30,000 Dead in Burma - Page 11 - Ajarn Forum

i1der · 1st June 2008, 10:15

I remember 30 years ago when Burma used to have strong soccer teams, no more. Once, a proud nation now it ruined, military's dictators are doing more harm than good, things there are getting worst.

zehner · 1st June 2008, 20:19

Gates: Myanmar rulers ‘deaf and dumb’ to global offers of aid
Posted: 07:02 AM ET

(CNN) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates lambasted Myanmar’s leaders of being “deaf and dumb” to global offers of aid following a devastating cyclone, and said he will decide in a matter of days to withdraw U.S. ships from the southeast Asian country’s coast.

Gates said the United States has reached out to Myanmar’s ruling junta “15 different times” to convince them to let in international assistance, but the generals “have kept their hands in their pockets.”

“So it has not been us who have been deaf and dumb in response to the pleas of the international community,” Gates said during a question-and-answer session at an international security conference in Singapore.

Gates predicted that a greater number of cyclone victims who reside in hard-to-reach areas will die from water-borne illnesses and malaria because the Myanmar government will not take advantage of the helicopters sitting idle on the U.S. ships.

At the same conference, Myanmar’s defense minister said his government broadcast warnings before the cyclone hit the country last month — and it has acted promptly since then in providing relief.

The CNN Wire: Latest updates on top stories Blog Archive - Gates: Myanmar rulers ‘deaf and dumb’ to global offers of aid « - Blogs from CNN.com

esoteric1 · 1st June 2008, 23:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by zehner

(CNN) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates lambasted Myanmar’s leaders of being “deaf and dumb” to global offers of aid following a devastating cyclone, and said he will decide in a matter of days to withdraw U.S. ships from the southeast Asian country’s coast.

So were they aid ships or military ships?

Boonmee · 2nd June 2008, 02:43

What's an "aid ship", eso?

esoteric1 · 2nd June 2008, 06:03

a ship other than a military ship?

or is that the accepted way to send aid?

food and other 'aid' could be sent on a civilian cargo ship, no?

Boonmee · 2nd June 2008, 06:21

Oh, I see what you mean.

I think the ships were from US Navy just because they happened to be in the area (annual Cobra Gold ex). I think, too, that rather than providing food, etc, they were just hoping to be able to provide manpower & choppers.

tomcat · 2nd June 2008, 08:43

...and maybe a little on-the-ground assessment of current political affairs, as well.

The Junta reaction to US (or French) military ships and personnel should have been expected. A dozen fly-overs dropping medical supplies and water, however, would be (or have been) more efficacious and could have been described as "navigational errors"....The US Air Force has used that excuse many times against far deadlier opponents.

zehner · 2nd June 2008, 09:56

Letter to The Nation's blog community from a Burmese
Posted by Khakaborazi , Reader : 207 , 11:02:40

Print

After running around in foreign land, sitting here and writing out my though and emotional pain about Burma in The Nation's blog for a while, it is now that i do not want to take any more of this suffering.
So I've decided to go back to volunteer in Burma for a month or longer.
Even I live thousand miles away and i felt so terrible about this disaster,
one can imagine how the victims in Burma who have lost everything in life;
love ones, family members, livelihoods and future. And hopefully hope is not one of them ..
Currently there are many local and international volunteers working in Burma. But the victims are still waiting for many more help to come.
Obiously the help doesn't and cannot reach everywhere.Every day, i receive different emails from another Burmese friends or volunteers
asking for help one way or another.

For example, just today, an urgent request from a friend asking for help.
this is one of the typical stories in Burma. please see below mail and you can galance of real life ther.

Dear all,
Last Sunday,I have visited South Dagon Seik Kan, Thilawar, which is 45
min drive from Yangon. There, cyclone destroyed all houses but no
killing. About 2000 people are living in four small primary schools,
ie, about 500 families with small babies, kids and children. The
teachers from the schools lead them to control the situation. They got
only a few donation because most of the people are more interested to
go to Ayeyarwady areas.
The problem is government warn them to move out before 2nd June, to
start the new semester for school. In one of small school, which is
about 25*25 feet area, living about 500 people, kids have to sleep on
the street at night if there is no rain.
Now I am organizing to get urgent shelter for them before coming
Monday. It may cost about 15000-20000 (~15$) Kyats per family, for one small
Plastic sheet roof, about 9*12 feet. It will need about 50,00000 (5000$) Kyats
for 500 families. I get now 2,10000 Kyats in hand.
Anyway, we decide to start with what we get. If you wish to join with
me, please just drop a line.
I will send photos of their situation, when internet connection is better.
Please forward this letter to all your friends who love to help those people.
Thanks a lot.
love
Thanda.
Please contact to this mail or following numbers. XXXXXXX

