Cyclone in Burma (Myanmar)

[Pouye]

Wow. This cyclone in Burma (Myanmar) was quite a storm.

A friend of ours went to visit Burma a couple of years ago. The government there (run by the military) has been extremely violent against Christians and resistant to the outside world (mainly the West). The government is very prideful and has boasted that it can handle anything. Christians have been murdered by the hundreds, and churches have been vandalized, with church leaders often imprisoned, tortured and/or killed.

The death toll of this recent cyclone (with a tidal wave) has reached nearly 50,000 people and is climbing. It is a complete disaster zone, and the Burmese government has essentially resisted help from outside. They are suspicious of others, and even though they have asked for money/aid, they don't want any help distributing it (which means the donors will not give them aid under those conditions).

The USA has offered to help, but they don't want the USA "snooping around" so-to-speak. I guess they would rather see thousands of their own people die than risk a little pride. I feel so sorry for these oppressed people. This whole situation just makes me sick to my stomach. Suffering people, unjust rulers. Bad combination!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080506/ts_nm/myanmar_cyclone_dc_20

Rock

[pamcharlie]

My thoughts and prayers are with the christians in the country since i support two groups that help the perscuted church, voice of the martyrs and open doors i pray that the christians in the country will know that there are people in the west praying and thinking about them, and also i really hope that aid will get to the people and areas that really need it, i need to ask a lady at my church who is head of an aid agency what we can as a church and hopefully we will do an offering for Myanmar.

[The Unknown Gomer]

I saw that last night, at how all these aid planes all over the world are being loaded up with supplies but aren't being given the green light to actually LAND in Myanmar to be able to help. :confused: Crazy government over there. Isn't that the same place that was in the news for jailing protesting monks a few months ago?

Got an email from World Vision last night, sounds like they've actually already got a presence there on the ground in Myanmar, so I donated money to them last night.

[kiwisongbird]

So glad to see this post - this is a serious tragedy, but in a way it is certainly getting Burma into the eyes of the world. The protests last year helped some - now this... there is no democracy in Burma, Google and you'll find heaps of stuff about it...

In Prayer and Praise I talked about my trek into the jungle to visit some displaced orphans from Burma, not sure if they've been affected as they live close to the border, hoping to hear from them some way soon...

Let's pray and keep these people before the throne of God.

[Evanescence]

Their pride may change once reality sets in....or the UN may step in and our aid will get there anyway...

So, sad.....those people have NOTHING...and now they have less than nothing...

[kiwisongbird]

I hate how things are so expensive for them now, bus fares into the city have gone up five times since the disaster - apparently the 'government' runs the bus system - one report tells of how roofing and nails have gone up in price as well - it's so sad that life that was extremely hard for these people has gotten much much harder... how much can people stand?

[Evanescence]

100K may be dead....terrible

[Aussie3rddayfan]

100K may be dead....terrible

They are counting the missing as dead at the moment. The numbers I have heard place confirmed dead as 27 000 ish. And they have so far let only one UN plane in. It's such a shame that the government can't put people ahead of politics.

Pray. Pray. Pray.

[kiwisongbird]

Numbers from Burma are usually more than what they tell us. Apparently they had 48 hours warning that this was going to happen and did nothing! I feel physically sick just thinking about it...thinking about all those people on the delta who had absolutely nowhere to run to get out of the way of the big wave - I can't even imagine how people living in a place like this can carry on having hope, believing in a better life... they've been abused for so very long...

[maui sista]

I cry for them....

[sandyandporter]

Numbers from Burma are usually more than what they tell us. Apparently they had 48 hours warning that this was going to happen and did nothing! I feel physically sick just thinking about it...thinking about all those people on the delta who had absolutely nowhere to run to get out of the way of the big wave - I can't even imagine how people living in a place like this can carry on having hope, believing in a better life... they've been abused for so very long...

That is so, so sad... and wrong! The only thing we can hope for is that this tragedy and the government's handling (mishandling) of it will bring world attention to their plight.

