Jul 8, 2008 (DVB)–The All Burma Federation of Student Unions called on the military regime on Monday to allow university students from cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy division to enrol for the coming academic year.
Aung Zay, a member of the ABFSU, an established student union in Burma since the British colonial era, said late registrations should be allowed for students from the affected areas.
“We the ABFSU call on the authorities to grant students from cyclone-devastated areas permission to register for the 2008-2009 academic year,” said Aung Zay.
The call was timed to coincide with commemorations of the 46th anniversary of the 7 July 1962 student uprising in Burma, in which students took to the streets to protest against the regime led by the late dictator Gen. Nay Win but were crushed violently.
The historic student union building inside Rangoon’s main university campus was also blown up, causing the deaths of many students.
According to Aung Zay, hundreds of students from Maaupin, Bassein, and Hinthata universities have been rejected for university courses this year due to their late enrolments.
“Although university authorities allowed a one-month extension for late enrolment, they [students] could not register in time because they didn’t have the money to pay the school admission fees,” said Aung Zay.
“They informed the authorities that they were still looking for admission fees and asked them to consider allowing them sign up but they were rejected.”
Aung Zay told DVB that third year students at Bassein university were given financial support of 100,000 kyat each, which could create tensions among students.
“Are first- and second-year students not students? Don’t they deserve financial support? Were only third year students affected by the cyclone?” Aung Zay asked.
“We oppose this type of support as it is discriminatory and can create problems among students.”
Besides calling for university admission, the ABFSU commemorated the 46th 7 July anniversary by distributing statements and pamphlets in Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Bago divisions calling for non-violent struggle to liberate Burma from the military dictatorship.
Reporting by Naw Say Paw
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Rangoon school charges additional fees
Jul 8, 2008 (DVB)–A parent of a student studying at Basic Education High School (1) Dagon in Rangoon said the school is charging students 6000 kyat each on top of the 1 to 2 million-kyat school entrance fee.
The school told parents the additional fee is to cover various maintenance costs.
"Most of the students studying at Dagon (1) are from rich families but still there is a minority of students who do not have a lot of money," the parent said.
"Dagon 1 school is famous for its discipline and good teaching system, and a lot of parents also want their children study in the upper class community," he said.
The parent said some families would struggle to find the extra money.
"6000 kyat is not a lot of money for rich people but it's a big deal for those who have already been hit by the rise in commodity prices," the parent explained.
"The headmaster said the money was collected for the school's expenses but no receipt was given and only he can know where the money has really gone."
U Aung Ko Ko, the school's headteacher, was unavailable for comment.
Reporting by Moe Aye
The school told parents the additional fee is to cover various maintenance costs.
"Most of the students studying at Dagon (1) are from rich families but still there is a minority of students who do not have a lot of money," the parent said.
"Dagon 1 school is famous for its discipline and good teaching system, and a lot of parents also want their children study in the upper class community," he said.
The parent said some families would struggle to find the extra money.
"6000 kyat is not a lot of money for rich people but it's a big deal for those who have already been hit by the rise in commodity prices," the parent explained.
"The headmaster said the money was collected for the school's expenses but no receipt was given and only he can know where the money has really gone."
U Aung Ko Ko, the school's headteacher, was unavailable for comment.
Reporting by Moe Aye
Families still waiting for news of detained relatives - Zarganar
Jul 8, 2008 (DVB)–The families of Zarganar, Zaw Thet Htway and others involved in voluntary aid work for cyclone victims who were arrested by Burmese authorities say they are still waiting for information on their relatives.
Writer Daw Kyi Oo, the mother of comedian and activist Zarganar, said she is worried that her son has not been able to take his medication.
"He was already on three different medications before he was arrested and now he has been without the medicine for over a month,” Daw Kyi Oo said.
“We have not been informed about his situation and no one has picked up his medicine either," she said.
"His father has been not well either, and he kept asking for his son."
Daw Kyi Oo said the family had expected Zarganar to be released soon after his arrest as had happened on previous occasion.
She said aid work carried out by Zarganar's group has been on hold for the past two weeks as donations have not been coming in since the comedian's arrest.
Zaw Thet Htway's wife Ma Khin Cho said 25 days have now passed since her husband was arrested.
Ma Khin Cho said she plans to send an official letter to the authorities asking them to disclose information about his whereabouts if he is not released within 30 days.
The families of volunteers who were collecting the bodies of cyclone victims the body snatchers said they too, have no idea where their loved ones were.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
Writer Daw Kyi Oo, the mother of comedian and activist Zarganar, said she is worried that her son has not been able to take his medication.
"He was already on three different medications before he was arrested and now he has been without the medicine for over a month,” Daw Kyi Oo said.
“We have not been informed about his situation and no one has picked up his medicine either," she said.
"His father has been not well either, and he kept asking for his son."
Daw Kyi Oo said the family had expected Zarganar to be released soon after his arrest as had happened on previous occasion.
She said aid work carried out by Zarganar's group has been on hold for the past two weeks as donations have not been coming in since the comedian's arrest.
Zaw Thet Htway's wife Ma Khin Cho said 25 days have now passed since her husband was arrested.
Ma Khin Cho said she plans to send an official letter to the authorities asking them to disclose information about his whereabouts if he is not released within 30 days.
The families of volunteers who were collecting the bodies of cyclone victims the body snatchers said they too, have no idea where their loved ones were.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
Karenni refugees flee to Thai-Burma border
Than Htike Oo
Mizzima News - 08 July 2008
Chiang Mai - The Burmese Army's severe human rights violations have forced 165 Karenni refugees to flee to refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border this year, camp officials said.
The 165 refugees are from Shardaw and Phrusoe Townships in Karenni State. They fled to the border after being intimidated by the army. They were accused by the troops of having contact with insurgents, forced to relocated and forced into labour. The refugees started arriving at the camps situated in Mae Hong Song District, Thailand since January this year. The exodus continues till today.
"The Burmese Army soldiers summoned the refugees to their outposts repeatedly and lodged false complaints against them. They were wrongly accused of having contact with insurgents and some were arrested on suspicion. They did not dare stay in their villages and fled to the border after hiding in the jungle for some days," Pho Pya, Chairman of Karenni Refugee Camp Committee, told Mizzima.
"The junta forcibly and frequently relocated their villages. They were forced to perform labour without being paid. They were made to work in building, mending and renovating army outposts and fences built around them. Moreover they had to part with meat, food, fish, bamboo and timber free of charge to the soldiers. The soldiers forcibly relocated their villages under various pretexts such as withholding information on insurgent movements to the army, lading to encounters with the insurgents around these villages among other such fabricated charges. The refugees chose to flee to the border as a last resort after suffering harassment which was becoming unbearable," Khu Oo Re, Secretary II of 'Karenni Nationality Progressive Party' (KNPP), which is waging an armed struggle against the junta said.
KNPP has had numerous skirmishes and encounters with the Burmese Army in Shardaw and Mawchi areas. It is learnt that the Burmese Army's LIB 426, 530 and 531 are operating in these areas.
These new arrivals have been accommodated in their relatives' houses and provided food by the Refugee Camp Committee.
The Camp Committee will have discussions with the district authorities for giving them refugee status.
The camp officials said that there are about 23,000 recognized refugees in Karenni Camp No. 1 and 2.
Mizzima News - 08 July 2008
Chiang Mai - The Burmese Army's severe human rights violations have forced 165 Karenni refugees to flee to refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border this year, camp officials said.
The 165 refugees are from Shardaw and Phrusoe Townships in Karenni State. They fled to the border after being intimidated by the army. They were accused by the troops of having contact with insurgents, forced to relocated and forced into labour. The refugees started arriving at the camps situated in Mae Hong Song District, Thailand since January this year. The exodus continues till today.
"The Burmese Army soldiers summoned the refugees to their outposts repeatedly and lodged false complaints against them. They were wrongly accused of having contact with insurgents and some were arrested on suspicion. They did not dare stay in their villages and fled to the border after hiding in the jungle for some days," Pho Pya, Chairman of Karenni Refugee Camp Committee, told Mizzima.
"The junta forcibly and frequently relocated their villages. They were forced to perform labour without being paid. They were made to work in building, mending and renovating army outposts and fences built around them. Moreover they had to part with meat, food, fish, bamboo and timber free of charge to the soldiers. The soldiers forcibly relocated their villages under various pretexts such as withholding information on insurgent movements to the army, lading to encounters with the insurgents around these villages among other such fabricated charges. The refugees chose to flee to the border as a last resort after suffering harassment which was becoming unbearable," Khu Oo Re, Secretary II of 'Karenni Nationality Progressive Party' (KNPP), which is waging an armed struggle against the junta said.
KNPP has had numerous skirmishes and encounters with the Burmese Army in Shardaw and Mawchi areas. It is learnt that the Burmese Army's LIB 426, 530 and 531 are operating in these areas.
These new arrivals have been accommodated in their relatives' houses and provided food by the Refugee Camp Committee.
The Camp Committee will have discussions with the district authorities for giving them refugee status.
The camp officials said that there are about 23,000 recognized refugees in Karenni Camp No. 1 and 2.
Over 400 orphans still search for parents: UNICEF
Solomon
Mizzima News - 08 July 2008
New Delhi - Two months after the deadly Cyclone Nargis ripped across Burma's southwestern coastal divisions, more than 400 children are still frantically searching for their parents, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.
The UNICEF, in its report '60 Days response to Cyclone Nargis' said, as of end June 428 separated and unaccompanied children have been traced.
Zafrin Chow Chury, spokesperson of UNICEF in Rangoon said, "15 have been reunited with their parents, but as for the others we are still trying to trace their parents."
UNICEF said while it is focussing on finding family members for separated children, the process is largely hampered by the movement of refugees from their temporary shelters back to their villages or from one location to another.
"At present, efforts at tracing the families are being intensified with support from partners," the UN agency said.
Education
While tracing families for separated children is being intensified, the UNICEF said education for other children is one among the major concerns as many of the children cannot yet attend schools because several schools have been severely damaged or destroyed.
According to the UNICEF, over 4,100 schools have been damaged by the cyclone that ravaged Burma's Irrawaddy and Rangoon division on May 2-3.
In Irrawaddy delta alone, at least 1,200 schools were totally destroyed and many collapsed in the cyclone, the UN agency said.
"We have helped in the repair of about 1,326 schools," said Chury, but she said there are still a lot of schools which need to be repaired and reconstructed.
"We are providing support with back up temporary learning spaces, tents and material where all school buildings have been destroyed," Chury said.
Health
According to the UNICEF's report, Cyclone Nargis destroyed over 600 health centres and contaminated more than 4,000 drinking water wells.
"The biggest challenge facing the Health Sector is the destruction of Health Centres and depletion of health workers in the affected areas because of deaths," the UNICEF said.
