Burma Cyclone

Interesting piece from the Associated Press on the political fallout from the Saffron Revolution and then the cyclone. Here’s an excerpt: 

<<Analysts say these passions and emerging trends may in the longer term loosen the junta’s grip on power. But for now it’s business as usual: dissidents are arrested, a brutal campaign against ethnic minorities rages on and the military strides toward elections guaranteed to perpetuate its control.>>

Also states that the influx of foreigners post-Nargis ‘may be the most intense interaction Myanmar has experienced with the outside world since gaining independence from Great Britain in 1948.”

Also, from Agence France Presse: UN chief says will press Myanmar on democracy.

–Karen  

3hird Medium Band will host a concert in Queens on July 12 to raise money for children orphaned by Cyclone Nargis. Tickets are $15 and must be purchased in advance.  Complimentary food and drinks will be available from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Concert kicks off at 7 p.m at the Walter Crowley Intermediate School,  50-40 Jacobus Street in Elmhurst. For tickets contact Ko Ye Lin at 646-299-1683.

–Karen

The note below is from the team at Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation, a group of volunteers from around the world who are working to bring relief to cyclone victims in Burma.

———————————————-

Dear All,

Please come and support us to raise fund for the victims of cyclone in
Myanmar (Burma).

We will have different kind of authentic Burmese food, Cold and Hot
drinks, Gift Items, and T-shirts at the event.  

Date: June 28, 2008 (Saturday)

Time: 12pm - 5pm

Location: PS-150,  40-01  43rd Avenue, Sunnyside, NY 11104

Thank you.

The Moegyo Team

–
“Joining hands to save people life in Myanmar (Burma)”
Together, we can make a difference!
http://blog.moegyo.org/

– Karen

8-8-08 for Burma invites artists to submit original artwork for a tee shirt that will benefit relief and advocacy efforts for the peoples of Burma. Artists are invited to view the photo galleries provided on the 8-8-08 for Burma website to inspire their work.

Submissions should be emailed to info@8808forburma.org as a PDF, by July 2, 2008.

–Karen

As news about the Myanmar cyclone and it’s aftermath recedes into the background (including in the media), an op-ed in the Burmese news magazine, The Irrawaddy, sheds light on why the junta refused assistance from the U.S. military. And I quote,

“What the generals truly fear is that if they allow US warships and foreign forces to come to the aid of cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta, people will soon rise up and the regime would be overthrown. That fear prevented the Than Shwe regime from allowing the US to come in and help.”

As the fate of more than 2 million remains unknown, local Burmese sources such as The Irrawaddy are good to remain tuned in to what’s happening on the ground.

Some of the it’s top stories include:

• Foreign doctors leave cyclone-hit Burma
• UN Official warns of ‘disastrous consequences’ for food without diesel
• Obstacles force donors to abandon the delta
  
• The troops have arrived at last, but where’s the aid?
• Nargi’s Number Game

  There’s tons more stories here.–Divya

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, former U.S. secretary of state, Madelaine K. Albright offered three reasons why the world didn’t intervene more forcefully in Myanmar.

The introductory excerpt to the piece:

“THE Burmese government’s criminally neglectful response to last month’s cyclone, and the world’s response to that response, illustrate three grim realities today: totalitarian governments are alive and well; their neighbors are reluctant to pressure them to change; and the notion of national sovereignty as sacred is gaining ground, helped in no small part by the disastrous results of the American invasion of Iraq. “

Read the full op-ed here.

–Divya

Simon Montlake reports in the Christian Science Monitor that grassroots groups are funneling aid through the volative Thai-Burma border region.

An excerpt:

<<Aid is also trickling over the Thai-Burmese border, a hotbed of activism against Burma’s regime. It’s a backdoor channel for aid groups unwilling or unable to go through the front. By tapping an existing underground network in Burma, they try to bypass official channels and put aid directly in the hands of the most needy. >>

–Karen

This article is about Zimbabwe and Mugabe’s dictatorial ways that are proving all too self-destructive for his own country. It raises an interesting point for humanitarian relief, however, particularly in the wake of the Burma and China disasters, and I quote…

“Zimbabwe is in the midst of a slow-motion, man-made disaster. It is as if the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China were state-sponsored tragedies.”

Read the full article here.

– Divya

A month of misery
(First para of the article)

WHEN the United Nations’ secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, met Myanmar’s reclusive leader, General Than Shwe, on May 23rd, he secured a promise of free access for foreign aid workers to the millions of victims of cyclone Nargis. But more than a month after the cyclone, many have still not been reached. Access to the devastated Irrawaddy delta is only slightly freer.

Read the full article here.

–Divya

Burmese Forced from Relief Camps
By Simon Montlake

Bangkok, Thailand - Aid agencies trying to help cyclone survivors in Burma (Myanmar) are increasingly bumping up against what appears to be a coordinated government drive to close temporary relief camps in towns and send villagers back home, sometimes by force, to fend for themselves.

Read the full article here.

–Divya