NOTHING summed up the Burmese military dictatorship’s neglect of its people as
hauntingly as the scenes of desperation last week in Bogale, a southern town
in the Irrawaddy delta.
Two weeks after Cyclone Nargis devastated much of the region, killing tens of
thousands, people in dire need of food, drinking water and medicine were
huddled in schools, temples and makeshift shelters barely clinging to
survival amid heavy tropical downpours.
Bodies rotted in the rice fields, ignored and unclaimed. After weeks in which
it had dismissed the estimates of the aid agencies, the government revised
its toll of the dead and missing on Friday night to more than 133,000, in
line with the agencies’ estimates. But experts warn that it has not reached
its peak and could go as high as 200,000.
As many as 2.5m famine and disease-threatened people are at risk, their crops
and livestock ruined. According to the latest United Nations figures, more
than 1m victims have received no humanitarian assistance.
When a solitary truck arrived from the former capital of Rangoon on Thursday
carrying food supplies organised by The Sunday Times, hundreds of people
crowded around, some with hands outstretched pleading for help, some
hammering with their fists on the sides driven nearly mad by hunger and
thirst.
The military regime that has ruled Burma for more than four decades is deeply
suspicious of western interference. It has cordoned off the delta and
rejected requests from foreign and multi-national aid teams to deliver
relief supplies. It has ignored fierce condemnation of its neglect by the UN
and Britain, and by America and France, which both have naval ships offshore
ready to deliver aid.
As the situation continued to deteriorate last week the regime was being put
to shame by its own people desperate to help: students, taxi drivers,
factory workers, some of whom had also lost their homes, were making the
arduous road journey into the delta, donating food, clothes and water to the
cyclone victims.
“They are true humanitarian heroes,” said Bridget Gardner of the International
Red Cross.
In an attempt to test the severity of the blockade, this newspaper dispatched
a lorry of food-stuffs from Rangoon to Bogale. It was allowed to pass
through roadblocks but the western journalist accompanying it - in other
words, me - was not.
It fell to three brave Burmese citizens to distribute the food. They took
photographs of the appalling scenes that they witnessed in Bogale: wretched
survivors with broken limbs that had yet to be treated by doctors; babies
sleeping on banana leaves in the mud.
“As we drove out of the villages, people were crying, weeping, ‘Please,
please, give us rice, anything’,” said one of the team members who, for his
own safety, can be identified only as Win. During their two-day journey in
and out of the devastated region, several government helicopters passed
overhead. None landed to help people marooned without food.
“My heart is crying,” said Chi, another team member. “The Myanmar [Burma]
government has given nothing. We saw no government aid.”
The aid distributors recruited by The Sunday Times were themselves victims of
the cyclone. Half of Win’s home had been destroyed and when we met he was
sleeping with his family in Rangoon under a tarpaulin.
Chi had an infected gash in his shoulder caused by a branch that had fallen on
him during the cyclone. With them was Tun, a jovial retired army major whose
presence on the expedition was considered essential for clearing a path
through military roadblocks.
The truck seemed to be held together by bits of wire and had to halt when the
radiator boiled over. The broken tarmac flashed by through great holes in
the floor but it had ample space for our cargo of rice and chicken noodle
soup. The road soon left the city and passed across wide rice paddies, still
flooded, with broken homes and villages and flattened palm trees on either
side. We were waved through two checkpoints and within three hours were
rattling towards the large town of Kun-yangon. Here, too, we were allowed to
pass. Suddenly, it seemed, we were within striking distance of Bogale.
A man in an army uniform on a motorcycle pulled us over. Tun’s smile faded.
The soldier inspected my passport. I was told to stay in the van while the
others were questioned. They were told that “the foreigner” had to go back
to Rangoon.
I suggested hiding with the rice under the tarpaulin. “No, very, very
dangerous,” said Win. “They shoot you, maybe.”
It was decided that Win and Chi would go on with the truck to Bogale. Win took
my camera and tape recorder, which he rammed into his trousers.
The major and I went back to Rangoon. When we were reunited on Friday, my
friends looked distraught. “Bogale is totally broken, broken, broken,” Win
said. “Every home is broken. There are 130,000 dead. The villages have no
electricity, no lights, no lunch, no dinner, no hope. The people are broken.”
