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  

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

The Los Angeles Times has published a first-person account by one its reporters who traveled secretly and extensively throughout the Delta region.

An excerpt:

<<Over the last 16 years, I have reported on famine, massive earthquakes and a tsunami. Cyclone Nargis is the first natural disaster that required working undercover to write about the hungry, sick and homeless.>>

Also check out the L.A. Times Cyclone Nargis news roundup, photos, and videos.

–Karen

From the AP:

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A state-controlled newspaper said Wednesday that Myanmar’s military rulers were breaking no laws by holding pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for a sixth straight year.

The junta’s recent decision to extend Suu Kyi’s detention by one year sparked international outrage, with the Nobel Peace laureate’s party and foreign defense lawyers arguing the junta could legally only hold her for five years.

Read more here

-Lam

The latest New York Times story says that a visit to some of the Irrawaddy Delta villages hardest hit by the cyclone suggests ”that the story of the death and destruction, compounded by the junta’s actions, has been neither fully told nor even fully seen.” Their reporter inside Myanmar is still anonymous.

–Karen

A Washington Post editorial slams the junta for their ‘obscene’ indifference to human life in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. An excerpt:

<< It is politics — the generals’ politics — that is killing uncounted numbers of children in Burma’s delta. It is the generals’ politics to rebuff emergency relief while demanding reconstruction loans that could make the junta richer. And it is the generals’ politics that is forcing villagers to strain the mud for rotten rice while tons of clean food float unused not many miles away. >>

A graphic description from the Los Angeles Times of villagers searching for rice among corpses: Myanmar Villagers Scavenge for Rotten Rice

Charges that the junta is threatening villagers before visits by aid groups, from Irrawaddy: Cyclone Survivors Don’t Want UN Chief to Visit Delta

–Karen

The Burmese news site Mizzima has posted new photos of from the Irrawaddy region.

Also, the latest from the NY Times: Weeks After Cyclone in Myanmar, Even Farmers Wait For Food.

–Karen

I have so far refrained from posting graphic photography/imagery of the Burma cyclone victims on this blog…until I came across this.

In the Eye of the Myanmar (Burma) Cyclone: A Firsthand Account (May 2008 ) by James Whitlow Delano

In a hard-hitting piece that appeared in the latest edition of “The Digital Journalist,” Delano provides a written first-hand account of what he saw in Burma as cyclone Nargis unleashed its fury. Mid-way through the account there is a powerful description of the extent and force of the disaster when he writes:

“A street sign 6 feet wide (2 m) and 3 feet high (1 m) shuttered suddenly and then a gust sent it frantically flying into infinity, never to be seen again. It simply disappeared.”

Delano’s intrepid reporting may have cost him a future ticket to Burma, as he admits himself in the postscript.

[AUTHOR'S POSTSCRIPT: "I may not be able to return after this series is seen because it poses some tough questions about the true nature of a government that already had a reputation for brutality. Now, you see neglect. If that is the price for reporting this – so be it. I would wear the honor of being on their blacklist with honor (though I would be happy too if I could return again)."]

Below is an image from the feature gallery that accompanies Delano’s article.

(Note: Viewer discretion advised. Graphic images may be disturbing to some viewers).

–Divya

I just learned that Reuters has a site, AlertNet, that carries news “alerting humanitarians to emergencies.” Their top story today is on Myanmar. The lede:

<<Torrential tropical downpours lashed Myanmar’s cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta on Friday as thousands of destitute victims took to roadsides to beg for help to supplement the meagre trickle of aid flowing in.>>

See AlertNet’s full cyclone coverage, including videos, maps, links and more.

–Karen