While there has been no large-scale outbreak of water borne or vector borne diseases, UNICEF said cyclone survivors need ORS, antibiotics, infusion, vaccines and vitamin A to protect from any possible outbreak of diarrhoea, malaria and dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Mizzima News - 08 July 2008
New Delhi - Two months after the deadly Cyclone Nargis ripped across Burma's southwestern coastal divisions, more than 400 children are still frantically searching for their parents, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.
The UNICEF, in its report '60 Days response to Cyclone Nargis' said, as of end June 428 separated and unaccompanied children have been traced.
Zafrin Chow Chury, spokesperson of UNICEF in Rangoon said, "15 have been reunited with their parents, but as for the others we are still trying to trace their parents."
UNICEF said while it is focussing on finding family members for separated children, the process is largely hampered by the movement of refugees from their temporary shelters back to their villages or from one location to another.
"At present, efforts at tracing the families are being intensified with support from partners," the UN agency said.
Education
While tracing families for separated children is being intensified, the UNICEF said education for other children is one among the major concerns as many of the children cannot yet attend schools because several schools have been severely damaged or destroyed.
According to the UNICEF, over 4,100 schools have been damaged by the cyclone that ravaged Burma's Irrawaddy and Rangoon division on May 2-3.
In Irrawaddy delta alone, at least 1,200 schools were totally destroyed and many collapsed in the cyclone, the UN agency said.
"We have helped in the repair of about 1,326 schools," said Chury, but she said there are still a lot of schools which need to be repaired and reconstructed.
"We are providing support with back up temporary learning spaces, tents and material where all school buildings have been destroyed," Chury said.
Health
According to the UNICEF's report, Cyclone Nargis destroyed over 600 health centres and contaminated more than 4,000 drinking water wells.
"The biggest challenge facing the Health Sector is the destruction of Health Centres and depletion of health workers in the affected areas because of deaths," the UNICEF said.
While there has been no large-scale outbreak of water borne or vector borne diseases, UNICEF said cyclone survivors need ORS, antibiotics, infusion, vaccines and vitamin A to protect from any possible outbreak of diarrhoea, malaria and dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Cyclone Orphans Take Low-Paid Work to Survive
Using a small oil lamp to seal the ends, a woman andtwo children pack cheroots in to plastic bags in a small factory in Pegu,
58 kilometers (36 miles) north of Rangoon.
Sources said children orphaned by Cyclone Nargis
had migrated to the cities to find work. (Photo: AFP)
58 kilometers (36 miles) north of Rangoon.
Sources said children orphaned by Cyclone Nargis
had migrated to the cities to find work. (Photo: AFP)
By VIOLET CHO
The Irrawaddy News
Many children orphaned by Cyclone Nargis are being employed in low-paid jobs in the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon, according to monks in the region.
Monasteries throughout the region opened their doors to orphans, but a monk in Mawlamyinegyunn Township said children who lost their parents in the storm often preferred to live with adult survivors in their own communities, where they found work in the paddy fields and fish farms.
Other children who had lost their parents had migrated to the cities to find work in tea shops, small businesses and households, often encouraged by family members, the monk said. Some were as young as 10.
A senior monk in Mawlamyinegyunn said his monastery had sent 20 orphaned children to Phaungdawoo monastery in Mandalay, where they were being educated.
“There are so many children who desperately need care, and we are now trying to collect information and data about orphans so we can help them,” he said.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday that 428 children had been separated from their parents by the cyclone. More than 50 centers had been established to help them, said UNICEF spokesman Zafrin Chowdhury.
According to government figures, more than 84,000 people died in the cyclone and 54,000 are missing. The most vulnerable victims of the disaster were children, UNICEF said.
The International Labour Organization has expressed concern about the possibility that children may be forced to help in reconstruction work, and has warned UN agencies and relief workers of “the increased risk of incidences of forced labor, child labor, human trafficking and migrant labor as the authorities and individuals come to grips with the sheer size of the tragedy.”
Rangoon-based journalist Aung Thet Wyine contributed to this report.
Most Ceasefire Groups Undecided on 2010 Election
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
Despite government pressure, most ethnic ceasefire groups are undecided on whether to disarm and form political parties to contest the Burmese general election scheduled for 2010, according to sources close to the ceasefire groups.
For one month now, Burmese military authorities have been urging the ceasefire groups to surrender—in effect, lay down their weapons—and form political parties. An alternative option for the ceasefire groups could be to enlist their troops as special combat police, said the sources.
Two ethnic ceasefire groups—the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N)—have not yet responded to the request of the Burmese authorities, according to sources in Shan State.
The editor of Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), Khuensai Jaiyen, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that no statement had been made as yet. The UWSA just want autonomy, he added.
The UWSA has an estimated 20,000 soldiers deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of southern Shan State.
Another ethnic ceasefire group, the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, also known as the Mongla group, has been under pressure to decommission its weapons or serve as a special combat police unit under government command, according to a senior official of the Mongla who was quoted recently by SHAN.
The Mongla group, however, have not replied to the military government’s call for surrender, the article added.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Sai Murng, deputy spokesman of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), said, “I think the ceasefire groups have only two options. One is to surrender and do what the regime says. The other is to fight back against the Burmese army.”
Meanwhile, Nai ong Ma-nge, a spokesman for the ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said, “We haven’t decided as yet whether to be involved in the 2010 election. It is a major political change, so we have to wait for a decision from headquarters.”
The NMSP entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1995.
A source close to a Karen ceasefire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), said, “At this moment, it is impossible for the DKBA to surrender and form a party. The DKBA has no interest in being involved in the political process. They will retain their weapons and maintain their development and business interests in Karen State.”
The DKBA is a breakaway group of the Karen National Union—Burma’s largest ethnic insurgency group. The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the military government in 1994 after splitting from the KNU.
However, an ethnic Kachin ceasefire group, the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), will reportedly lay down its weapons and participate in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa, a Kachin source on the Sino-Burmese border.
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which is based along the Sino-Burmese border, will also take part in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa. However, it was still unclear whether the KIO would agree to a surrender, he added.
The KIO, founded in 1961, was one of 17 ethnic armed groups that signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1990s.
Recently, the Burmese regime published an article in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar calling the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in the 1990 general election “illegal,” and calling for the party to run in the 2010 elections.
The Irrawaddy News
Despite government pressure, most ethnic ceasefire groups are undecided on whether to disarm and form political parties to contest the Burmese general election scheduled for 2010, according to sources close to the ceasefire groups.
For one month now, Burmese military authorities have been urging the ceasefire groups to surrender—in effect, lay down their weapons—and form political parties. An alternative option for the ceasefire groups could be to enlist their troops as special combat police, said the sources.
Two ethnic ceasefire groups—the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N)—have not yet responded to the request of the Burmese authorities, according to sources in Shan State.
The editor of Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), Khuensai Jaiyen, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that no statement had been made as yet. The UWSA just want autonomy, he added.
The UWSA has an estimated 20,000 soldiers deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of southern Shan State.
Another ethnic ceasefire group, the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, also known as the Mongla group, has been under pressure to decommission its weapons or serve as a special combat police unit under government command, according to a senior official of the Mongla who was quoted recently by SHAN.
The Mongla group, however, have not replied to the military government’s call for surrender, the article added.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Sai Murng, deputy spokesman of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), said, “I think the ceasefire groups have only two options. One is to surrender and do what the regime says. The other is to fight back against the Burmese army.”
Meanwhile, Nai ong Ma-nge, a spokesman for the ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said, “We haven’t decided as yet whether to be involved in the 2010 election. It is a major political change, so we have to wait for a decision from headquarters.”
The NMSP entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1995.
A source close to a Karen ceasefire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), said, “At this moment, it is impossible for the DKBA to surrender and form a party. The DKBA has no interest in being involved in the political process. They will retain their weapons and maintain their development and business interests in Karen State.”
The DKBA is a breakaway group of the Karen National Union—Burma’s largest ethnic insurgency group. The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the military government in 1994 after splitting from the KNU.
However, an ethnic Kachin ceasefire group, the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), will reportedly lay down its weapons and participate in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa, a Kachin source on the Sino-Burmese border.
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which is based along the Sino-Burmese border, will also take part in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa. However, it was still unclear whether the KIO would agree to a surrender, he added.
The KIO, founded in 1961, was one of 17 ethnic armed groups that signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1990s.
Recently, the Burmese regime published an article in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar calling the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in the 1990 general election “illegal,” and calling for the party to run in the 2010 elections.
Junta Profits from Growing Gap in Value of Cash and FECs
By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News
The growing gap between the value of the US dollar and Burmese foreign exchange certificates (FECs)—introduced in 1994 to ensure that most hard currency that enters the country ends up in government hands—is turning Cyclone Nargis relief efforts into a major cash cow for Burma’s ruling junta.
All international aid agencies working in Burma are required to deposit money for operating expenses in accounts at the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB). These deposits—usually made in US dollars—can only be withdrawn in FECs, which are technically equal in value.
However, since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3, the actual value of the FEC has fallen considerably, from slightly lower than the US unit to just over 80 percent of the dollar’s black market exchange rate.
According to members of Rangoon’s business community, FECs now fetch just 965 kyat per unit, while the dollar is worth around 1170.
Businessmen say the price of FECs started to fall in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as Burmese living overseas began to transfer large amounts of cash into MFTB accounts to support the relief effort.
After the junta finally decided to allow major international aid agencies to enter the country in late May, the FECs dropped further.
“The demand for FECs [from international relief groups] increased, so the government just printed more,” said a Rangoon-based economic observer. “This drove down their value, because now the currency market is flooded with FECs.”
Besides international organizations and foreign-owned businesses, Burmese employed abroad are also required to hold MFTB accounts to send remittances to their families in Burma.
“I have to transfer my dollar salary to my MFTB account, but when my family withdraws the money in FECs, it’s worth a lot less,” complained a Burmese engineer working in South Africa. “Nowadays we lose at least 200 kyat on the dollar.”
A Burmese relief worker said that the more aid that flows into country, the less the FEC will be worth.
“International agencies and overseas Burmese deposit US dollars for local purchases, but they can only withdraw FECs. The more dollars that come into Burma, the more FEC there will be in the market,” said the relief worker.
Economic observers pointed out that the government, which has been driving down the value of the FEC by printing them in large numbers, is now effectively earning a 20 percent “tax” on all aid coming into the country.
According to figures released by the United Nations, US $134 million has so far been spent on the international relief mission in Burma, some of it used to purchase supplies and pay for services locally.
The Irrawaddy News
The growing gap between the value of the US dollar and Burmese foreign exchange certificates (FECs)—introduced in 1994 to ensure that most hard currency that enters the country ends up in government hands—is turning Cyclone Nargis relief efforts into a major cash cow for Burma’s ruling junta.
