cyclone in Myanmar

[phorbesie]

the US is blaming the myanmar government of course...as hypocritical as that is. this is really sad all around. there is so little infrastructure there that it's gonna be hard to even help people.

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government raised its death toll from Cyclone Nargis on Tuesday to nearly 22,500 with a further 41,000 missing, nearly all of them from a massive storm surge that swept into the Irrawaddy delta.

The United Nations' World Food Program began doling out emergency rice in Yangon and the first batch of more than $10 million worth of foreign aid arrived from Thailand on Tuesday, but a lack of specialized equipment slowed distribution.

Despite the magnitude of the disaster -- the most devastating cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people died in Bangladesh -- France said the ruling generals were still placing too many conditions on aid.

"The United Nations is asking the Burmese government to open its doors. The Burmese government replies: 'Give us money, we'll distribute it'. We can't accept that," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told parliament.

Of the dead, only 671 were in the former capital, Yangon, and its outlying districts, state radio said. The rest were all in the vast swamplands of the delta.

"More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself," Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe told a news conference in the rubble-strewn city of five million, where food and water supplies are running low.

"The wave was up to 12 feet high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages," he said, giving the first detailed description of the weekend cyclone. "They did not have anywhere to flee."

As many as 10,000 people died in one coastal town alone.

Information Minister Kyaw Hsan said the military were "doing their best," but analysts said there could be fallout for the former Burma's rulers, who pride themselves on their ability to cope with any challenge.

"The myth they have projected about being well-prepared has been totally blown away," said analyst Aung Naing Oo, who fled to Thailand after a brutally crushed 1988 uprising. "This could have a tremendous political impact in the long term."

U.S. President George W. Bush urged the regime to accept U.S. disaster experts who have so far have been kept out, and said the United States stood ready to "do a lot more" to help.

"The military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country," Bush told reporters, adding he was prepared to make U.S. naval assets available for search and rescue.

SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND HOMELESS

Reflecting the scale of the crisis, the junta said it would postpone to May 24 a constitutional referendum in the worst-hit areas of Yangon and the sprawling delta.

However, state TV said the May 10 vote on the charter, part of the army's much-criticized "roadmap to democracy," would proceed as planned in the rest of the southeast Asian nation, which has been under army rule for the last 46 years.

Its political plans have been slammed by Western governments, especially after the bloody suppression of protests in September.

The total left homeless by the 190 km (120 miles) per hour winds and storm surge is in the several hundred thousands, United Nations aid officials say.

The Information Minister said the government had sufficient stocks of rice despite damage to grain stored in the huge delta, known as the "rice bowl of Asia" 50 years ago when Burma was the world's largest exporter.

But in the delta, even villages that managed to withstand the worst of the winds are running out of food and water.

"There's not much food," one woman at a pineapple stall in Hlaing Tha Yar, an hour's drive west of Yangon, told Reuters. "The price of a cabbage is now 1,000 kyats instead of 250."

In Yangon itself, people queued up for bottled water and there was still no electricity four days after the cyclone hit.

Prices of food, fuel and construction materials have skyrocketed, and most shops have sold out of candles and batteries. An egg costs three times what it did on Friday.

"MASSIVE, TERRIBLE"

The disaster drew a rare acceptance of a trickle of outside help from the diplomatically isolated generals, who spurned such approaches in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Thailand flew in nine tonnes of food and medicine, the first foreign aid shipment, but a Reuters cameraman on the plane said supplies were unloaded by hand as no forklift trucks were available -- a worrying sign of the army's lack of vital kit.

Two Indian transport planes are due to fly in early on Wednesday and more are on standby, New Delhi said.

State media have made much of the army's response, showing footage of soldiers manhandling tree trunks or top generals climbing into helicopters or greeting homeless storm victims in Buddhist temples.

Aid agency World Vision in Australia said it had been granted special visas to send in personnel to back up 600 staff in the impoverished Southeast Asian country.

"This is massive. It is not necessarily quite tsunami level, but in terms of impact of millions displaced, thousands dead, it is just terrible," World Vision Australia head Tim Costello said.

(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Sanjeev Miglani)

[phorbesie]

Edited May 6, 2008 by Guest

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What is the US blaming the Myanmar government for? All the articles I've read have said that Western governments are wanting to help but are being impeded by the junta.

[phorbesie]

one headline today was that the US is blaming them for not warning anybody.

the govt over there is definitely hard to deal with though...nothing new there.

i wish i could help somehow...i have time to go there but no funds. collecting goods to send maybe? any ideas anyone?

[bradm]

any ideas anyone?