[DareDevil]

What I don't get is how it is possible that the regular soldiers are so loyal to their government! If I am not mistaken then they have around 500,000 soldiers and not all of them can belong to the ruling military class. But then, maybe they are just better slaves with just enough equipment to be a danger for regular citizens but not well enough equipped to deal with elite units. :(

[kiwisongbird]

Many of them are 'stolen' when they are very young and 'raised' in the army - given drugs and alcohol and food... many know no other life but the army, it's their family.

[Aussie3rddayfan]

That is so, so sad... and wrong! The only thing we can hope for is that this tragedy and the government's handling (mishandling) of it will bring world attention to their plight.

The problem is that the world already knows about the mistreatment of the Burmese people. Their government has failed to act out of either lack of ability, lack of knowledge or lack of concern. If they really knew that tens of thousands would die from a cyclone in a few days and did nothing...

Makes your blood boil. :mad:

[kiwisongbird]

Please pray for the UN to just go in to save lives, they are allowed to do that, they are allowed to over rule what the 'government' has said - the 'government are not allowing aid workers to get visas to get into Burma - this is really desperate, the infrastructure for getting aid to people is almost non-existent - bodies are rotting in the only water around that is available for drinking, people will be drinking it - soon more will die from cholera and dysentry - and the 'government' is worried about the political ramifications of letting aid workers in... have a look at some of the videos, it's tragic, the people are just standing around, like they have no idea what to do - in fact they likely don't - the soldiers aren't doing much at all - guess they don't have to worry about any looting as there is nothing to loot I suppose!!

[sandyandporter]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354665,00.html
U.N. Suspends Aid Shipments to Myanmar After Government Confiscates Donations
Friday , May 09, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar —

Myanmar's junta seized U.N. aid shipments headed for hungry and homeless survivors of last week's devastating cyclone, prompting the world body to suspend further help on Friday.

The U.N. said the aid included 38 tons of high-energy biscuits and arrived in Myanmar on Friday on two flights from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates. It said aid flights would resume on Saturday.

BREAKING NEWS is showing that the government is allowing ONE American relief flight. We'll see what happens next.

[sandyandporter]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354722,00.html

WASHINGTON — A Pentagon spokesman says the military junta that governs Myanmar has agreed to allow a single U.S. cargo aircraft to bring in relief supplies for victims of a cyclone.

Marine Major Stuart Upton, the spokesman, told reporters Friday: "We hope that this is the beginning of broader support between the United States and Burma to help the Burmese people."

• Click here to see photos.

Earlier, Ky Luu, director of the U.S. office of foreign disaster assistance, said that skilled aid workers were being forced to sit on the sidelines as victims of last week's cyclone die. His comments reflect the mounting frustration among the United States and other countries as they wait for permission from the military-led government to begin trying to help.

[mindyhere]

:(

This is heartbreaking.

Anyone know what their religion is?

[DareDevil]

If I am not mistaken then most of them are Buddhists. There are also a few Christians though (less than 5%?), but there are indications that there is a secret military project that is supposed to extinguish Christianity there.:(

[sandyandporter]

http://www.freeburmarangers.org/About_Us/

Here is a link if you're interested in learning more about the plight of these people and the efforts of some brave people to help!

[DareDevil]

Now I am also beginning to become concerned about the international implications. The reason for that is the talk about how China would surely block any UN resolution concerning Burma and how one should force Burma to allow foreign aid into the country anyways. This talk is, of course, combined with statements as to how the world has become much smaller and how countries should act as one, i.e. as 'one world'.

I know that there is already some serious trouble going on there, but when I hear things like that then I can't help but wonder whether the events in Birma might be the beginning of 'something' else...

[kiwisongbird]

If I am not mistaken then most of them are Buddhists. There are also a few Christians though (less than 5%?), but there are indications that there is a secret military project that is supposed to extinguish Christianity there.:(

Read the Free Burma Rangers site it'll tell you about the Karen, Shan and Kaya or Karenni people as well...

[sandie]

We've been following this in Oz, too.

The Australian Government has relief supplies for Myanmar, but has been refused permission for relief workers to land. Kevin Rudd has made strong comments about the importance of getting the aid to the people, and was going to speak to Chinese officials, to exert pressure on the govt in Myanmar.

I haven't heard anything in the last few hours.