All international aid agencies working in Burma are required to deposit money for operating expenses in accounts at the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB). These deposits—usually made in US dollars—can only be withdrawn in FECs, which are technically equal in value.
However, since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3, the actual value of the FEC has fallen considerably, from slightly lower than the US unit to just over 80 percent of the dollar’s black market exchange rate.
According to members of Rangoon’s business community, FECs now fetch just 965 kyat per unit, while the dollar is worth around 1170.
Businessmen say the price of FECs started to fall in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as Burmese living overseas began to transfer large amounts of cash into MFTB accounts to support the relief effort.
After the junta finally decided to allow major international aid agencies to enter the country in late May, the FECs dropped further.
“The demand for FECs [from international relief groups] increased, so the government just printed more,” said a Rangoon-based economic observer. “This drove down their value, because now the currency market is flooded with FECs.”
Besides international organizations and foreign-owned businesses, Burmese employed abroad are also required to hold MFTB accounts to send remittances to their families in Burma.
“I have to transfer my dollar salary to my MFTB account, but when my family withdraws the money in FECs, it’s worth a lot less,” complained a Burmese engineer working in South Africa. “Nowadays we lose at least 200 kyat on the dollar.”
A Burmese relief worker said that the more aid that flows into country, the less the FEC will be worth.
“International agencies and overseas Burmese deposit US dollars for local purchases, but they can only withdraw FECs. The more dollars that come into Burma, the more FEC there will be in the market,” said the relief worker.
Economic observers pointed out that the government, which has been driving down the value of the FEC by printing them in large numbers, is now effectively earning a 20 percent “tax” on all aid coming into the country.
According to figures released by the United Nations, US $134 million has so far been spent on the international relief mission in Burma, some of it used to purchase supplies and pay for services locally.
Burma aid tents through at last
BBC
Cornwall-based disaster aid charity Shelterbox has just received the first pictures of its aid helping victims of the Burma cyclone.
Hundreds of tents have been erected as part of the international response to the 2 May cyclone which left more than 130,000 people dead or missing.
Shelterbox had struggled to get its tents into the country.
But about a month ago Burma's military rulers opened the Irrawaddy Delta to international aid workers.
Shelterbox aid worker Mark Pearson has just sent back pictures of the tents in use from Labutta in the Irrawaddy.
'Good position'
The charity's boxes include tents, tools, stoves, cooking pots and ground sheets.
Mr Pearson said: "I found Three Mile Camp which is home to 5,250 survivors of the cyclone.
"There are around 700 Shelterbox tents there all arranged perfectly there is camp security, hospital, clean water, food and schools all run by the government.
"The Shelterbox kit was in a good position above sea level and a cool breeze all day and most importantly shelter from the heavy monsoon downpours which happen most days and night."
He said that a member of aid group Medicins San Frontier had told him that there were also 300 Shelterbox tents on the Burma island of Heignyi.
Sally Grint, Shelterbox's fund-raising manager, said the pictures vindicated the charity's persistence in trying to get aid into Burma.
The charity is sending another 200 tents, 2,000 mosquito nets, 2,000 tool kits, 600 woodburning stoves, 600 cooking pots, 4000 ground sheets and educational equipment to Burma.
Cornwall-based disaster aid charity Shelterbox has just received the first pictures of its aid helping victims of the Burma cyclone.
Hundreds of tents have been erected as part of the international response to the 2 May cyclone which left more than 130,000 people dead or missing.
Shelterbox had struggled to get its tents into the country.
But about a month ago Burma's military rulers opened the Irrawaddy Delta to international aid workers.
Shelterbox aid worker Mark Pearson has just sent back pictures of the tents in use from Labutta in the Irrawaddy.
'Good position'
The charity's boxes include tents, tools, stoves, cooking pots and ground sheets.
Mr Pearson said: "I found Three Mile Camp which is home to 5,250 survivors of the cyclone.
"There are around 700 Shelterbox tents there all arranged perfectly there is camp security, hospital, clean water, food and schools all run by the government.
"The Shelterbox kit was in a good position above sea level and a cool breeze all day and most importantly shelter from the heavy monsoon downpours which happen most days and night."
He said that a member of aid group Medicins San Frontier had told him that there were also 300 Shelterbox tents on the Burma island of Heignyi.
Sally Grint, Shelterbox's fund-raising manager, said the pictures vindicated the charity's persistence in trying to get aid into Burma.
The charity is sending another 200 tents, 2,000 mosquito nets, 2,000 tool kits, 600 woodburning stoves, 600 cooking pots, 4000 ground sheets and educational equipment to Burma.
Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis Revised Emergency Appeal No. MDRMM002
Relief Web
GLIDE no TC-2008-000057-MMR
This Revised Emergency Appeal seeks CHF 73,987,907 (USD 72,537,164 or EUR 45,955,222) in cash, kind or services to support the Myanmar Red Cross Society to assist 500,000 beneficiaries (100,000 households) for 36 months.
This operation will be completed by May 2011; a Final Report will be made available by August 2011 (three months after the end of the operation).
Appeal history:
- 16 May 2008: An Emergency Appeal was launched for CHF 52,857,809 (USD 50.8 million or EUR 32.7 million) to assist 100,000 households for 36 months.
- 6 May 2008: A preliminary Emergency Appeal was launched for CHF 6,290,909 (USD 5.9 million or EUR 3.86 million) to assist 30,000 households for six months.
- 5 May 2008: CHF 200,000 (USD 190,000 or EUR 123,000) was allocated from the International Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF).
This Revised Emergency Appeal reflects the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ continued commitment towards assisting the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) in meeting the huge needs of communities affected by Cyclone Nargis. This appeal builds on the emergency appeal launched on 16 May, and the preliminary emergency appeal of 6 May. It provides an update on the progress and challenges of the relief and recovery operation (based on available information), and in particular, outlines the way forward for priority sectors.
Progress of relief and recovery operation
Achievements
Since the cyclone, MRCS staff and volunteers, with the support of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, have worked tirelessly to provide assistance to those affected by the disaster. To date, over 500,000 beneficiaries have been reached with emergency relief of water, food and relief items. About 80 per cent of the beneficiaries are in the Ayeyarwady Delta, and between 10,000 and 15,000 people are being reached every day. Up to 2 July, 55 Red Cross Red Crescent chartered relief flights, 97 regular commercial flights and two courier flights, have landed in Yangon, carrying a total of 1,570 tonnes of relief items. Transportation by sea has also begun, with about 100 tonnes of relief items received so far. It is estimated that around 10,000 MRCS volunteers are active in the relief efforts at any one time. They have been providing assistance to people throughout the affected regions. The MRCS also continues to scale up its first aid and community health efforts
Present situation
Over the last few weeks, the operation continued to face various challenges. Guiding principles on carrying out aid and assistance activities were issued for the international humanitarian community, by the Myanmar government on 10 June. This caused some confusion among the international organizations and the government authorities, as to how they should be implemented and created delays in the processing of visas and travel permission. However, this has now been largely clarified and delays experienced in receiving permission to travel to the delta appear to have eased. There is also some hope that information, analysis and assessments will be improved. As the humanitarian operation continues to be allowed to develop, there is evidence of improved operational infrastructure and it is clear that the delivery of muchneeded support to the beneficiaries is more effective and comprehensive.
It has been widely reported that the magnitude of destruction of Cyclone Nargis on Myanmar and its people is unprecedented. MRCS had no previous experience in responding to a natural disaster of these proportions. This situation understandably created significant constraints which continue to be identified and tackled, with the support of the International Federation and other partners of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
The unpredictable and complex nature of the operational context continues to have an undeniable impact on the response. It is requested that if particular operational constraints continue to affect the operation, partners agree that the resources pledged can be re-negotiated for use in other related programming.
Despite all of these constraints, the MRCS and its volunteers in particular, with assistance from the Movement, have been recognized for the immediate response on the ground from day one. The MRCS, in its auxiliary role to the Myanmar government, is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the national response to the disaster.
Moving forward
With the revision of this three-year plan, the operation will continue to concentrate on immediate needs until they are met. The plan also provides for the development and implementation of programmes designed to address medium to long-term needs in the following sectors: relief, shelter, health and care; water, sanitation and hygiene; food security and livelihoods; and the cross-cutting measures of disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
Lessons from this operation have highlighted the importance of and the need to support local communities with the capacity to respond to and mitigate the effects of natural disasters. In order to achieve this within an environment of poor infrastructure which includes transportation and communication difficulties, an integrated or multi-sectoral approach is imperative.
It is crucial to recovery that communities themselves take an active part in identifying, preparing for and working towards reducing the risks and vulnerabilities that they face. This is central to the success of the
operation and incorporates the way much of the affected population begins recovery and responds to the effects of floods and other natural occurrences.
How we work
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
The International Federation’s activities are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".
Global Agenda Goals:
- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
Contact information
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
Federation zone office in Kuala Lumpur:
Jagan Chapagain, deputy head of zone office, phone: +6012 215 3765, email: jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org
Amy Gaver, head of disaster management unit, phone: +6012 220 1174, email: amy.gaver@ifrc.org
For pledges of funding:
Penny Elghady, resource mobilization and PMER coordinator, phone: +6012 230 8634, email: penny.elghady@ifrc.org
For mobilization of relief items:
Jeremy Francis, regional logistics coordinator, phone: +6012 298 9752, fax: +603 2168 8573, email: jeremy.francis@ifrc.org
For media/communications:
Jason Smith, communications manager, phone: +6012 387 0829, email: jason.smith@ifrc.org
Federation secretariat in Geneva:
Christine South, operations coordinator Asia Pacific, phone: +41 22 730 4529; mobile: +41 79 308 9824; email: christine.south@ifrc.org
FULL REPORT - pdf
GLIDE no TC-2008-000057-MMR
This Revised Emergency Appeal seeks CHF 73,987,907 (USD 72,537,164 or EUR 45,955,222) in cash, kind or services to support the Myanmar Red Cross Society to assist 500,000 beneficiaries (100,000 households) for 36 months.
This operation will be completed by May 2011; a Final Report will be made available by August 2011 (three months after the end of the operation).
Appeal history:
- 16 May 2008: An Emergency Appeal was launched for CHF 52,857,809 (USD 50.8 million or EUR 32.7 million) to assist 100,000 households for 36 months.
- 6 May 2008: A preliminary Emergency Appeal was launched for CHF 6,290,909 (USD 5.9 million or EUR 3.86 million) to assist 30,000 households for six months.
- 5 May 2008: CHF 200,000 (USD 190,000 or EUR 123,000) was allocated from the International Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF).
This Revised Emergency Appeal reflects the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ continued commitment towards assisting the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) in meeting the huge needs of communities affected by Cyclone Nargis. This appeal builds on the emergency appeal launched on 16 May, and the preliminary emergency appeal of 6 May. It provides an update on the progress and challenges of the relief and recovery operation (based on available information), and in particular, outlines the way forward for priority sectors.