He explained how they had parked the van in the centre of town, where they
divided up the food into small bags and handed it out. It was obviously just
a drop in the ocean and tears appeared in Win’s eyes as he recalled the
hundreds who came asking for food, the scale of the suffering. “Bogale is
just one place,” he said. “But there are people in need everywhere.” Today
Sir John Holmes, the UN’s chief humanitarian officer, was due to fly into
Burma on a mission to push the generals to lift their restrictions. He will
hear grim news: Save the Children estimates that more than a third of
children under five in the affected areas are already chronically
malnourished. Weakened and vulnerable, many are likely to die within two or
three weeks unless they receive food.
Unicef says it fears a dysentery epidemic as people drink water directly from
rivers polluted by the bodies of people and livestock. “The water in the
whole area is contaminated,” said one official.
On past performance, the generals will be impervious to Holmes’s pressure. It
knows that China, its close ally, will block any moves in the UN security
council to authorise relief in the face of their objections.
Yesterday Gordon Brown called the regime “unnatural”, accusing it of “inhuman
action”. France is leading calls to invoke a UN clause to force aid through
to the victims even if the generals refuse to open the door.
Jean-Maurice Ripert, the French ambassador, warned at a meeting of the
security council that the tragedy was turning “slowly from a situation of
not helping people in danger to a real risk of crimes against humanity”.
Some help was trickling through. By Friday, Unicef had sent 100,000 packs of
oral rehydration salts, many more essential drugs, tarpaulins and bleaching
powder to purify water in wells. Several dozen doctors from neighbouring
countries have also finally been admitted. But international aid experts say
a much greater and faster relief effort is essential to save lives,
particularly with the first cases of cholera being reported.
To help the 300,000 most in need would involve 10 times the current relief
effort, said one foreign aid official: “Without that extra help, tens of
thousands will die in the next few weeks. The death toll may double.”
Having stopped experienced foreign aid workers from getting involved, the
junta has delegated responsibility for distributing foreign aid to business
tycoons such as Te Zay, an arms dealer who heads the local airline, and
Steve Law, son of a drugs baron and owner of a construction company. Some
were branding packets of foreign aid with their own corporate logos and
filming themselves handing them out. Other sacks of food intended for the
desperate south were turning up for sale in the markets of Rangoon.
Donate to the UK Disasters Emergency
Committee's Burma Cyclone Appeal
kat, Thailand,
A million thanks. It is Lim alright. Who is Tay Zar?
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Lim
The new light of Myanmar is the juntamouthpiece - no western meddling to be seen in this baby. As you have internet access do some googling for people's daily etc. I think you are a bit of a stirrer but keep it going - is your name really Lim or Tay Zar?
kat, Thailand,
Janet, Zhejiang, China
R u Chinese or a west? If y r Chinese, surely u wld understand Myanmar better. Hv you any Chinese compatriots living in Myanmar? If yes, communicate with them on the actual situation. I just can't believe the junta is made of stone without feelings. Even dictators will cry.
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
s lau, london, UK
Thk u I will do just that. There is an apparent lack of Asian media with Asian perspectives. Almost all are from d west.
Anyway it had been agreed that Asean relief teams took direct responsiblity on the handling of relief and aid to the victims.
Best wishes to Myanmar
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
It is really heartbroken to hear this kind of inhumane rulings.
Lack of food,water,shelter,etc;Dead bodies here and there----What a nightmare!
Wish all survivors in Burma walk out of the plight.
Janet, Zhejiang, China
Lim
if you want the Asian angle on the Burma story then read around; no one is stopping you. Then weigh it all up and see what the truth is. Are the Junta stonewalling or are they helping their people - then let us all know.
s lau, london, UK
SusanC, New York City, NY, USA
Susan, u r enlightening. thanks. I did not know Britain has such problems too. Don't these old folks have human rights? Just wondering why the Brits & West have so much interest in Myanmar so far away yet at home they have such problems.
Very very suspicious.
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
kat, Thailand,
Friend, thank u. I never joke when the issue is a serious one. I have seen one side of the coin, thus I would like to see the other side too. A balanced view is what we all should have.
