Archive for May, 2008
Facebook and Burma
Posted on May 11, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International, Media.
A number of groups have been formed on Facebook that address Cyclone Nargis. At least 13 different ones seem to be about raising money for victims of the disaster. A particularly poignant group is called, “Waiting to Hear From Family in Burma.” It has 87 95 members so far. One message, apparently from David Khin in New York, reads “waiting, waiting and still waiting…”
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Aid by Force?
Posted on May 10, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under Uncategorized.
TIME magazine has an article asking if the international community should invade Burma in order to provide humanitarian relief.
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History of the Delta
Posted on May 10, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
The Irrawaddy has an interesting piece on the historical and geopolitical importance of the Irrawaddy delta, the region in Burma worst hit by the cyclone.
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Selling Relief
Posted on May 10, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
A friend in Rangoon says people are suspicious that the junta is taking the international aid and selling it. She says this also happened when she was a child and UNICEF drugs were sold instead of given out as aid.
She wrote:
Today, we found salt packages from thai in the market and suspect that they are from foreign aid for emergency relief. We are not sure but feeling bad because we know things like that happens all our life. Drugs from UNICF can buy from the market when we were young. They [meaning the junta] are always shameless.
She also wrote:
It’s frustrating that supplies are ready to come in from outside and those bastards do not let them in.
What are you hearing from Burma? Please leave information in the comments.
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Propaganda
Posted on May 10, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
A friend in Rangoon says individuals are not allowed to donate directly to victims of the cyclone. They must give all aid to the ruling junta, who then distributes the aid as if it’s from them.
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Photos from Rangoon
Posted on May 9, 2008, by Aung Moe Win, under International.
An expat living in Rangoon took these photos on May 3, 2008, hours after Cyclone Nargis ripped through Burma.
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The Freedom To Be Named
Posted on May 9, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
A friend living in Rangoon has been sending me daily emails about what is happening there in the aftermath of Cyclone Nagris. She has written about the price of food and water skyrocketing, the lack of government help in the cleanup, soldiers posing for photographs instead of providing services, and the state media carrying only propaganda and lies.
At a time when foreign correspondents and relief workers aren’t allowed into the country, her information is critically important. It is a rare window into the aftermath of the storm.
And yet, my friend can’t get any credit for her help. She is so afraid of getting caught communicating with a foreigner and the international press that she will only give information anonymously.
When I asked how I should refer to her, she requested I call her my friend and then wrote: “Actually, I am so ashamed to said ‘not to use my name’. But I do not really want to be harmed for the time being. I know they are so quick at catching info like that and harm[ing] people.”
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“Unprecedented” and “Astonishing”
Posted on May 9, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
The government that rules the isolated nation of Burma didn’t have a good reputation before Cyclone Nargis devastated the country. The ruling military junta, ironically called the State Peace and Development Council, kidnaps children to serve in its 400,000-member Tatmadaw or army. Burma has 70,000 child soldiers, more than any other country. The junta employs forced labor to build its roads and limited infrastructure. It burns down villages in Eastern Burma, denies Muslims citizenship or the right to travel or marry in Western Burma, forbids freedom of speech or press, and guns down peaceful protesters and monks.
But its response to Cyclone Nargis may top the chart. Who would have thought the junta could get any worse?
The Burmese government is single-handedly making a horrendous natural disaster significantly worse by not allowing the United Nations and foreign countries to send aid workers into the country and deliver relief services to the victims of the cyclone. (Breaking news: ONE American plane will be allowed to enter Burma. ONE.)
The UN estimates that 1.5 million people are now at risk of dying of starvation or other diseases because they have not received help.
1.5 million people. The junta is so afraid of looking bad, so afraid of losing face by revealing that it can’t take care of the disaster on its own, that it is putting 1.5 million of its people at risk of disease and death. UNICEF estimates that one out of five children in areas worst hit by the cyclone already have diarrhea due to lack of clean drinking water.
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Leave Information Here
Posted on May 9, 2008, by Aung Moe Win, under Uncategorized.
Burmese around the world are visiting this site. Please share information on the cyclone that you have received from inside Burma here. Leave a comment.
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My Piece on Day to Day
Posted on May 8, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
Please listen here.