Progress of relief and recovery operation
Achievements
Since the cyclone, MRCS staff and volunteers, with the support of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, have worked tirelessly to provide assistance to those affected by the disaster. To date, over 500,000 beneficiaries have been reached with emergency relief of water, food and relief items. About 80 per cent of the beneficiaries are in the Ayeyarwady Delta, and between 10,000 and 15,000 people are being reached every day. Up to 2 July, 55 Red Cross Red Crescent chartered relief flights, 97 regular commercial flights and two courier flights, have landed in Yangon, carrying a total of 1,570 tonnes of relief items. Transportation by sea has also begun, with about 100 tonnes of relief items received so far. It is estimated that around 10,000 MRCS volunteers are active in the relief efforts at any one time. They have been providing assistance to people throughout the affected regions. The MRCS also continues to scale up its first aid and community health efforts
Present situation
Over the last few weeks, the operation continued to face various challenges. Guiding principles on carrying out aid and assistance activities were issued for the international humanitarian community, by the Myanmar government on 10 June. This caused some confusion among the international organizations and the government authorities, as to how they should be implemented and created delays in the processing of visas and travel permission. However, this has now been largely clarified and delays experienced in receiving permission to travel to the delta appear to have eased. There is also some hope that information, analysis and assessments will be improved. As the humanitarian operation continues to be allowed to develop, there is evidence of improved operational infrastructure and it is clear that the delivery of muchneeded support to the beneficiaries is more effective and comprehensive.
It has been widely reported that the magnitude of destruction of Cyclone Nargis on Myanmar and its people is unprecedented. MRCS had no previous experience in responding to a natural disaster of these proportions. This situation understandably created significant constraints which continue to be identified and tackled, with the support of the International Federation and other partners of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
The unpredictable and complex nature of the operational context continues to have an undeniable impact on the response. It is requested that if particular operational constraints continue to affect the operation, partners agree that the resources pledged can be re-negotiated for use in other related programming.
Despite all of these constraints, the MRCS and its volunteers in particular, with assistance from the Movement, have been recognized for the immediate response on the ground from day one. The MRCS, in its auxiliary role to the Myanmar government, is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the national response to the disaster.
Moving forward
With the revision of this three-year plan, the operation will continue to concentrate on immediate needs until they are met. The plan also provides for the development and implementation of programmes designed to address medium to long-term needs in the following sectors: relief, shelter, health and care; water, sanitation and hygiene; food security and livelihoods; and the cross-cutting measures of disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
Lessons from this operation have highlighted the importance of and the need to support local communities with the capacity to respond to and mitigate the effects of natural disasters. In order to achieve this within an environment of poor infrastructure which includes transportation and communication difficulties, an integrated or multi-sectoral approach is imperative.
It is crucial to recovery that communities themselves take an active part in identifying, preparing for and working towards reducing the risks and vulnerabilities that they face. This is central to the success of the
operation and incorporates the way much of the affected population begins recovery and responds to the effects of floods and other natural occurrences.
How we work
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
The International Federation’s activities are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".
Global Agenda Goals:
- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
Contact information
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
Federation zone office in Kuala Lumpur:
Jagan Chapagain, deputy head of zone office, phone: +6012 215 3765, email: jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org
Amy Gaver, head of disaster management unit, phone: +6012 220 1174, email: amy.gaver@ifrc.org
For pledges of funding:
Penny Elghady, resource mobilization and PMER coordinator, phone: +6012 230 8634, email: penny.elghady@ifrc.org
For mobilization of relief items:
Jeremy Francis, regional logistics coordinator, phone: +6012 298 9752, fax: +603 2168 8573, email: jeremy.francis@ifrc.org
For media/communications:
Jason Smith, communications manager, phone: +6012 387 0829, email: jason.smith@ifrc.org
Federation secretariat in Geneva:
Christine South, operations coordinator Asia Pacific, phone: +41 22 730 4529; mobile: +41 79 308 9824; email: christine.south@ifrc.org
FULL REPORT - pdf
The hungry are fed, but Myanmar survivors' mental anguish goes on 2 months after cyclone
KUNGYANGON, Myanmar (IHT): As the crowd gathered in the hall of a Buddhist monastery to receive their free lunch, Hnin Mya sat listlessly, oblivious to the smell of warm curry, the sounds of clinking utensils and the chatter of her compatriots.
Unlike most survivors of Cyclone Nargis whose lives have begun to return to normal, Hnin Mya has withdrawn into silence since the storm swept away her husband and two young children two months ago.
She tried to recount her loss, but words failed her. She started sobbing quietly, her body shaking.
"She sits and stares at the river the whole day. But she frantically searches for a place to hide whenever she hears strong wind or heavy rain," said U Kaitila, a monk at the monastery, which has provided shelter for Hnin Mya and 16 families made homeless by the storm.
The dead have been buried or cremated, the hungry fed and a massive effort to provide shelter has been launched since the May 2-3 cyclone. But the mental trauma affecting survivors like Hnin Mya may not be so easy to deal with, and it appears to be widespread.
"You can have the supplies, you can deal with a lot of practical problems ... but in the end people also need support to reconstruct their lives and make it worth living," said Kaz de Jong, a mental health specialist from the humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres who traveled to some of the hardest hit areas in the country's Irrawaddy delta.
He recalled a woman telling him: "You know you are all worried about rice, and enough rice, that's important, but do you also worry that people must also have motivation to eat it? At this moment my life is not worth living. ... I've lost all my family members."
Some 80,000 people were killed in the storm, with another 50,000 unaccounted for, and hundreds of thousands of families had homes battered or destroyed.
Preliminary findings of a survey undertaken by the government, U.N. agencies and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations found that 22 percent of storm-affected households reported psychological stress. Common symptoms among survivors include the inability to sleep, recurrent nightmares and flashbacks, apathy, absentmindedness and concentration problems.
Some victims also experience headaches, body pains and palpitations.
"Some people start avoiding places, people and conversations which remind them of the event," said de Jong. Others "become hyperactive, working nonstop to avoid their mind wandering off to what happened and what is lost."
"People report that they have (the) impression that everything takes a lot of effort and they've lost energy, in many cases also their motivation, to rebuild," he said.
Short-term psycho-social trauma is common after terrifying and life-threatening events, but some victims will suffer mental problems for months or years, said Surachet Satitniramai, director of Thailand's National Medical Emergency Services Institute, who headed a team of about 30 Thai health specialists who worked in the devastated area.
Even after concerns about displacement, separation from loved ones, poverty and livelihood are addressed, "some may never fully recover," Surachet said.
Myanmar government medical teams sent to the delta include mental health experts, but since the country has never before experienced a tragedy on this scale, they may not be as well-qualified as outsiders who have dealt with similar disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
However, "it makes more sense for local doctors to deal with mental health issues since they understand the culture and how people react," said Surachet.
"Outside experts can help but there is a language barrier which makes diagnosis and treatment difficult," he said. "Myanmar people are very reserved and resilient and they may smile when they see a stranger, so it may be more difficult to detect cases of mental trauma."
Many of the same Buddhist monks who provided food and shelter in the storm's wake are able to offer spiritual comfort as well.
"It is our duty to give them courage to move on and rebuild their lives," said U Pinyatale, a 45-year-old abbot who provided shelter for some 100 villagers living along the Pyapon river. "Myanmar people are very spiritual and religious and that is where they find their strength to continue living."
Healing is difficult, though.
Nyo Nyo Than, 35, said she still hears the screams of her four-year-old son — swept away by the waters — every time she tries to close her eyes. Two months after the cyclone, she still has difficulty eating or sleeping.
"He kept screaming that he didn't want to take a bath when we were floating in the river," she said, her face covered with tears. "He was really scared so he pretended we were just taking a bath before I lost my grip on him. I still cry every time I look at the river."
Unlike most survivors of Cyclone Nargis whose lives have begun to return to normal, Hnin Mya has withdrawn into silence since the storm swept away her husband and two young children two months ago.
She tried to recount her loss, but words failed her. She started sobbing quietly, her body shaking.
"She sits and stares at the river the whole day. But she frantically searches for a place to hide whenever she hears strong wind or heavy rain," said U Kaitila, a monk at the monastery, which has provided shelter for Hnin Mya and 16 families made homeless by the storm.
The dead have been buried or cremated, the hungry fed and a massive effort to provide shelter has been launched since the May 2-3 cyclone. But the mental trauma affecting survivors like Hnin Mya may not be so easy to deal with, and it appears to be widespread.
"You can have the supplies, you can deal with a lot of practical problems ... but in the end people also need support to reconstruct their lives and make it worth living," said Kaz de Jong, a mental health specialist from the humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres who traveled to some of the hardest hit areas in the country's Irrawaddy delta.
He recalled a woman telling him: "You know you are all worried about rice, and enough rice, that's important, but do you also worry that people must also have motivation to eat it? At this moment my life is not worth living. ... I've lost all my family members."
Some 80,000 people were killed in the storm, with another 50,000 unaccounted for, and hundreds of thousands of families had homes battered or destroyed.
Preliminary findings of a survey undertaken by the government, U.N. agencies and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations found that 22 percent of storm-affected households reported psychological stress. Common symptoms among survivors include the inability to sleep, recurrent nightmares and flashbacks, apathy, absentmindedness and concentration problems.
Some victims also experience headaches, body pains and palpitations.
"Some people start avoiding places, people and conversations which remind them of the event," said de Jong. Others "become hyperactive, working nonstop to avoid their mind wandering off to what happened and what is lost."
"People report that they have (the) impression that everything takes a lot of effort and they've lost energy, in many cases also their motivation, to rebuild," he said.
Short-term psycho-social trauma is common after terrifying and life-threatening events, but some victims will suffer mental problems for months or years, said Surachet Satitniramai, director of Thailand's National Medical Emergency Services Institute, who headed a team of about 30 Thai health specialists who worked in the devastated area.
Even after concerns about displacement, separation from loved ones, poverty and livelihood are addressed, "some may never fully recover," Surachet said.
Myanmar government medical teams sent to the delta include mental health experts, but since the country has never before experienced a tragedy on this scale, they may not be as well-qualified as outsiders who have dealt with similar disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
However, "it makes more sense for local doctors to deal with mental health issues since they understand the culture and how people react," said Surachet.
"Outside experts can help but there is a language barrier which makes diagnosis and treatment difficult," he said. "Myanmar people are very reserved and resilient and they may smile when they see a stranger, so it may be more difficult to detect cases of mental trauma."
Many of the same Buddhist monks who provided food and shelter in the storm's wake are able to offer spiritual comfort as well.