I think the best thing would be to donate what funds you can to

http://www.redcross.ca/

As for donating goods,

In-kind donations of food, clothing and other items, while well intentioned, are not the best way to help those in need. There are tremendous processing and transportation costs involved in shipping these items to beneficiaries. Local purchases of food and clothing are more culturally appropriate and effective. Red Cross supplies can be purchased in the immediate area, thereby reducing transportation costs. Cash transfers to the affected region provide the optimum flexibility to our Red Cross colleagues so they can meet the most urgent needs.

Aloha,

Brad

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Bush's quote in the article is good...

"U.S. President George W. Bush urged the regime to accept U.S. disaster experts who have so far have been kept out, and said the United States stood ready to "do a lot more" to help.

"The military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country," Bush told reporters, adding he was prepared to make U.S. naval assets available for search and rescue."

Sad situation all round for the Burmese.

[DevO]

Check out these two images for a startling picture of the scale of destruction in Burma.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2008/05/06/BURMA.pdf

[Kanada Kev]

Take a look at this sat photo. Move your mouse from left to right over it and see the difference. This is a totally devastating situation. Politics makes it even WORSE

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/06/world/asia/20080506_MYANMAR_GRAPHIC.html

[phorbesie]

i'm having trouble seeing the flooding that way. the clouds are not helping me.

still feeling just sick over this :(

[phorbesie]

Canadians Friends of Burma establishes cyclone fund

May 09, 2008

Ottawa - The Canadian Friends of Burma has established a “Burma Cyclone Relief Fund†to raise donation in Canada to help the people of Burma. Cyclone Nagris is an unprecedented natural disaster which has been made exponentially worse by the sheer incompetence, greed and paranoia of Burma's generals. Millions of people are currently facing starvation and diseases after the deadly cyclone stroke across Burma, killing approximately 100,000 people.

One major concern we have is that political dissidents and their family members will suffer greatly because Burma's junta will actively prevent them from receiving aid from the large international NGO's and their affiliates that operate in Burma. Reports out of Burma clearly indicate that Burma's military is stealing aid, playing favourites and in general playing havoc with relief efforts.

CFOB starts accepting donation from Burma supporters across Canada and will send donation to our contacts in Burma to try and ensure those on junta black lists are able survive. Those who want to donate immediately can go to CFOB website www.cfob.org, or donation link

And we also urge concerned individuals, various community groups, schools and workplaces to coordinate this fund raising effort. If you have plan to do so, please contact us at 613-297-6835 or 613-237-8056 or email at cfob@cfob.org

Canadian Friends of Burma

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) is federally incorporated, national non-governmental organization working for democracy and human rights in Burma since 1991. Contact: Suite 206, 145 Spruce St., Ottawa, K1R 6P1; Tel: 613.237.8056; Email: cfob@cfob.org; Web: www.cfob.org

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apparently a Red Cross ship sank trying to deliver aid today. what else could go wrong???

[phorbesie]

US pilots who flew aid to Myanmar get virtual hero's welcome

By Eric Talmadge, The Associated Press

UTAPAO AIR BASE, Thailand - Flying into Yangon, U.S. marine Cpl. Bryan Hampson looked out the windows of his C-130 cargo plane at an expanse of marshland covered with a thick, brown blanket of water.

As the plane broke through the clouds, the crew members didn't know what to expect. His flight Tuesday was only the second one that Myanmar's military junta - often hostile and suspicious of outside interference - had allowed the U.S. military to fly into the cyclone-devastated country.

What awaited was virtually a hero's welcome.

"They kept telling us thank you and shaking our hands," he said of the 40 Myanmar people who unloaded by hand the 9,000 kilograms of emergency supplies on board. "They were really friendly toward us. They were excited to see us."

After strong appeals from Washington, Myanmar allowed the second and third U.S. military flights in on Tuesday and appeared to be willing to accept more, said marine Lt.-Col. Douglas Powell.

Powell said the first flight Tuesday carried blankets, water and mosquito nets. The second took in an 11,200-kilogram load. The two flights came after Myanmar allowed a U.S. air force C-130 cargo plane into Yangon, its main city, on Monday.

"They were very polite, very professional," Capt. Mark Hamilton, the pilot of Tuesday's first flight, said of the Myanmar officials who met the plane.

A Myanmar air force officer even came aboard the plane and took snapshots of the cockpit, he said.

"But the military mostly stood off to the side," Hamilton added.

He described the Yangon airport as being in good condition. "They could fit quite a few large planes in there," he said. "The only issue is the offload."

Powell said a Boeing 747 aircraft arrived at Utapao Airbase in Thailand on Monday night to replenish the supplies available to fly in to Myanmar. Though the flights are military, the aid aboard them is being provided by civilian relief authorities.

The U.S. has pushed hard for the junta to let U.S. troops play a big role in relief operations in the aftermath of the cyclone, which has killed tens of thousands and severely affected an estimated two million people.