By the way is "New Light of Myanmar" a western sponsored web page? I hv no access to Ch.papers
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
I look forward to hearing about a 'mercy mission' of Burmese nationals parachuting into Britain with the intent to feed the elderly folk who are slowly starving to death in so-called 'care homes'...
SusanC, New York City, NY, USA
Words now..."FAIL ME"...as "HUMANITY" hopelessly fails "BURMA". It's atrocious!
v.gerrard, Dublin, Ireland
Lim from Malaysia - unbiased coverage from Burma? Please you must be joking - have a look at the webpage for the New Light of Myanmar to see what high quality reporting comes from the junta. I am sure you could also look at the mainland chinese papers too. That should keep you well informed.
kat, Thailand,
The rest of the world criticized the USA vigorously and at length for invading Iraq which ws a hostile nation that was shooting at our ( and YOUR - British) planes, as well as supporting terrorists. Now we are supposed to invade Burma to please the UN? NO THANKS!
Tom, Chicago, USA
If his own party is falling to pieces, and does not respect him what do you think othe Burma Junta, thinks of Dear Old Gordon , we need a leader who will do something.!
pete gardner, Ho Chi Minh City ,, Vietnam.
I am sad news on Myanmar come only from the West. Even my news paper, the articles are from AFP or Reuters. The West also dominates the TV channels. For a balance view, I really want to see some news from the country direct or at least from non aligned independent Asian sources.
Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
World opinion should turn against China, all they care about is there economic interests in Burma. On the back of there aggressive attitude to Tibet it's about time the world community uses it's muscle and boycott's chinese goods ! Remember that the government of Burma is an illegal one not elected
barrie, bangkok,
Some civilized country or coalition of countries should invade Burma and depose the bandits pretending to be the country's government.. The Burmese army's active interference in aid efforts is the last straw -just the latest of a long line of abuses of the people of Burma. Free Burma!
Tim Dunn, Arlington, USA
hey people,
Burma has tons of natural gas; invade us...seriously, we need help. Instead of having cruel government, it is better to be occupied.
Nyein , Rangoon, Burma
It seems to me that china needs to be the ones who move to get aide to the people. They are their closest ally and about the only ones they trust.The rest of the world could send their aide to help out but china needs to push the burmese government to let aide into their country.
Grant Donnelly, Hillwood Tas , Australia
many people in New Orleans was left on their on own after Katrina, many did not get any help at all, media showed what we now critisize china and burma of just showing, but i could not hear any complaints about how USA treated the survivers after Katrina.
People are servile and believing the lies.
Tim, Barnsley, UK
I've got the perfect idea: let's pretend that Burma has WMDs! Then we can invade, topple the regime, help all the starving people, and then leave. It won't matter if we ever find the WMDs or not. Who's with me?
jj, Columbus, US
Instead of arrogant Brown criticising, if he were to say "The World understands your reticence, we as colonials have form and deserve your mistrust however if you allow us to help, as the World Media is our witness we undertake to leave immediately you demand that we do so"
They just might listen
Anne Kent, Dorset,
Its more than a lack of will. we have problems on our own soil and trouble with emxico with the drug cartels running the country. I say take the troops from Korea and place them on the American border. Its time for American soldiers to defend Americans for once. The world has to fend for itself once
thomas, palmdale, USA
For once I agree with Brown. If only our military weren't so burdened with other matters, I would support action to remove this despicable regime. We have had regime change in Iraq, but not Burma or Zimbabwe? The rest of the world can't sit on our hands watching any longer.
Paul, West Midlands,
I think if the 'powers that be had an excuse to go into IRAQ for a regime change, this constitutes a valid reason fo them to go into Myanmar.
1.UN resolution-emergency meeting
2.Freeze all IMF funds to the Junta.
3.Seize their oil.
Job done.
America you have the reason and the incentive. Act!
Matt Jeary, London, UK
Says our beloved leader - the man who refuses to see the Dalai Lam because it may upset the Chinese !!!
Ian Payne, WALSALL,
Two expressions come immediately to mind - but in this liberal world neither will come to fruition, given the inherent weaknesses of the UN.
