Help Burma

Publié le 8 mai 2008 par Gaelle, Aisyah, Socheata... what else ?

      Yes, I'm in Cambodia, internet is not always at its top and I'm not aware of most of what's happening in the world. But... Burma is close enough for me to hear about it.

       So, if you're as news-isolated than I am, you may know not that Burma was hit by hurricane - Nargis - last week-end. Officially, there are 23,000 dead and 40-60,000 missing, the majority of them were living in the delta of the Irrawaddy, where 12-feet waves did a remake of the 2004 tsunami.
        The delta is still underwater (5,000 square km, one of the most densely populated of Burma) In many villages, only 20 to 30% of the population made it to Labutta, the "big" city near-by where refugees are flooding.

Rangoon - the biggest city of Burma

Now... We are in Burma. Infrastructures are always be limited and, after the disaster, it's far from being better. The hospitals of Labutta have hardly any doctors and cannot begin to help the people, lacking all amenities. Villagers are brought down to cure their relatives with rusty needles and threads. There is obvisouly a lack of drinking water and the supplies of fuel are running low. The boats are mainly driven by engines, not sails, and with the fuel missing, there are hardly no more "rescue trips" to the villages near-by, to bring survivors to Labutta. For boats with masts, they appear to be using blankets as sails...

The junta postponed the international aid. Big dilemna indeed. If they open the country to international teams, the junta will appear as powerless to help its own people, all the relief missions being done by other countries. But if they don't open the country, they appear as bluntly preventing help from going to the people.
But people are already grumbling. In Rangoon, it didn't take long to notice that the soldiers - so eager to get down in the streets to kill citizens and monks in September - were nowhere to be seen, when people and monks were already working hand in hand to clean the streets and give back a feeling of civilisation to the blasted streets.

In a traditionnal superstitious population, the disaster comes with an interesting timing. On Saturday 10th, the junta is holding a referendum that is seen as merely comforting the generals in the part of the all-powerful leaders. Some were already campaigning against it (and thus were sent to jail) but many were too busy struggling to make a living to be fully interested in politics. The referendum has been postponed in 47 of the most hit districts. But with the hurricane, many are liable to see a sign that the spirits are not any more supporting the junta and may reconsider their vote. It wouldn't be the 1st time that a natural disaster weakens or helps to bring down a government... catastrophe naturelle affaiblirait un regime...

         Obviously, in this kind of country where rulers prefer to put money in their pockets rather than in the community funds, the issue of international aid is double-edged. Some part of it is liable to disappear in some dark corners, teams will be delayed for visa issues and, mainly, the aid will have to submit to the junta's rules.

          So it's here that I introduce the International Burmese Monks Organisation. Being monks and Burmese, their network doesn't use the same ways that traditional internation NGOs. Money goes directly throught the network straight to the temples who are currently sheltering the refugees and helping the population. And being Burmese, they know better than anyone else how to go around the rules of their own country.

         You want to help Burma ? Forget about the NGOs. They can afford big luxury 4x4 and air-con in their office at the thai-burmese border but then tell you "the budget has been overspent, we cannot launch this project" (come and have a look at Mae Sot if you don't believe it)
          As the Organisation is more a network than a real association with offices and website, we got to get through Avaaz to send money to them :

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/

DISCLAIMER : The pictures come from the Democratic Voices of Burma website. To see all the pics and videos : it's here