The U.S. military, which already has forces in the region for its annual Cobra Gold exercise, has 11,000 troops, at least four ships and potentially dozens of cargo planes nearby that are ready to start assistance operations.

Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Forces, flew into Myanmar on the initial aid flight Monday to try to persuade the junta to relent.

Keating said the U.S. military could provide 90,000 kilograms of supplies a day, which would be a massive boost to the lagging relief efforts. The military could also ferry aid workers to the hardest-hit regions, which remain hard to reach.

But Myanmar state television said navy commander in chief, Rear Admiral Soe Thein told Keating that basic needs of the storm victims are being fulfilled and that "skilful humanitarian workers are not necessary."

The operation, named Joint Task Force Caring Relief, will not go ahead without the approval of Myanmar's military rulers, who have so far refused a broad range of help offers because they fear foreign meddling in their domestic affairs.

That stance - as bodies remain scattered around the countryside and hundreds of thousands of refugees are in need of food and shelter - has generated howls of criticism from around the world.

"I wish their government would accept our aid more than they have already," said Hampson. "We'll come in and give them the aid they need to help their people, then we'll leave."

[mattm]

I don't understand this. The US government is more than happy to murder thousands in Iraq, we're happy to murder people in Afghanistan, why haven't we murdered the Burmese government and sent aid to these people. Civilians are dying in Iraq all the time same with Afghanistan, the Burmese government have forfeited their right to life when they decided to let all these people die like this. Where the hell is the military or coalition of UN forces. Hell, they don't even have to kill the government, just take them and hold them for a while then let them go afterward (I'm all for life but as far as I'm concerned these guys don't really deserve it all that much anymore and it's not just this incident, there are many others). You can't tell me that a country as poor as burma is going to have an army that would even have the slightest chance against a UN coalition. I was in burma a few years back and they aren't all that developped, the army can't be that strong.

Edited May 19, 2008 by Guest

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we're happy to murder people in Afghanistan

the rest of your post was interesting yet kind of scary, but why weaken your argument with this?

Edited May 20, 2008 by Guest
your arguments are kind of scary upon second reading

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We haven't and aren't being attacked by terrorists, why are we in afghanistan?

My understanding is firstly, to rebuild schools, roads, dams, hospitals, irrigation, agriculture, judiciary, business, health systems, economic systems, education systems, government systems. Secondly, to rid the country of Taliban elements that wish to prevent regular Afghanis from having a safe and stable and productive life.

What have they done to canada that we need to be on offensive there?

If by 'they' you mean 'Afghanis,' the only thing they have done is ASK FOR OUR HELP to rebuild and get rid of Taliban that are ruining Afghanistan. Canadian troops are not on the offensive against Afghanis - they are on the offensive against Taliban.

What is the humanitarian peace keeping mission that is keeping our boys there and getting them killed?

See my first answer.

Since I can't think of any viable reason then both our boys/girls are being murdered there and every afghan they kill is also being murdered.

There are plenty of viable reasons as to why Canadian troops are there. It is sad that a number of our troops have been murdered by rogue elements in Afghanistan. It is also sad when innocent Afghanis are killed for any reason, but you can't really think that Canadian troops are over there to 'murder' innocent people. That's the most counter-productive and illogical thing our troops could do.

As for Myanmar, I don't like your argument that the UN should go in and it would be fine because the Army can't be all that strong. Something needs to be done, air-drops, strong-arming the junta, something drastic, but it's a very slippery slope. I have no answer.

[phorbesie]

mattm there is a huge amount of wealth in myanmar, kept by a very few people. there are military everywhere and force is used often. i also saw slave labour when i was there did you not see any of this? not to mention they are heavily supported by china, who have a sizeable military, i'd assume.

anyway the whole situation is a lot more complex than you make it out to be.

aside - i think people can choose to call the country whatever they want and neither way is really right or wrong. for instance, i call it myanmar but not because i like the government there. burma is just a name as well, given by another ruling party. but when i was there, all the people there called it myanmar. it is a more historical name, closer to the "true" name of the country if you will. so if the opposite was true when you were there (not sure when that was), then i don't think there's much of a consensus.

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mattm

Steph's (slavetothegroove) sister just got back from a 6 month stint in Afghanistan. The thing that the afghans wanted more than anything was for us to get the hell out and leave them the hell alone. They do not like us there, they do not want our presence there and according to them, we are not helping

Obviously I can't dispute what Steph's sister says about her experience. I do think that the blanket statement is a stretch though - there's no way that can be proved and it weakens everything it touches.