Those expressions are:
1) Intervention
2) Regime change.
Be it Iraq, Zimbabwe, or Burma - you either intervene. Or you don't.
Christopher, Newcastle,
I don't think Brown should be criticized for his statement. At least 1 leader in the international community is telling it like it is. Why has the UN been sitting on its hands? This disaster in Myanmar is exactly the type of situation that the UN was created to take quick action on.
Robert Greene, Florida, USA
I hear all the wringing of the hands by all those nations who are desperate to help the cyclone victims. In fact they are victims of the junta. They have been for 50 years. In all of this I don't hear any offers of help from the French oil company TOTAL or by the US company CHEVRON. In hiding?
Myo Chit, Toronto, Canada
Slagging off the Burmese military Junta will get the Burmese people nothing .
Brown may think it looks like he's doing something . All he's doing is looking very un-statesmanlike , again .
Perhaps a trip over there might help , with a bit of luck they might keep him.
That would be inhumane.
Nick Dixon, Sutton Coldfield, England
Criticise the junta? Fine, but talk is cheap. Wouldn't you wish for a world with less political correctness? The US Navy is off shore, ready to deliver the aid, with enough units to back it up. Just go, and do it! I am sure the they can. Anyone in Washington DC got the guts?
Neddy, Sydney, Australia
I agree with Julian...sorry all you cynical anti-GW ranters. I'm definitely not a fan of Bush (quite the contrary), but you can't realistically blame him for all of the evils of the world. Myanmar does have lots of oil and other resourses, so you'll have to find other sticks to beat George with.
Jim McLaughlin, Calgary, Canada
Gordon Brown is "talking" again as usual and no action. He "talked" about Zimbabwe and now look where that country is heading to. Now Burma, as we all know is in deep crisis, why no military action is being discussed to sort things out?? I suppose no oil in these countries so it dosen't count.
j butler, Wiesbaden, Germany
""Easy Burma does not have oil
jorson, modesto, usa""
Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Coal
Your insinuation falls flat on it's face.
Phill, The Wirral, England
The uk is also headed for a man made disaster, this time established by two men. Blair and Brown
marcus, horndon on the hill, uk
Western energy companies such as Elf currently make profits of as much as half a billion per annum according to the New Statesman 2 years ago. Obviously then, as long as western multinational companies make a profit from these countries, an oppressive regime needn't concern us. Disgraceful.
niki b, edinburgh,
Innocent people are always the victims of politics. It is not uncommon that the junta ignore people's lives, for the only thing they care about are right and their own interests.
chen, wu xi, China
Burma has lots of natural resources including gas and oil - so John of Akron look to your facts.
Over decades the regime has kept all the benefits from those resources. Almost no gas sourced in Burma goes to the Burmese people.
The generals are parasites and prison warders of all Burma.
Julian Pieniazek, Nakhin Ratchasima, Thailand
I thought it had huge gas reserves?
G Morrison, Auchinloch, Scotland
Brown is still a hopeless Prime Minister, but this is excellent news; forced air drops are needed and at least he has the courage to publicly criticise the monsters in charge of Burma.
So, Zimbabwe next?
John Ball, Norwich, UK
Burma's neighbours share responsibility for this catastrophe by refusing to put real pressure on the military government, they should support moves to put sanctions on the regime rather than being concerned about narrow trading agreements. A mulitlateral force should intervene to save the people.
Simon Hicks, Burgess Hill, West Sussex
Strange. I was thinking almost the same thing. Why shouldn't we (or some coalition of countries) depose the government in Burma by force? How is it different than Iraq? A "lack of oil in that country" indeed.
Shawn D, St. Louis, United States
Easy Burma does not have oil
jorson, modesto, usa
Ii's to bad Burma doesn't have a lot of oil. If they did president Bush would not hesitate to invade and rid them of their evil leaders. .
John, Akron, USA
America and the uk are so proud of ridding Iraq of saddam and his regime although the people were not starving. How can the nternational community stand by and allow dictators to prevent humanitarian aid reaching millions of starving people. Is it lack of oil in that country.
Eamonn Mc Dermott, Middlesrough, United Kingdom.