i remove volunteers name and contact numbers, as i dont want to put their lives on risk as i know how it is in Burma.
Anyway, I felt so relief to myself after booking my air ticket to Burma and talking with some NGO persons working there. I guess i am doing this for my own emotional and psychological confort.
Mean time, over here, we are shipping 7 cargo containers fully loaded with food, cloth, blankets and medicine to Burma next week. None of us has this kind of relief effort experiences but we did it anyway..
We have 40-50 volunteers helping out packing and loading items to the containers on the weekends.
The team, A Burmse community based group here will continue doing their work such as fund raising, will look for more donars and shipping back needed items.
We plan to do a wide scale and long term support from public as well as doing partnership with other NGOs in this country. I'll try to report back from the field to our team here but it is not my priority right now.
I am still not exactly sure what i'll be doing there..
Btw, Thanks to the UN chief for his efforts and Gen Than Shwe (I thanks him anyway for this) for allowing more international aid agency and experts to more access to delta region.
hopefully,most dying people are slowly get back to get breathing since last Sunday.
But i am just wondering if they survive to struggle in life? or they live to suffer?
ButI believe it is never too late to save people's lives.
This is long term recovery process to help people in Burma.
We need HUGE international supports and help to get all these victims lives restarted again even if it is slow process.
people of Burma will always need the world's help as long as it lies next to China on
the world map.
Thank you very much to The Nation and this community (bloggers and readers) here.. The Nation blog has become my therapeutic hide out..
you all have given me courage, idea, energy and Psychological conmfort.

Some of my friends warn me not to go back to Burma since i've been active here and there in this country for the past year.
hopefully i am safe at the Rangoon airport and will be able to write again here if i have a chance.
I need your prayers for the Burmese people, but this time i need more since i'll be one of them..
so, pls wish me luck!!
Take care all..
Khakaborazi

Just my thought

Boonmee · 2nd June 2008, 17:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomcat

...and maybe a little on-the-ground assessment of current political affairs, as well.

The Junta reaction to US (or French) military ships and personnel should have been expected. A dozen fly-overs dropping medical supplies and water, however, would be (or have been) more efficacious and could have been described as "navigational errors"....The US Air Force has used that excuse many times against far deadlier opponents.

I think they decided against air-drops as it would ultimately have been little more than a gesture; so much stuff would've landed either in inaccessible areas, or in water, or have been just picked-up by the Burmese army. It could also have fallen into the hands of criminal gangs and have ended up being sold on the black market, or otherwise hoarded by those who did find it. It could even have provoked fights on the ground between people laying claim to the stuff. I think the international community decided that ultimately it would have been ineffective and wasteful. Air-drops would have made us feel better, but would not in fact have improved things for the affected people.

zehner · 2nd June 2008, 19:42

The US has accused the Burmese military government of "criminal neglect" in its response to Cyclone Nargis, after it was claimed that aid had still failed to reach 200,000 people, a month after the disaster struck.

The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, said he would make a decision within "a matter of days" whether or not to withdraw US navy ships from the Burmese coast. They had been mobilised to coordinate aid deliveries.

"It's becoming pretty clear the regime is not going to let us help," Gates told reporters in Singapore.

Asked if the military junta was guilty of genocide in its response to the disaster, Gates said: "This is more akin, in my view, to criminal neglect."

The Burmese junta responded by insisting its response to the disaster had been "prompt".

But Hakan Tongual, the deputy director of the UN's world food programme in Burma, told Reuters at least 200,000 people had received no help while 500,000 people had been given food and water.

The cyclone, which struck Burma on May 2, killed about 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing. More than 2 million people have been left destitute.

"We haven't been able to get the whole mechanism going. Progress has been slow," Tongul said.

Speaking to the dissident Burmese website, Mizzima, Frank Smithius, the head of Medecins sans Frontieres' Burma team, said: "Four weeks have elapsed after the storm and I think it is quite sad that many villages have not yet received aid."

Josette Sheeran, the director of the world food programme, visited Burma at the weekend to again urge the authorities to lift the bureaucracy delaying aid workers reaching the devastated Irrawaddy delta.

She also tried to negotiate for the agency to be allowed to use one of its helicopters that is grounded in Rangoon.

The junta had promised the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, that foreign relief workers would be allowed into areas worst affected by the storm, but aid agencies continue to report delays.

Lionel Rosenblatt, the president emeritus of the US-based Refugees International, said: "Access remains problematic for logistics staff inside Burma to the delta and for staff trying to get in from the outside. There has been a lot of talk about process but little results we can see."

In the face of continued international criticism, Burma's deputy defence minister, Aye Myint, said the regime had responded quickly.

At an international security conference in Singapore, he said: "Through the prompt and immediate supervision of the supervisory central body, headed by the prime minister and member ministers, relief camps and hospitals were opened, debris was cleared, emergency power and water supply restored."

Cyclone Nargis: one month on, US accuses Burma of criminal neglect | World news | guardian.co.uk

esoteric1 · 2nd June 2008, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by zehner

The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, said he would make a decision within "a matter of days" whether or not to withdraw US navy ships from the Burmese coast. They had been mobilised to coordinate aid deliveries.

I know the military junta in Myanmar are a pack of cunts, but with US past history in the region can you blame them for not wanting US military involved in 'aid?'

I mean we 'helped' so much in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in the past.

Boonmee · 2nd June 2008, 21:20

Quite.

tomcat · 2nd June 2008, 22:35

Where was Gates when Katrina struck?

Somebody in authority certainly needed to castigate Bush babies for inaction then...

Boonmee · 2nd June 2008, 22:45

I reckon the international community should have been trying to help with Katrina, as Bush certainly didn't know what to do...