When I was in Afghanistan, the people I talked to admonished me for being Canadian too - except they wanted Canada to do more "like the Americans." Canada wasn't doing nearly enough to satisfy the people I talked to on the streets, in the markets, in the stores, etc. That was a bit of a shock to me, to say the least. That was almost 5 years ago now, but from what I hear the situation is even more tense because the foreign forces in Afghanistan backed off for a couple years and allowed militants to take hold again. Now they are trying to regain ground.

Add to that the americans get a medal for killing an afghan (and anyone they kill they can label as taliban since most of the young people there couldn't tell a taliban form a stone) and it's not the best situation.

That's blatantly untrue and is complete weaksauce when trying to prove any point except that you've read some anti-American propaganda in your days. It's pretty clear that you have a large anti-military bias and I think that might be colouring your opinions, to say the least.

this is from the ones that are most in need, the poorest ones that wander around, now without homes because of our peacekeeping and rebuilding, the ones whose families are dead in our rebuilding efforts.

That's pretty vague / wrong. Tell me how Canadian troops are killing families to rebuild Afghanistan.

Oh, and to add to that, the canadian soldiers want the hell out of there as well. They also see that nothing is getting done. Again, this could all be lies but why would they lie about it?

Canadian soldiers do not share a unanimous viewpoint about their job. How do you know what they see? The reporting about this could be all / mostly lies yes - I am leaning that way because it's not plausible any other way.

I didn't mean to offend so please don't take offense, this is just what I've heard from someone who is family and I will take their word over the news any day of the week or month or year since the person has absolutely nothing to lose nor any political ties. This may not be true but since this is first hand from someone that was there as a civilian (and therefore has no army bias), it adds even more to her story.

I don't take any offence whatsoever - I hope you don't take any either.

Civilians have just as many biases, if not more, that military service people. I don't think that the fabrication of blanket 'facts' and opinions of soldiers adds anything to her or your story - I think it detracts. I also think it's quite reasonable for a normal person to create an informed opinion by reading / viewing many media reports, hearing from Army people, civilians, even historical anthropologists. You say you'd rather take the word of one person over news sources - why is one source more trusted than many?

Obviously you've heard quite a bit from someone who was there, and that's positive. It just seems that everything you've heard is a big, wrong blanket statement reeking of a probably unjust bias that can't be recognized.

It's a good debate though; doing it on the Internet with tiny snippets of information, some of it second or third-hand isn't all that productive however.

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So, the cyclone in Myanmar eh?

Sorry to take part in the hijack of the thread. Had to respond though.

[AdamH]

"Myanmar begins 3 days of mourning"

Myanmar began three days of mourning Tuesday for some 78,000 cyclone victims after its ruling junta appeared to relent to foreign pressure to let in more outside help.

But most foreign aid workers were still banned from the storm-devastated area, and the United Nations said only 20 percent of survivors had received some form of international assistance.

the rest is at: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/20/asia/cyclone.php

[mattm]

Opinions have been removed. By god, I wasn't exactly serious about invading burma, it's called frustration and anger at watching people die for no reason. I will never, ever, ever support what is going on in Afghanistan either but man, I did not intend to join a debate, just let out some frustration.

AdamH: That is some of the best news I have heard all week if they let the aid workers in.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Guest

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I'm pretty chilled out over here.

[phorbesie]

I'm kind of debating on who the best organization to give money to is. A little here, a little there? Or just one. Humanitarian Coalition sounds good and CFOB is good but since it's not so much a "charity" as an NGO will most of the money go directly there? Hmmm.

[phorbesie]

i just got into a very intense and lengthy discussion with an older burmese guy about the country name. here's the deal...

in their language, the country is and was called Myanmar. so when you are speaking in burmese you call it Myanmar. perhaps the fact that i was learning burmese when i was there and speaking with people there made me do this moreso. but this guy has just insisted to me that when you are speaking ENGLISH or another foreign language, you should say Burma.

so basically in Burmese language it's cool to say Myanmar but in English it is not! Very odd, but I can dig it...I guess his reasoning is that most foreigners have only known it as Burma in the past, so they should not switch over to Myanmar in that case b/c of the legitimacy issue that mattm pointed out earlier. So for foreign people that used to always know it as Burma, you should not change now as that suggests that you are changing for the wrong reason. *the more you know*

wow that was pretty intense but we had a good laugh about it after.

[phorbesie]

and... my apologies if i have ever through my nomenclature caused anyone to unwittingly become a supporter of evil murdering dark lords!

[bradm]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/05/22/5633756-ap.html

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a mission to open up Myanmar to international disaster assistance, said the ruling junta agreed Friday to allow "all aid workers" into the country to help cyclone survivors.

Ban's comments came after a crucial two-hour meeting Friday with the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the country's most powerful figure.

When asked if he thought the agreement was a breakthrough, Ban told reporters, "I think so."

Aloha,

Brad