[kiwisongbird]

I read in a Thai newspaper today that the democratically elected leader (An San Syu Kyi) is still under house arrest in her home, the roof has been taken off by the cyclone and she has no power and probably no water - the reporter had spoken to a neighbour of hers... trees had fallen in the compound around her house and the soldiers guarding it have not helped at all - the neighbour has seen her at night walking around the house with candles - we need to pray for her as well...

[Yippy]

A friend of our forums ;) has asked me to post this:

Information received from people working inside the country says ...
100,000 dead is a conservative estimate
At least 2/3 of any aid coming into the country will be confiscated - but virtually nothing is being allowed in.
The local infrastructure is completely incapable of managing this disaster and they have less than 10% of the heavy equipment needed to begin clearing the devastation - there are even so few chain saws that most of the trees blocking roads are being cut by hand.
No aid is reaching the worst hit areas. Video footage of army leaders handing out food is not real. The army officers come to hand out the food only when TV cameras are present,then they leave and take the food back with them (this was witnessed by local Christian staff)
People coming into the country (which is very few) are being body searched for cash they may be bringing in
Over half of the estimated 1.5 million people who are 'severely' affected are suffering wounds inflicted during the initial cyclone. The lack of sanitation, lack of shelter, lack of food and water and further threatening storms mean infection, water borne disease and starvation will see the death toll continue to rise.
While all this attention is being given to the disaster situation in the delta area the military continue offensives against the poverty stricken hill tribe groups in other parts of the country - with fresh offensives being launched this week.

[mcgreen311]

Grrr...grrr...grr...
All this and the constitutional referendum still goes on.

Despite the sinkings of two boats carrying aid, the BBC is reporting some good news, although there's so much more that needs to be done.

"Burma eases restrictions on aid"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7394410.stm

What's sad is that you have to wonder about the usefulness of donating if the government is confiscating the supplies.

[kiwisongbird]

Hey,

Here's the information about a foundation that has ways of getting food to the people who need it - definitely a bona fide group...

HAVEN FOUNDATION
Endorsement Account
Bank: Bangkok Bank
Acc :390 4 31823 9
Swift Code:bkkbthbk
Branch : Chan Puak Gate
125 Chang Puak Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ph: +66 53 212 904
Email: helpburma@thehavenproject .net



If you send money to them it will be used for aid for Burma - they already have workers and volunteers so none would be used for administration as that's all in place... they have the contacts inside to get the food, water and medical help to the right places and people.

Meanwhile please continue praying for people going in to help, please pray that the hearts of the generals would be changed by the Holy Spirit...

[Aussie3rddayfan]

We've been following this in Oz, too.

The Australian Government has relief supplies for Myanmar, but has been refused permission for relief workers to land. Kevin Rudd has made strong comments about the importance of getting the aid to the people, and was going to speak to Chinese officials, to exert pressure on the govt in Myanmar.

I haven't heard anything in the last few hours.

We have committed $25 million in aid thus far. It is very pleasing to see such a generous gift to a nation who so desperately needs it. Mind you, if it ever gets there it will probably have some 'nice' generals name on it who aparently 'cares' about the Burmese people's plight. Some people make me sick. :rolleyes: :mad:

[sandyandporter]

Information from a friend...

A 5,000 square kilometer area of the Irrawaddy Delta has practically become ocean - the area has been closed by the military junta or 'government' - it appears they plan to leave it like that and let the people manage by themselves.

Projections by people 'on the ground' are that this tragedy will cost more human lives than the Tsunami as there has bit little or no aid going in and because of that the water borne diseases will be beginning now - malaria, dengue, skin diseases - also as bodies are beginning to decay in the waterways the threat of a cholera epidemic is huge.

While all this is happening in 'their' country the military junta still held a referendum, still 'encouraged' people to vote...

Please don't forget about the people of Burma.

Please pray for people who are already going 'in' to help - please pray they will not be arrested, please pray they will get where they are needed.

[sandyandporter]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355035,00.html
U.S. Delivers First Relief Aid to Burma; U.N. Urges Junta to Cooperate
Monday , May 12, 2008

YANGON, Burma —

The United States delivered its first relief supplies to Burma, renamed Myanmar by the ruling military junta, on Monday, as the U.N. urged the reclusive nation to open its doors to foreign experts who can help up to 2 million cyclone victims facing disease and starvation.