"It is our duty to give them courage to move on and rebuild their lives," said U Pinyatale, a 45-year-old abbot who provided shelter for some 100 villagers living along the Pyapon river. "Myanmar people are very spiritual and religious and that is where they find their strength to continue living."
Healing is difficult, though.
Nyo Nyo Than, 35, said she still hears the screams of her four-year-old son — swept away by the waters — every time she tries to close her eyes. Two months after the cyclone, she still has difficulty eating or sleeping.
"He kept screaming that he didn't want to take a bath when we were floating in the river," she said, her face covered with tears. "He was really scared so he pretended we were just taking a bath before I lost my grip on him. I still cry every time I look at the river."
Waiting for hope
Magnet
Rangoon, as we know it, is gone. It's as though a huge whipper snipper has swooped over the city, taking out every tree, leaving not a billboard standing. The houses are broken and so are its people. In Burma they have a saying: if the roof is not sound, the whole house is prone to leaks.
If the people at the top are not reliable, there will be problems right through society from top to bottom.This week Burma's roof blew right off, with up to 100,000 people feared dead, a million homeless and the military junta, who run the country, exposed as calcified despots incapable of acting quickly to protect their people, their self-stated reason for being. For the geriatric generals, wedded to astrological signs, these are inauspicious times.
Meteorologists watched for days as Cyclone Nargis built up its storm head in the Bay of Bengal but state-run media issued little warning to the more than 24 million people across southern Burma in the storm's path. They assumed it would turn away. It was supposed to veer north and glance up the west coast of the state of Rakhine state before wreaking its havoc in Bangladesh's Ganges Delta. Each year, at the start of the monsoon season, the cyclones build in the Bay of Bengal between Burma and India then slide past the Irrawaddy Delta, Burma's rice bowl, providing life-giving rain without deadly consequences.
Cyclone Nargis was different; it did not veer north. Last Friday at 4pm, it made landfall in the densely populated Irrawaddy Delta, 250 kilometres south-west of Rangoon, the country's largest city and former capital. It punched through the bamboo village houses that were never designed to withstand 200-kmh winds or the deadly three-metre tidal surge that inundated the delta.Whole towns were decimated and tens of thousands drowned.
By midnight it had battered Rangoon, first with bruising rain and then, in the pre-dawn, with brutal wind gusts, uprooting 100-year-old banyan trees, snapping power poles and tearing roofs off houses.Those who survived in the delta have spent a week waiting for emergency relief - medicine, drinking water and shelter - while rotting bodies float in the water channels around them.
In Rangoon, after six days, drinking water and electricity are slowly coming back on line in some parts of the city.A situation that is already a national disaster could take on even greater catastrophic dimensions if aid does not reach the survivors in the next week. As the world's international aid agencies and governments rush to offer help, they have been met with surly suspicion and grinding bureaucracy by Burma's military rulers. Only a trickle of aid already inside the country has reached the worst-affected areas.
A worker for a non-government organisation inside Burma, who asked not to be named, says the military appears indifferent to the people's suffering.
"It is either that there is not much that they could do or they just refused to do more," the worker says. "The locals believe that it is their way of trying to control the people, that is to have the people pleading to them for help.
"One elderly women says: "We have a saying about a frog being crushed by a log. The log is on top and pressing down on the frog and there is nothing it can do. It will be crushed.
"A fisherman, Zaw Win, tells how he clung to a tree for three hours, watching as his wife, son, 10, and daughter, 4, were swept away in the surging tide. "I just held on and cried. I knew I'd lost my family," the 32-year-old says.
In his village, near Bogalay, only 40 of 2000 people have survived.
Zaw Win waded through water bobbing with corpses until he found a boat to ferry him to higher ground in Bogalay. But once there, he found little to eat or drink. "We need food, water, clothes and shelter," he says. "We'll starve to death if nothing is sent to us.
"Tim Costello, the head of World Vision Australia, says although the Burmese people are resilient and have few expectations of Government help, it is essential to get water purification and sanitation systems in place quickly to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.
"If we don't - it's still raining and that compounds the issue - it greases the lightning speed of an epidemic if it takes off ...
Because of the fragile, perilous situation, a much more apocalyptic scenario with epidemics could develop," he says.Despite this unfolding disaster, the junta has stubbornly insisted it will still hold today's national referendum on a new constitution in all areas except the disaster zones. Some analysts suggest the regime is insisting on holding the poll now because fallout from this disaster can only increase as time drags on.
A week after the devastating storm, inside and outside Burma people are asking how a country could be so unprepared. Senior General Than Shwe, who heads the junta, is an isolationist who historically has wanted no help from Western nations - he sees it as interference. Burma-watchers had their first real inkling of the disaster's scope when, three days after the cyclone struck, the junta announced it was open to international assistance.
"Because of the scale of the disaster, the Burmese military cannot resort to usual lies and cover up," says Aung Naing Oo, a political commentator and a former Burmese student activist based in Thailand. "They have to say something. This area is the most populated in Burma, close to half the population [of 50 million] live in Rangoon and the delta area."It comes down to Than Shwe; he knows the magnitude of the crisis and he's indifferent. He can say yes or no, he can bring assistance and relief into the country to help. It's not flowing.
"Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Burma, says it is sad to see the problems the regime has created for itself. "They took so long to respond;
Firstly, because it's very hierarchical; everything is decided by one man [Than Shwe]. With anything out of the ordinary, it's even more so," he says.
"Secondly, they are obsessed with security and national unity, and their default position is the impact on national security.
And thirdly, they have a real history of downplaying the impact of natural disasters. It has improved since 2004 - now they report them - but it is still controlled and censored. "Aung Naing Oo says: "They always say 'we can manage, we don't need your [international] help'. That myth was blown away. Now they can't let foreigners in because the Burmese military needs to be seen as responding.
The complaint on the streets is 'you show up immediately for the Saffron uprising [when thousands of soldiers brutally suppressed a popular uprising led by monks last September], but where are you now?"'State-run television is crowded with images of soldiers clearing trees and repairing houses just as last year, during the uprising, it was filled with images of staged pro-government mass rallies.
"There is an inherent distrust of the military," Aung Naing Oo says. "When they see the TV footage of soldiers they think it's just for show."Wilson says the junta place a low priority on relief for natural disasters but they have never had to deal with one on this scale. Yet still they stall. In Bangkok, Thailand, stockpiles of plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits and food, sit ready for airlift into the country. But until organisations get junta permission they cannot do a thing.
"Their emergency-service management is inadequate in normal times. If they are going to control everything, the movement of aid workers, every aid shipment, it's going to slow things down," says Wilson, who believes aid agencies already working in the country are best situated to help.
"They will be uncomfortable. They won't want foreign aid teams running around making their own decisions. They won't want the UN co-ordination office becoming a state within a state."They are not going to refuse aid, but they will make bad judgments and bad calls about how much, how, quickly and where. They are not experienced but the aid will get through, groups like World Vision and World Food Program know what they have to do.
"Susu Thatun, a Burmese national and a senior policy adviser with World Vision Australia, says: "World Vision's years of investment in development projects, working with local communities and partner organisations, gave the organisation credibility in the Government's eyes."I think based on the work we have done, it's a clear indication to the Government we are here to work with them.
"She says because the military is a key institution in Burma, it is natural that it is involved in aid distribution. "Military and civil administration have always worked together in Myanmar [Burma] for a consolidated approach. The reality is that, to do aid work [here], you have to work with the parallel structures.
"The early promise to co-operate with international agencies that have a record of non-political aid work in Burma has stalled. Costello is in Rangoon to try to break the deadlock. "Because we have been here 30 years, our initial understanding was it would not be difficult to get visas and bring in rapid relief experts," he says. "Whether it was the chorus of international disapproval with the slowness of the response [that changed their minds], I don't know.
"The US first lady, Laura Bush, upbraided the junta for failing to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path. "The response to the cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs," she told reporters in Washington.Given the US Government's poor performance in dealing with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, "it was appalling for Laura Bush to be criticising the Burmese", Wilson says. "The regime is mistrustful of the US.
They think there is always another agenda."The US has offered $US3 million ($3.2 million) in assistance on condition US experts are granted access to the country and disaster areas. With the Burmese refusing permission for US planes to land, Washington is now considering unsanctioned air drops of relief supplies in the disaster zone.Aung Naing Oo says one outcome of the disaster may be that the United Nations and other countries such as the US will have to look at the long-term impact of isolation they have imposed on Burma's military.
"Whether it is working or having a negative impact, the international community will have to think about that. This is an important fundamental question in the long term, if Burmese military remain in charge."Analysts say it may take months to fully understand the social, political and economic impact of Burma's greatest natural disaster. In the meantime, the generals insist they will go ahead with their constitutional referendum.
"The last thing on the minds of the people is politics. They need to survive," says Aung Naing Oo, who predicts a 70 per cent "no" vote. "Yet the military will continue with it because they cannot allow time for opposition to regroup."The new constitution is skewed towards the military; it would give us five to 10 per cent freedom. People may want to vote for or against the constitution but they are clearly against the military, so they will definitely vote no.
"On the streets of Rangoon, there is a new joke: with all the "big greens" - the trees - gone, how about they root out the "little greens" - the military - next. That is a scenario the longest-surviving military dictatorship in the world cannot contemplate."They believe, with a religious fervour, that without them, the nation would not exist," a Western diplomat in Rangoon said recently.
This Government's priority has always been military: it spends 40 per cent of gross domestic product to fund its 450,000-strong army, but only $US1 per person per year on health and $US3 per person a year on education. Before the disaster, by some estimates, 70 per cent of the population was below the international poverty line benchmark, of living on less than US$1 a day. Late this week the junta committed just $US5 million for cyclone relief, suggesting it still has little idea what will be required to stem this tragedy.
When the flood waters recede, the extent of damage to the nation's rice-producing farmland will be exposed. The planting season begins next month, so the season can still be salvaged if the delta's antiquated irrigation systems have not been badly damaged."They haven't destroyed the harvest but it might have damaged the rice in storage [needed for planting]," Wilson says. "Ongoing rice production depends on damage to the paddies and irrigation channels.
"Costello believes many levees need rebuilding. "At the moment [the priority] is to stop the water-borne diseases and give them appropriate shelter and blankets. I can almost positively say any rice [in storage] would have been lost. Such a volume of water went through these areas."There is also damage to transport infrastructure and communications, which will create ripples across the nation. Rangoon is a transport hub for food distribution around the country.
People are too busy surviving to strike back at the junta, but the long-term impact on the Government's standing with the people could be devastating. "It could be a turning point for the regime. It won't lead to political unrest now but if the military handle themselves very badly in this crisis, it could mean trouble later," Wilson says.
