aid and aid workers. Therefore, we encourage you to be vigilant and practice caution when attributing anonymous photos about Cyclone Nargis. Be sure to examine the photo accreditation in order to ensure that the images you are viewing have come from a trusted source. If in doubt, don’t send it.
Inaccurate news and photographs can also affect the credibility of all information coming out of Burma.
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Hometown Paper Covers Me
Posted on May 15, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
My hometown newspaper, the Times Herald Record, in Middletown, New York, ran a short story today on my connection to Burma and my work writing about the political and humanitarian situation there after the cyclone.
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Junta Steals Aid; Money Still Needed
Posted on May 14, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International, Politics.
Reports are now pouring out of Burma about government officials stealing international and domestic aid and then either keeping some of it or selling it to survivors of the cyclone. Here is my story on it in the Huffington Post from last weekend. Foreign aid workers aren’t allowed to accompany the aid and ensure it gets to the survivors. Even Burmese living in the country trying to donate are now forbidden from traveling to the Irrawaddy River Delta, where the worst damage was done, to provide relief.
And now, as horrible as it is unimaginable, UN meteorologists predict that a second cyclone will soon hit Burma and further endanger the lives of the remaining survivors.
Despite the difficulties in getting aid into the country and then to the survivors, more donations are desperately needed. Dead bodies continue to litter the delta and contaminate the drinking water. About 2 million people are homeless or at risk of disease.
Please think about how you can donate. Remember the outpouring of support after the 2004 tsunami. Reporters can’t travel around Burma and write compelling stories that attract donors’ eyes. Tourists aren’t there. Photos are limited and the junta just banned cameras from the delta. But Burma still needs help. The Irrawaddy is collecting money for its reporting. US Campaign For Burma is raising funds for relief. And my husband is collecting money to send to his family and community in Rangoon so they can afford food and water. He will give the money to a friend who is traveling to the region soon. Please help. Thank you.
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Child Survivors at Risk
Posted on May 13, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
UNICEF regional head Richard Bridal said children who survived Cyclone Nargis in Burma are now at risk of being kidnapped and trafficked while they search for safety.
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A Voice from Burma: Pls Invade
Posted on May 13, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
TIME magazine carried a story Saturday asking if it was time to invade Burma because 100,000 were dead, 1 million at risk, and Burma’s ruling junta refused to allow most aid and foreign relief workers into the country. Ben Cohen then called the TIME article “ridiculous, irresponsible and downright idiotic” in his blog for the Huffington Post. Now a reader named Thawta adds a Burmese perspective to the question. Thawta left this comment on my blog:
PLs make him and US citizen to understand that Myanmar welcome US Army to invade Myanmar.
Now people in Myanmar are looking into sky and hopping US Army to enter myanmat to arrest SPDC junta.
We,Myanmar ppl, really need powerfull country likes US to help us to get Democracy.
We really need help from world countries.
Today Myanmar Junta sealed off the disaster area. Even Burmese people cannot enter that zone unless their ID card belong to that area. That’s really bad.
The rulers don’t allow aid agencies as well as Myanmar volunteer to enter that zone.
Pls help people from world to understand that Myanmar people really welcome US Army as well as others.
It’s not an easy question, and not all Burmese welcome invasion. I asked a friend about it last night, and she wrote on Google Chat, “i want all peaceful way otherwise the victims will suffer more.”
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Blog from Burma
Posted on May 13, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International, Media.
An American friend living in Rangoon recently started a blog to chronicle his experiences there during and after the cyclone.
Needless to say, most residents of southern Myanmar were entirely unprepared for the resulting devastation. For nearly 15 hours the storm terrorized Yangon’s population of more than 5 million people, uprooting trees, knocking down billboards and power lines, tearing the metal sheeting from rooftops and flooding low-lying areas.
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Photos of Devastation
Posted on May 12, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
People keep emailing me photos of dead Burmese children floating in dirty water. The photos of Cyclone Nargis victims are gruesome, disturbing, just plain horrible. I am adding a link to them just in case looking at the images encourages someone to donate more or care more about the survivors. Beware - these images will probably make you cry. This blog juxtaposes photos of dead cyclone victims with those of Burma’s ruling generals voting in Saturday’s constitutional referendum.
The UN estimates the death toll now stands at 102,000.
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Op-Ed in Hartford Courant
Posted on May 12, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
Please check out my op-ed in Tuesday’s Hartford Courant. I wrote a story about daily life in Rangoon after last week’s cyclone based on email exchanges with an extended family member, called Myat.
The next day, five days after the cyclone, Myat told me that people were forced to leave shelter areas “because they don’t like ppl gathering.” The Burmese government is so afraid of political unrest that even during a massive humanitarian crisis, its focus is on ensuring that victims do not organize, and relief areas do not become hotbeds for anti-government demonstrations.
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An Unlikely Role Model: the Chinese Govt
Posted on May 12, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
The Chinese government doesn’t exactly have a good reputation, but its response to Monday’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake should even further embarrass the Burmese junta. This excerpt is from the New York Times (which was able to send reporters to the scene on the first day - unlike in Burma where the junta deported the foreign correspondents it found.)
Officials quickly mobilized 50,000 soldiers to help with rescue efforts, state media said. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao flew to the scene and was shown coordinating disaster response teams from the cabin of his jet.
The prime minister later stood outside the damaged edifice of the Traditional Medicine Hospital in the city of Dujiangyan, shouting encouragement at people trapped in its ruins.
“Hang on a bit longer,” he said in televised remarks. “The troops are rescuing you. As long as there is the slightest hope, we will never relax our efforts.”
Can anyone imagine Burma’s Sen. Gen. Than Shwe shouting encouragement to survivors of Burma’s cyclone? Than Shwe did appear in public (see below, courtesy of AFP) to vote in Saturday’s referendum on the sham constitution.
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‘Tea Money’ for Relief
Posted on May 11, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
Local government officials in Rangoon, Burma, are using Cyclone Nargis as an opportunity to make a buck. Some are selling aid and bribing residents, according to sources in Rangoon. See my article on the front page of today’s Huffington Post.