The unarmed military C-130 cargo plane, packed with 28,000 pounds of supplies, flew out of the Thai air force base of Utapao and landed in Yangon, capping prolonged negotiations to persuade Burma's military government to accept U.S. help.

Several Burma Cabinet ministers, military officers and the top U.S. diplomat in Burma, Shari Villarosa, greeted the plane.

Government spokesman Ye Htut said the aid, which was transferred to Burma army trucks, would be ferried by air force helicopters to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta later Monday. Two more U.S. air shipments were scheduled to land Tuesday.

The official death toll from the May 3 Cyclone Nargis is 28,458 with another 33,416 still missing. But the U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Catherine Bragg and others have said the death toll could reach 100,000 or higher.

Though international assistance has started trickling in, the authoritarian government has barred most foreign experts who are experienced in managing humanitarian crises.
Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, in Bangkok, Thailand, said clean drinking water, shelter, medical support and food were sorely lacking.

"The authorities of the country need to open up to an international relief effort. There aren't enough boats, trucks, helicopters in the country to run the relief effort of the scale we need," he said. "It's urgent that the authorities do open themselves up."

The junta has made a huge concession in letting the U.S. — the fiercest critic of its human rights record — bring in relief.

The U.S. plane carried mosquito nets, blankets and water in an operation dubbed "Joint Task Force Caring Response."

Also on the plane was Adm. Timothy J. Keating, the commander of the U.S. military in the Pacific, who will try to personally negotiate with the junta for a larger U.S. role in providing relief.

U.S. Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Douglas Powell said there are 11,000 service members and four ships in the region for an annual military exercise, Cobra Gold, that could be harnessed to help the mercy mission.

Three U.S. Navy ships in the Bay of Bengal were sailing closer to Burma on Monday, ready to aid cyclone victims if they are given permission, Vice Adm. Doug Crowder told reporters in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In Irrawaddy delta, people were surviving in miserable conditions — hundreds cramped in monasteries with little access to food. Others camped in the open, drinking dirty water contaminated by human feces or dead bodies and animal carcasses.
"The lives of thousands of cyclone survivors are at extreme risk," aid group World Vision said. "Displaced people are living in appalling conditions in makeshift shelters and camps where overcrowding and unsanitary conditions are prevalent."

Children — many of them orphans — are suffering from fever, diarrhea and respiratory infections, it said.

Heavy rains were forecast this week, which would further hinder aid delivery, even though it could be the only source of drinking water.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej sent a letter to his Burmese counterpart Monday, urging the junta to issue more visas. But the junta replied that visas for foreigners would be considered on a case-by-case basis, Thai government spokesman Wichianchote Sukchotrate said.

Samak's letter was carried by his personal envoy, Lt. Gen. Niphat Thonglek, who traveled to Burma on the U.S. plane, Wichianchote said. He said Burma informed Niphat that it will open the Thilawa port in Yangon to receive international relief supplies.

Still, the reclusive junta insists it will handle the aid distribution itself, through its feared military, which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1962.

Many people have complained that they are getting rotting rice and that soldiers are keeping the best food for themselves.
"The government is very controlling," said U Patanyale, the abbot of a monastery in Kyi Bui Khaw village.

"Those who want to give directly to the victims get into trouble. They have to give to the government or do it secretly. They follow international aid trucks everywhere. They don't want others to take credit. That's the Myanmar government," he said.
_________________________

Please pray that the hearts of these rulers are opened.

[The Unknown Gomer]

They were saying on the news yesterday that rumor has it that the government is SELLING, not giving, some of the relief supplies to the people there. :mad:

Wonder how hard it would be for small planes to fly over the affected areas and do aid drops DIRECTLY to the people who need it.

[Aussie3rddayfan]

They were saying on the news yesterday that rumor has it that the government is SELLING, not giving, some of the relief supplies to the people there. :mad:

Wonder how hard it would be for small planes to fly over the affected areas and do aid drops DIRECTLY to the people who need it.

The problem with this idea is that it would give the Burmese government even more reason to stop foreign aid coming in. We can't be trusted remember. And of course there is no real certainty that it would even get there. The military has long arms.