"This is a testing period for the military; they can gain back what they've lost in the past few days if they do well. If they were sensible, they would pull out all stops, defer the referendum, and actually do all they can, not just be seen to be doing all they can."But it's not likely. They are chronically incompetent." with agencies
Rangoon, as we know it, is gone. It's as though a huge whipper snipper has swooped over the city, taking out every tree, leaving not a billboard standing. The houses are broken and so are its people. In Burma they have a saying: if the roof is not sound, the whole house is prone to leaks.
If the people at the top are not reliable, there will be problems right through society from top to bottom.This week Burma's roof blew right off, with up to 100,000 people feared dead, a million homeless and the military junta, who run the country, exposed as calcified despots incapable of acting quickly to protect their people, their self-stated reason for being. For the geriatric generals, wedded to astrological signs, these are inauspicious times.
Meteorologists watched for days as Cyclone Nargis built up its storm head in the Bay of Bengal but state-run media issued little warning to the more than 24 million people across southern Burma in the storm's path. They assumed it would turn away. It was supposed to veer north and glance up the west coast of the state of Rakhine state before wreaking its havoc in Bangladesh's Ganges Delta. Each year, at the start of the monsoon season, the cyclones build in the Bay of Bengal between Burma and India then slide past the Irrawaddy Delta, Burma's rice bowl, providing life-giving rain without deadly consequences.
Cyclone Nargis was different; it did not veer north. Last Friday at 4pm, it made landfall in the densely populated Irrawaddy Delta, 250 kilometres south-west of Rangoon, the country's largest city and former capital. It punched through the bamboo village houses that were never designed to withstand 200-kmh winds or the deadly three-metre tidal surge that inundated the delta.Whole towns were decimated and tens of thousands drowned.
By midnight it had battered Rangoon, first with bruising rain and then, in the pre-dawn, with brutal wind gusts, uprooting 100-year-old banyan trees, snapping power poles and tearing roofs off houses.Those who survived in the delta have spent a week waiting for emergency relief - medicine, drinking water and shelter - while rotting bodies float in the water channels around them.
In Rangoon, after six days, drinking water and electricity are slowly coming back on line in some parts of the city.A situation that is already a national disaster could take on even greater catastrophic dimensions if aid does not reach the survivors in the next week. As the world's international aid agencies and governments rush to offer help, they have been met with surly suspicion and grinding bureaucracy by Burma's military rulers. Only a trickle of aid already inside the country has reached the worst-affected areas.
A worker for a non-government organisation inside Burma, who asked not to be named, says the military appears indifferent to the people's suffering.
"It is either that there is not much that they could do or they just refused to do more," the worker says. "The locals believe that it is their way of trying to control the people, that is to have the people pleading to them for help.
"One elderly women says: "We have a saying about a frog being crushed by a log. The log is on top and pressing down on the frog and there is nothing it can do. It will be crushed.
"A fisherman, Zaw Win, tells how he clung to a tree for three hours, watching as his wife, son, 10, and daughter, 4, were swept away in the surging tide. "I just held on and cried. I knew I'd lost my family," the 32-year-old says.
In his village, near Bogalay, only 40 of 2000 people have survived.
Zaw Win waded through water bobbing with corpses until he found a boat to ferry him to higher ground in Bogalay. But once there, he found little to eat or drink. "We need food, water, clothes and shelter," he says. "We'll starve to death if nothing is sent to us.
"Tim Costello, the head of World Vision Australia, says although the Burmese people are resilient and have few expectations of Government help, it is essential to get water purification and sanitation systems in place quickly to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.
"If we don't - it's still raining and that compounds the issue - it greases the lightning speed of an epidemic if it takes off ...
Because of the fragile, perilous situation, a much more apocalyptic scenario with epidemics could develop," he says.Despite this unfolding disaster, the junta has stubbornly insisted it will still hold today's national referendum on a new constitution in all areas except the disaster zones. Some analysts suggest the regime is insisting on holding the poll now because fallout from this disaster can only increase as time drags on.
A week after the devastating storm, inside and outside Burma people are asking how a country could be so unprepared. Senior General Than Shwe, who heads the junta, is an isolationist who historically has wanted no help from Western nations - he sees it as interference. Burma-watchers had their first real inkling of the disaster's scope when, three days after the cyclone struck, the junta announced it was open to international assistance.
"Because of the scale of the disaster, the Burmese military cannot resort to usual lies and cover up," says Aung Naing Oo, a political commentator and a former Burmese student activist based in Thailand. "They have to say something. This area is the most populated in Burma, close to half the population [of 50 million] live in Rangoon and the delta area."It comes down to Than Shwe; he knows the magnitude of the crisis and he's indifferent. He can say yes or no, he can bring assistance and relief into the country to help. It's not flowing.
"Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Burma, says it is sad to see the problems the regime has created for itself. "They took so long to respond;
Firstly, because it's very hierarchical; everything is decided by one man [Than Shwe]. With anything out of the ordinary, it's even more so," he says.
"Secondly, they are obsessed with security and national unity, and their default position is the impact on national security.
And thirdly, they have a real history of downplaying the impact of natural disasters. It has improved since 2004 - now they report them - but it is still controlled and censored. "Aung Naing Oo says: "They always say 'we can manage, we don't need your [international] help'. That myth was blown away. Now they can't let foreigners in because the Burmese military needs to be seen as responding.
The complaint on the streets is 'you show up immediately for the Saffron uprising [when thousands of soldiers brutally suppressed a popular uprising led by monks last September], but where are you now?"'State-run television is crowded with images of soldiers clearing trees and repairing houses just as last year, during the uprising, it was filled with images of staged pro-government mass rallies.
"There is an inherent distrust of the military," Aung Naing Oo says. "When they see the TV footage of soldiers they think it's just for show."Wilson says the junta place a low priority on relief for natural disasters but they have never had to deal with one on this scale. Yet still they stall. In Bangkok, Thailand, stockpiles of plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits and food, sit ready for airlift into the country. But until organisations get junta permission they cannot do a thing.
"Their emergency-service management is inadequate in normal times. If they are going to control everything, the movement of aid workers, every aid shipment, it's going to slow things down," says Wilson, who believes aid agencies already working in the country are best situated to help.
"They will be uncomfortable. They won't want foreign aid teams running around making their own decisions. They won't want the UN co-ordination office becoming a state within a state."They are not going to refuse aid, but they will make bad judgments and bad calls about how much, how, quickly and where. They are not experienced but the aid will get through, groups like World Vision and World Food Program know what they have to do.
"Susu Thatun, a Burmese national and a senior policy adviser with World Vision Australia, says: "World Vision's years of investment in development projects, working with local communities and partner organisations, gave the organisation credibility in the Government's eyes."I think based on the work we have done, it's a clear indication to the Government we are here to work with them.
"She says because the military is a key institution in Burma, it is natural that it is involved in aid distribution. "Military and civil administration have always worked together in Myanmar [Burma] for a consolidated approach. The reality is that, to do aid work [here], you have to work with the parallel structures.
"The early promise to co-operate with international agencies that have a record of non-political aid work in Burma has stalled. Costello is in Rangoon to try to break the deadlock. "Because we have been here 30 years, our initial understanding was it would not be difficult to get visas and bring in rapid relief experts," he says. "Whether it was the chorus of international disapproval with the slowness of the response [that changed their minds], I don't know.
"The US first lady, Laura Bush, upbraided the junta for failing to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path. "The response to the cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs," she told reporters in Washington.Given the US Government's poor performance in dealing with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, "it was appalling for Laura Bush to be criticising the Burmese", Wilson says. "The regime is mistrustful of the US.
They think there is always another agenda."The US has offered $US3 million ($3.2 million) in assistance on condition US experts are granted access to the country and disaster areas. With the Burmese refusing permission for US planes to land, Washington is now considering unsanctioned air drops of relief supplies in the disaster zone.Aung Naing Oo says one outcome of the disaster may be that the United Nations and other countries such as the US will have to look at the long-term impact of isolation they have imposed on Burma's military.
"Whether it is working or having a negative impact, the international community will have to think about that. This is an important fundamental question in the long term, if Burmese military remain in charge."Analysts say it may take months to fully understand the social, political and economic impact of Burma's greatest natural disaster. In the meantime, the generals insist they will go ahead with their constitutional referendum.
"The last thing on the minds of the people is politics. They need to survive," says Aung Naing Oo, who predicts a 70 per cent "no" vote. "Yet the military will continue with it because they cannot allow time for opposition to regroup."The new constitution is skewed towards the military; it would give us five to 10 per cent freedom. People may want to vote for or against the constitution but they are clearly against the military, so they will definitely vote no.
"On the streets of Rangoon, there is a new joke: with all the "big greens" - the trees - gone, how about they root out the "little greens" - the military - next. That is a scenario the longest-surviving military dictatorship in the world cannot contemplate."They believe, with a religious fervour, that without them, the nation would not exist," a Western diplomat in Rangoon said recently.
This Government's priority has always been military: it spends 40 per cent of gross domestic product to fund its 450,000-strong army, but only $US1 per person per year on health and $US3 per person a year on education. Before the disaster, by some estimates, 70 per cent of the population was below the international poverty line benchmark, of living on less than US$1 a day. Late this week the junta committed just $US5 million for cyclone relief, suggesting it still has little idea what will be required to stem this tragedy.
When the flood waters recede, the extent of damage to the nation's rice-producing farmland will be exposed. The planting season begins next month, so the season can still be salvaged if the delta's antiquated irrigation systems have not been badly damaged."They haven't destroyed the harvest but it might have damaged the rice in storage [needed for planting]," Wilson says. "Ongoing rice production depends on damage to the paddies and irrigation channels.
"Costello believes many levees need rebuilding. "At the moment [the priority] is to stop the water-borne diseases and give them appropriate shelter and blankets. I can almost positively say any rice [in storage] would have been lost. Such a volume of water went through these areas."There is also damage to transport infrastructure and communications, which will create ripples across the nation. Rangoon is a transport hub for food distribution around the country.
People are too busy surviving to strike back at the junta, but the long-term impact on the Government's standing with the people could be devastating. "It could be a turning point for the regime. It won't lead to political unrest now but if the military handle themselves very badly in this crisis, it could mean trouble later," Wilson says.
"This is a testing period for the military; they can gain back what they've lost in the past few days if they do well. If they were sensible, they would pull out all stops, defer the referendum, and actually do all they can, not just be seen to be doing all they can."But it's not likely. They are chronically incompetent." with agencies
Refugee voices - A vulnerable woman's life
Aliran News
It's not often we get to hear refugees speak for themselves about the circumstances that forced them to flee from their homeland and their plight in Malaysia. Here are stories from three refugees, edited only for spelling and punctuation.
I was working as a primary school teacher in a village in Burma near the border area of Thailand. Inevitably, to avoid the sexual harassment by the military soldiers, I fled to Thailand. I borrowed some money to pay agent fees from the head of village.
