Update on Myanmar Cyclone
Posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008, 5:14 PM by Lonely Planet
The United Nations says that up to 1.5 million people may have been affected by Cyclone Nargis, which devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region of Myanmar (Burma) on Saturday. Burmese state media say 22,980 people were killed, but there are fears the figure could rise to 100,000. The regions of
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Many aid organisations are accepting donations, including Medicins Sans Frontier and Australian Aid International.
From inside Myanmar, BBC reporter Paul Danahar describes the misery and fear in the delta region.
Labels: Asia and Pacific, world news
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5 Comments:
good one
I feel very sad for the many people who have been killed and also for their remaining family members. I am also concerned for those who remain affected by the cylcon. However it is clear that the generals of that country do not want the presence of the US. I believe they have accepted aid from other countries. All I hear now is how upset the American people are over the refusal to let Americans and American aid into their country. Why in the world should I be upset. The country has a government who has the right to make the decisions on behalf of their people. Even the govenment there needs time to react to this calamity. How long did it take Bush to react to New Orleans? What about all the people in New Orleans who are still displaced. It is not the DUTY of the US to assist or dictacte to other countries. We offered our help and it was refused. End of story.
The cyclone was a terrible disaster and we all feel very badly for the people who have lost family members. We are all also concerned for the survivors. The US and the has offered aid and it has been refused. The refusal seems to have more to do with letting the workers enter their country then receiving goods. However the generals of that country have the right to make those decisions. I am so tired of hearing how upset we Americans are that we have not yet been allowed to assist them. Before we continue with all the negative coverage about how bad the conditions are perhaps we should allow the rulers of that country some time to try to manage it. Judging by the Bush standard for reacting to disasters (New Orleans) I don't think we can yet criticize. Hey, aren't there still people in New Orleans who are displaced??? Why not worry about us. I am so tired of the US trying to police the world. Being the cynic that I am I believe the US is chomping at the bit to get into this area where they have for so long been prohibited!
> "The country has a government who has the right to make the decisions on behalf of their people."
in normal circumstances, misty, a comment like that would make sense, but throw the burmese junta into the mix and the morality is immediately much trickier.
it's not just the US objecting to the denial of visas for aid workers. it's the united nations (general Than Shwe is refusing to even take phone calls from Sec-Gen Ban Ki-moon), Britain (whose foreign secretary has spoken of the junta's 'malign neglect'), Australia, France... in fact, there's not a country on the planet supporting the junta's course of action.
so, does the junta have a right to make decisions on behalf of its people, if it decides - as it appears to have - to just let them die? it seems to be devoting more effort to chasing foreign journalists from the country (see link) than firing up its paltry seven helicopters to distribute aid. it won't accept forklift trucks to offload aid from aircraft and it's still busy exporting rice.
hurricane katrina ain't the half of it.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2008/05/burma_tackle_the_disaster_not.html
For readers wanting to find out more about the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, check out the UN's Humanitarian Information Centre for Myanmar: http://myanmar.humanitarianinfo.org
The Visual Fusion page in the Map Centre shows some excellent imagery, and for people travelling to Yangon, the Weather ppage has some cool graphics.
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