[sandie]

We have committed $25 million in aid thus far. It is very pleasing to see such a generous gift to a nation who so desperately needs it. Mind you, if it ever gets there it will probably have some 'nice' generals name on it who aparently 'cares' about the Burmese people's plight. Some people make me sick. :rolleyes: :mad:

Churches of Christ Overseas Aid (COCOA) already had an envelope with our weekly newsletter in church on sunday, and guarantee that all aid will get there. They will send it through an agency that is allowed into Burma.

[DareDevil]

They were saying on the news yesterday that rumor has it that the government is SELLING, not giving, some of the relief supplies to the people there. :mad:

Wonder how hard it would be for small planes to fly over the affected areas and do aid drops DIRECTLY to the people who need it.
A few days ago the Burmese government announced that they will shoot down all unauthorised planes. Somehow I have the feeling that they were not exactly thinking of military planes when they made this statement. :(


As a side note:
It seems as if large parts of the Burmese military, especially those who are in the most affected area, are starving as well. This forces the soldiers there to seize a lot of foreign aid/ aka rice for themselves. :( *sigh* These soldiers deserve food just like every other human being, but I really hope that they are not making the general situation there any worse. :(

[kiwisongbird]

I don't think it could get much worse...

[kiwisongbird]

Just heard that the truck load of plastic sheeting and food that Andre (our 15 year old son) helped to load last Thursday has made it to one of the affected areas and is in the hands of people who will ensure it will get to those who need it! Praise the Lord! Please pray for more to continue to get in.

[Aussie3rddayfan]

I saw the most terrible pictures on the news yesterday. Bodies floating in the river like they are nothing more than rubbish. And still the government does nothing. :(

Churches of Christ Overseas Aid (COCOA) already had an envelope with our weekly newsletter in church on sunday, and guarantee that all aid will get there. They will send it through an agency that is allowed into Burma.

That's good to hear. Hopefully it will get to where it is needed most. Thank God for his provision.

[mcgreen311]

Just heard that the truck load of plastic sheeting and food that Andre (our 15 year old son) helped to load last Thursday has made it to one of the affected areas and is in the hands of people who will ensure it will get to those who need it! Praise the Lord! Please pray for more to continue to get in.

That's great. This whole thing is almost unfathomable.

[kiwisongbird]

I can't fathom it at all - please keep praying

[sandyandporter]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355538,00.html
Red Cross: Burma Cyclone Death Toll Could Rise to Nearly 128,000
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand —

The death toll from the cyclone in Burma could wind up climbing to between 68,833 and 127,990, the Red Cross said Wednesday, as the United Nations warned that a second cyclone was forming in the region.

The numbers were calculated using pooled figures from other aid groups, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The total population affected in Burma, renamed Myanmar by the ruling military junta, is somewhere in the range of 1.64 million and 2.51 million, the Red Cross said in the report issued Wednesday.

"Official government casualty figures remain significantly lower," the organization said. The government revised its death toll on Wednesday to 38,491. It said the number of people missing in the May 2-3 Cyclone Nargis remains at 27,838.

The Red Cross figure is the highest reported so far. The U.N. has said the number of dead could be between 60,000 and 100,000.

On Wednesday, the U.N. raised its estimates on the number of people impacted by the cyclone. John Holmes, the head of humanitarian affairs at the U.N., said that between 1.6 million and 2.5 million were "severely affected" and in desperate need of relief, up from 1.5 million people, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, a second cyclone forming could hamper relief efforts in Burma, less than two weeks after the region was devastated by the killer storm, the U.N. said Wednesday.

The United Nations' weather center is tracking a nascent tropical storm that is likely to become a cyclone, said Amanda Pitt, the spokeswoman of the world body's humanitarian relief program, in Bangkok, Thailand.

"This is terrible," she told reporters, adding that it could further jeopardize the people who survived Cyclone Nargis on May 3 and the efforts to distribute aid for them.

She couldn't say when or where the cyclone would make a landfall, or when it would become a full-fledged cyclone, which is being monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, a part of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Center.

The center said on its Web site that "the potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is good."