There, in Thailand, again, I was cheated by the agents, saying that I have to work as a house maid.
Actually, I have been sold to the massage centre to be a sex worker. As I bitterly refused to do the sex work and I have been kicked by the employer all night long. Due to my deep apology with tears, the agent had taken me to Malaysia to leave the sex worker work.
After reaching to Malaysia, I was sent to a restaurant to work as a dish washer. From morning 8.00am to night 11.00pm, I had to work - 15 hrs per day. Rather than a sex worker, I prefer to do any hard works.
But I got salary only RM 600 per month - without any day off. From my salary, RM100 pay for the police collected by the boss, RM100 for my food, RM100 for my room rent. With the remaining RM300, I had to send back to my country to pay my debt, till I clear my dues.
At work, I have to tackle smart, not to be sexual harassed by the boss and the male workers. I dare not wear pretty clothes and do my beauty, dare not apply lipstick and makeup, as our Burmese ladies used to do.
Actually, I am not so happy to stay like this. Sometimes, I miss my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters. I can only cry secretly, never let them know my troubles.
Without a proper document, daily, I have to avoid from the police and Relas. One day, before sending money, I have been caught by a police, and the money, to send home was bribed to police to be released..
When sleeping at night, I can't have sound sleep. The sound of horns or screaming voice interrupt my sleep. Along working hours already made me weak, this fear of police and Relas double me to get a heartache.
The worry to pay my debt also increases my blood pressure. I am full of stress and tension. If, I am sick who is taking care of me? No extra money in my hands.
Before resettling in third country, for temporary, I want to work in Malaysia, to pay my debt and for my survival. .I cannot go home at the moment. I pray for Malaysia government, Relas, immigration officers and the police to have mercy on us!
Please, only your help we need is o not arrest us.
MMM
It's not often we get to hear refugees speak for themselves about the circumstances that forced them to flee from their homeland and their plight in Malaysia. Here are stories from three refugees, edited only for spelling and punctuation.
I was working as a primary school teacher in a village in Burma near the border area of Thailand. Inevitably, to avoid the sexual harassment by the military soldiers, I fled to Thailand. I borrowed some money to pay agent fees from the head of village.
There, in Thailand, again, I was cheated by the agents, saying that I have to work as a house maid.
Actually, I have been sold to the massage centre to be a sex worker. As I bitterly refused to do the sex work and I have been kicked by the employer all night long. Due to my deep apology with tears, the agent had taken me to Malaysia to leave the sex worker work.
After reaching to Malaysia, I was sent to a restaurant to work as a dish washer. From morning 8.00am to night 11.00pm, I had to work - 15 hrs per day. Rather than a sex worker, I prefer to do any hard works.
But I got salary only RM 600 per month - without any day off. From my salary, RM100 pay for the police collected by the boss, RM100 for my food, RM100 for my room rent. With the remaining RM300, I had to send back to my country to pay my debt, till I clear my dues.
At work, I have to tackle smart, not to be sexual harassed by the boss and the male workers. I dare not wear pretty clothes and do my beauty, dare not apply lipstick and makeup, as our Burmese ladies used to do.
Actually, I am not so happy to stay like this. Sometimes, I miss my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters. I can only cry secretly, never let them know my troubles.
Without a proper document, daily, I have to avoid from the police and Relas. One day, before sending money, I have been caught by a police, and the money, to send home was bribed to police to be released..
When sleeping at night, I can't have sound sleep. The sound of horns or screaming voice interrupt my sleep. Along working hours already made me weak, this fear of police and Relas double me to get a heartache.
The worry to pay my debt also increases my blood pressure. I am full of stress and tension. If, I am sick who is taking care of me? No extra money in my hands.
Before resettling in third country, for temporary, I want to work in Malaysia, to pay my debt and for my survival. .I cannot go home at the moment. I pray for Malaysia government, Relas, immigration officers and the police to have mercy on us!
Please, only your help we need is o not arrest us.
MMM
Most Ceasefire Groups Undecided on 2010 Election
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
Despite government pressure, most ethnic ceasefire groups are undecided on whether to disarm and form political parties to contest the Burmese general election scheduled for 2010, according to sources close to the ceasefire groups.
For one month now, Burmese military authorities have been urging the ceasefire groups to surrender—in effect, lay down their weapons—and form political parties. An alternative option for the ceasefire groups could be to enlist their troops as special combat police, said the sources.
Two ethnic ceasefire groups—the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N)—have not yet responded to the request of the Burmese authorities, according to sources in Shan State.
The editor of Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), Khuensai Jaiyen, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that no statement had been made as yet. The UWSA just want autonomy, he added.
The UWSA has an estimated 20,000 soldiers deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of southern Shan State.
Another ethnic ceasefire group, the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, also known as the Mongla group, has been under pressure to decommission its weapons or serve as a special combat police unit under government command, according to a senior official of the Mongla who was quoted recently by SHAN.
The Mongla group, however, have not replied to the military government’s call for surrender, the article added.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Sai Murng, deputy spokesman of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), said, “I think the ceasefire groups have only two options. One is to surrender and do what the regime says. The other is to fight back against the Burmese army.”
Meanwhile, Nai ong Ma-nge, a spokesman for the ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said, “We haven’t decided as yet whether to be involved in the 2010 election. It is a major political change, so we have to wait for a decision from headquarters.”
The NMSP entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1995.
A source close to a Karen ceasefire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), said, “At this moment, it is impossible for the DKBA to surrender and form a party. The DKBA has no interest in being involved in the political process. They will retain their weapons and maintain their development and business interests in Karen State.”
The DKBA is a breakaway group of the Karen National Union—Burma’s largest ethnic insurgency group. The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the military government in 1994 after splitting from the KNU.
However, an ethnic Kachin ceasefire group, the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), will reportedly lay down its weapons and participate in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa, a Kachin source on the Sino-Burmese border.
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which is based along the Sino-Burmese border, will also take part in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa. However, it was still unclear whether the KIO would agree to a surrender, he added.
The KIO, founded in 1961, was one of 17 ethnic armed groups that signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1990s.
Recently, the Burmese regime published an article in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar calling the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in the 1990 general election “illegal,” and calling for the party to run in the 2010 elections.
The Irrawaddy News
Despite government pressure, most ethnic ceasefire groups are undecided on whether to disarm and form political parties to contest the Burmese general election scheduled for 2010, according to sources close to the ceasefire groups.
For one month now, Burmese military authorities have been urging the ceasefire groups to surrender—in effect, lay down their weapons—and form political parties. An alternative option for the ceasefire groups could be to enlist their troops as special combat police, said the sources.
Two ethnic ceasefire groups—the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N)—have not yet responded to the request of the Burmese authorities, according to sources in Shan State.
The editor of Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), Khuensai Jaiyen, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that no statement had been made as yet. The UWSA just want autonomy, he added.
The UWSA has an estimated 20,000 soldiers deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of southern Shan State.
Another ethnic ceasefire group, the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, also known as the Mongla group, has been under pressure to decommission its weapons or serve as a special combat police unit under government command, according to a senior official of the Mongla who was quoted recently by SHAN.
The Mongla group, however, have not replied to the military government’s call for surrender, the article added.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Sai Murng, deputy spokesman of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), said, “I think the ceasefire groups have only two options. One is to surrender and do what the regime says. The other is to fight back against the Burmese army.”
Meanwhile, Nai ong Ma-nge, a spokesman for the ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said, “We haven’t decided as yet whether to be involved in the 2010 election. It is a major political change, so we have to wait for a decision from headquarters.”
The NMSP entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1995.
A source close to a Karen ceasefire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), said, “At this moment, it is impossible for the DKBA to surrender and form a party. The DKBA has no interest in being involved in the political process. They will retain their weapons and maintain their development and business interests in Karen State.”
The DKBA is a breakaway group of the Karen National Union—Burma’s largest ethnic insurgency group. The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the military government in 1994 after splitting from the KNU.
However, an ethnic Kachin ceasefire group, the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), will reportedly lay down its weapons and participate in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa, a Kachin source on the Sino-Burmese border.
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which is based along the Sino-Burmese border, will also take part in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa. However, it was still unclear whether the KIO would agree to a surrender, he added.
The KIO, founded in 1961, was one of 17 ethnic armed groups that signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1990s.
Recently, the Burmese regime published an article in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar calling the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in the 1990 general election “illegal,” and calling for the party to run in the 2010 elections.
Junta Profits from Growing Gap in Value of Cash and FECs
By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News
The growing gap between the value of the US dollar and Burmese foreign exchange certificates (FECs)—introduced in 1994 to ensure that most hard currency that enters the country ends up in government hands—is turning Cyclone Nargis relief efforts into a major cash cow for Burma’s ruling junta.
All international aid agencies working in Burma are required to deposit money for operating expenses in accounts at the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB). These deposits—usually made in US dollars—can only be withdrawn in FECs, which are technically equal in value.
However, since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3, the actual value of the FEC has fallen considerably, from slightly lower than the US unit to just over 80 percent of the dollar’s black market exchange rate.
According to members of Rangoon’s business community, FECs now fetch just 965 kyat per unit, while the dollar is worth around 1170.
Businessmen say the price of FECs started to fall in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as Burmese living overseas began to transfer large amounts of cash into MFTB accounts to support the relief effort.
After the junta finally decided to allow major international aid agencies to enter the country in late May, the FECs dropped further.
“The demand for FECs [from international relief groups] increased, so the government just printed more,” said a Rangoon-based economic observer. “This drove down their value, because now the currency market is flooded with FECs.”
Besides international organizations and foreign-owned businesses, Burmese employed abroad are also required to hold MFTB accounts to send remittances to their families in Burma.
“I have to transfer my dollar salary to my MFTB account, but when my family withdraws the money in FECs, it’s worth a lot less,” complained a Burmese engineer working in South Africa. “Nowadays we lose at least 200 kyat on the dollar.”
A Burmese relief worker said that the more aid that flows into country, the less the FEC will be worth.
“International agencies and overseas Burmese deposit US dollars for local purchases, but they can only withdraw FECs. The more dollars that come into Burma, the more FEC there will be in the market,” said the relief worker.
Economic observers pointed out that the government, which has been driving down the value of the FEC by printing them in large numbers, is now effectively earning a 20 percent “tax” on all aid coming into the country.
According to figures released by the United Nations, US $134 million has so far been spent on the international relief mission in Burma, some of it used to purchase supplies and pay for services locally.
The Irrawaddy News
The growing gap between the value of the US dollar and Burmese foreign exchange certificates (FECs)—introduced in 1994 to ensure that most hard currency that enters the country ends up in government hands—is turning Cyclone Nargis relief efforts into a major cash cow for Burma’s ruling junta.
All international aid agencies working in Burma are required to deposit money for operating expenses in accounts at the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB). These deposits—usually made in US dollars—can only be withdrawn in FECs, which are technically equal in value.
However, since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3, the actual value of the FEC has fallen considerably, from slightly lower than the US unit to just over 80 percent of the dollar’s black market exchange rate.
According to members of Rangoon’s business community, FECs now fetch just 965 kyat per unit, while the dollar is worth around 1170.
Businessmen say the price of FECs started to fall in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as Burmese living overseas began to transfer large amounts of cash into MFTB accounts to support the relief effort.
After the junta finally decided to allow major international aid agencies to enter the country in late May, the FECs dropped further.
“The demand for FECs [from international relief groups] increased, so the government just printed more,” said a Rangoon-based economic observer. “This drove down their value, because now the currency market is flooded with FECs.”
Besides international organizations and foreign-owned businesses, Burmese employed abroad are also required to hold MFTB accounts to send remittances to their families in Burma.
“I have to transfer my dollar salary to my MFTB account, but when my family withdraws the money in FECs, it’s worth a lot less,” complained a Burmese engineer working in South Africa. “Nowadays we lose at least 200 kyat on the dollar.”
A Burmese relief worker said that the more aid that flows into country, the less the FEC will be worth.
“International agencies and overseas Burmese deposit US dollars for local purchases, but they can only withdraw FECs. The more dollars that come into Burma, the more FEC there will be in the market,” said the relief worker.
Economic observers pointed out that the government, which has been driving down the value of the FEC by printing them in large numbers, is now effectively earning a 20 percent “tax” on all aid coming into the country.
According to figures released by the United Nations, US $134 million has so far been spent on the international relief mission in Burma, some of it used to purchase supplies and pay for services locally.
Food shortage threatens Burmese survivors
UPI Asia Online
Bangkok, Thailand — Two months after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported that more than 1 million cyclone victims have yet to receive any assistance. In lieu of effective help for farmers in the country’s devastated rice bowl, the World Food Program has warned that almost 1 million people will need food assistance for at least the next six months.
Traumatized children and teachers are struggling on with the school year and doctors race to provide crucial help to pregnant women. The international community is suspended in limbo while the people of Burma limp on, still waiting for the promised signs of progress.
The effects of the cyclone have certainly been political, despite desperate diplomatic claims to the contrary. The junta has demonstrated its intransigence and destructive paranoia to an increasingly impatient world, and passions may have been reignited in the brutally suppressed people of Burma.
The international community chose not to apply the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect; a decision that might have cost many lives. Whether change comes from within or from outside remains to be seen, but in a country with such a strangulating government it seems unlikely that even a people so keen for democracy can do it alone.
The United Nations has reported that cooperation between the international humanitarian community and the Burmese authorities is improving, despite some bureaucratic hurdles. At a press conference in Tokyo, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon referred to his “meaningful dialogue” with Senior General Than Shwe and the Burmese authorities’ “encouraging” acceptance of international aid workers. But in the face of such prolonged desperation in the delta, such claims risk sounding hollow.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 52,000 farmers will be unable to cultivate monsoon crops without immediate comprehensive help. The consequences of missing this season’s crop are dire. One farmer was quoted as saying, “There is a silent Nargis ahead. We are sure to starve if we miss this season.”
The situation looks bleak. Despite the efforts of the Burmese and international communities, farmers simply haven’t been provided with sufficient seeds, tractors or fuel to plant effectively.
Corruption has served only to compound the extreme difficulties faced in the delta region. The chairperson of the Phyar Pon Township Peace and Development Council is being investigated following accusations that he sold 5,000 bags of fertiliser intended for township farmers. The Thanpyuzayart Town Peace and Development Council collected 1,000 kyat from each of more than 6,000 households in order to pay for the cremations of 389 cyclone victims. Almost one-third of the money collected remains unaccounted for.
Local authorities in Labutta are pressuring 7,000 cyclone survivors to return to their homes. Those who agree to do so will be provided with enough food to last ten days and will be entered in a draw for new houses; those who refuse to leave have been warned that they can expect no aid next month.
The construction projects in the seat of the junta, Nay Pyi Daw, have ground to a halt as construction companies are relocated to assist with the reconstruction efforts in the Irrawaddy delta. An estimated 80 percent of construction work has been relocated, leaving workers jobless or forced to move with the companies. There are concerns that workers must often go unpaid due to the financial problems of their contractors.
Villagers have voiced their doubts that the regime will fulfil its promise to build 6,000 new houses for cyclone victims. Some have further commented that, though they received sufficient aid from private donors, the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations, the junta merely pretended to provide aid in front of its state television channel.
Local organizations in Burma continue their efforts to assist cyclone victims. The National League for Democracy announced plans to focus efforts on providing clean drinking water to cyclone-afflicted villages. The party’s Cyclone Relief Committee will clean and mend ponds used to collect rainwater that have been damaged by salt water carried by the cyclone.
A Rangoon-based NGO, the Myanmar Business Executive Group, has announced a 50 million kyat (more than US$40,000) microfinance scheme to help victims of the cyclone. Loans will be offered to those with no collateral on the basis of recommendations from others in their communities.
An estimated 500 farmers in Dedaye Township have been assisted by a scheme to provide mechanical tillers. The scheme follows the highly successful model of Mohammed Yunus’ microcredit scheme in Bangladesh.
The Medical Association has reported that a total of 21,834 cyclone victims have been found to be carrying the tuberculosis virus. TB, a communicable disease that easily affects vulnerable people living in densely populated relief camps, is of high concern in Burma.
Reporters Sans Frontieres notes that at least 10 foreign journalists have been expelled since the cyclone, the latest of whom is Inga Gruss, a German volunteer with local NGO Myanmar Egress. The authorities are thought to have become suspicious after she met veteran politicians and ethnic leaders for her social science research.
Burmese border police have caught human traffickers as they tried to smuggle 80 women and children from the cyclone-afflicted region into neighboring countries. It is feared that trafficking will increase in the wake of the cyclone, and the regime has warned against the exploitation of cyclone victims. Burma introduced an anti-trafficking law in 2005 that carries a maximum penalty of death.
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(Khin Ohmar is coordinator of the Asia Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma, based in Thailand. She can be contacted at appartnership@gmail.com. Her blog may be found at http://apppb.blogspot.com.)
Bangkok, Thailand — Two months after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported that more than 1 million cyclone victims have yet to receive any assistance. In lieu of effective help for farmers in the country’s devastated rice bowl, the World Food Program has warned that almost 1 million people will need food assistance for at least the next six months.
Traumatized children and teachers are struggling on with the school year and doctors race to provide crucial help to pregnant women. The international community is suspended in limbo while the people of Burma limp on, still waiting for the promised signs of progress.
The effects of the cyclone have certainly been political, despite desperate diplomatic claims to the contrary. The junta has demonstrated its intransigence and destructive paranoia to an increasingly impatient world, and passions may have been reignited in the brutally suppressed people of Burma.
The international community chose not to apply the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect; a decision that might have cost many lives. Whether change comes from within or from outside remains to be seen, but in a country with such a strangulating government it seems unlikely that even a people so keen for democracy can do it alone.
The United Nations has reported that cooperation between the international humanitarian community and the Burmese authorities is improving, despite some bureaucratic hurdles. At a press conference in Tokyo, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon referred to his “meaningful dialogue” with Senior General Than Shwe and the Burmese authorities’ “encouraging” acceptance of international aid workers. But in the face of such prolonged desperation in the delta, such claims risk sounding hollow.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 52,000 farmers will be unable to cultivate monsoon crops without immediate comprehensive help. The consequences of missing this season’s crop are dire. One farmer was quoted as saying, “There is a silent Nargis ahead. We are sure to starve if we miss this season.”
The situation looks bleak. Despite the efforts of the Burmese and international communities, farmers simply haven’t been provided with sufficient seeds, tractors or fuel to plant effectively.
Corruption has served only to compound the extreme difficulties faced in the delta region. The chairperson of the Phyar Pon Township Peace and Development Council is being investigated following accusations that he sold 5,000 bags of fertiliser intended for township farmers. The Thanpyuzayart Town Peace and Development Council collected 1,000 kyat from each of more than 6,000 households in order to pay for the cremations of 389 cyclone victims. Almost one-third of the money collected remains unaccounted for.
Local authorities in Labutta are pressuring 7,000 cyclone survivors to return to their homes. Those who agree to do so will be provided with enough food to last ten days and will be entered in a draw for new houses; those who refuse to leave have been warned that they can expect no aid next month.
The construction projects in the seat of the junta, Nay Pyi Daw, have ground to a halt as construction companies are relocated to assist with the reconstruction efforts in the Irrawaddy delta. An estimated 80 percent of construction work has been relocated, leaving workers jobless or forced to move with the companies. There are concerns that workers must often go unpaid due to the financial problems of their contractors.
Villagers have voiced their doubts that the regime will fulfil its promise to build 6,000 new houses for cyclone victims. Some have further commented that, though they received sufficient aid from private donors, the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations, the junta merely pretended to provide aid in front of its state television channel.
Local organizations in Burma continue their efforts to assist cyclone victims. The National League for Democracy announced plans to focus efforts on providing clean drinking water to cyclone-afflicted villages. The party’s Cyclone Relief Committee will clean and mend ponds used to collect rainwater that have been damaged by salt water carried by the cyclone.
A Rangoon-based NGO, the Myanmar Business Executive Group, has announced a 50 million kyat (more than US$40,000) microfinance scheme to help victims of the cyclone. Loans will be offered to those with no collateral on the basis of recommendations from others in their communities.
An estimated 500 farmers in Dedaye Township have been assisted by a scheme to provide mechanical tillers. The scheme follows the highly successful model of Mohammed Yunus’ microcredit scheme in Bangladesh.
The Medical Association has reported that a total of 21,834 cyclone victims have been found to be carrying the tuberculosis virus. TB, a communicable disease that easily affects vulnerable people living in densely populated relief camps, is of high concern in Burma.
Reporters Sans Frontieres notes that at least 10 foreign journalists have been expelled since the cyclone, the latest of whom is Inga Gruss, a German volunteer with local NGO Myanmar Egress. The authorities are thought to have become suspicious after she met veteran politicians and ethnic leaders for her social science research.
Burmese border police have caught human traffickers as they tried to smuggle 80 women and children from the cyclone-afflicted region into neighboring countries. It is feared that trafficking will increase in the wake of the cyclone, and the regime has warned against the exploitation of cyclone victims. Burma introduced an anti-trafficking law in 2005 that carries a maximum penalty of death.
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(Khin Ohmar is coordinator of the Asia Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma, based in Thailand. She can be contacted at appartnership@gmail.com. Her blog may be found at http://apppb.blogspot.com.)