It said "the circulation center (of the storm) is currently transiting generally northwestward across the Rangoon delta region of Burma, which refers to the Irrawaddy delta The same area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3, leaving more than 60,000 people dead or missing..

The International Red Cross estimated that the death toll in Burma is between 68,833 and 127,990. As many as 2.5 million people have been affected by the disaster, a humanitarian official told Reuters.

Pitt said if the cyclone warnings come true, the inadequate relief efforts for survivors of Nargis will be jeopardized.

"This is always a worry when you have further hazards affecting people," she said, adding that it "impacts people's ability to survive and cope with what happened to them."

"They are already weak. This is a great problem and impacts on how we can help people," she said.

The U.N. is leading the international relief effort, which is trying to supplement the Burma junta's aid delivery that has been criticized by aid groups and survivors as woefully inadequate.

Yet, the isolationist junta has refused to let international experts who have experience in managing humanitarian crises, saying it is capable of dealing with it on its own.

Meanwhile, some 2 million people are living in miserable conditions, many of them depending on rain for fresh drinking water, and meager food rations. Most water sources such as rivers and canals, which are littered with bodies and animal carcasses, are also contaminated by fecal matter and bacteria.

Aid agencies have warned that a humanitarian and medical catastrophe is building in the absence of a full-fledged relief program.

[sandyandporter]

Dear Friends

On Saturday May 17th 2008 people across the world will join a Global Day of Action calling for an urgent response to the humanitarian disaster in Burma.
We urge you to join this day of action and ask world governments to take action now and save thousands of lives.

We are calling on the US, UK, France and other key nations to use whatever assets and means they have to deliver aid to those suffering in Burma, even
without the approval of the military regime. Many European leaders have already stood up and called for action to force aid in if necessary. This
effort is being pushed by a coalition of organizations around the world, and supported by many groups inside Burma. We cannot stand by as millions more
are on the brink of death from starvation and disease. The UN has warned of a "second catastrophe unless the junta immediately allows massive air and
land aid deliveries”. Our sources inside Burma tell us that the survivors in the Irrawaddy delta are now having to cope with a “tsunami of disease”.

We will hold 3 protests in London on Saturday 17 May, details are below:

French Embassy: Time: 12:30 - 13:00
Address: 58 Knightsbridge London SW1X 7JT

American Embassy: Time: 13:30 - 14:00
Address: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 2LQ

Foreign Office: 14:40 – 15:10
Address: King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH

All details are on this map <http://tinyurl.com/5ygwms>

Please check our website before the day to check for any updates: <http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/demonstrations.html>

Protests are being planned from Australia to Chile! For details of protests in other countries click here <http://tinyurl.com/3vj9ll>. If you don’t see
your city/country please organise a protest where you live and send details to this address: info@burma-network.org

The Current Situation in Burma
The UN reports the death toll to be around 100,000 with 220,000 missing. 1.5 million are at severe risk if aid does not get in immediately. Instead of allowing aid in and providing the best response to the crisis, the regime is still blocking international aid efforts and even preventing local NGOs access to the worst affected areas. The U.N. said the World Food Program was getting in only 20 percent of the food needed because of logistical problems and regime restrictions. General Thein Sein, the junta's Prime Minister, said on Monday that no foreigners were allowed to go to the delta region, the worst-hit areas. International aid agencies operating in Burma warn that only 10% of the aid needed to cope with the millions struggling to survive had arrived in the country. The military is now even forcing people into camps, similar to prisons. No one is allowed to leave, not even to search for missing family members. They must wear their ID number at all times.


Thank you for your support.

Anna Roberts
The Burma Campaign UK


Was this email forwarded to you by a friend? If you are not already a member of the Burma Campaign UK e-mail network, and would like to receive these updates directly, you can subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to: burmacampaign-subscribe@lists.burmacamp aign.org.uk



The Burma Campaign UK
Registered Company No. 3804730
Registered office address
28 Charles Square
London N1 6HT

[kiwimobro]

URGENT! HUH!
Sorry - 'urgent' was two weeks ago!
I read today the US has sent 13 plane loads of relief. I've also heard that the little that does get through to Rangoon is often ending up for sale to locals in the city and going now where near the greatest area of need. They are selling sheets of roofing iron for $5 and forcing workers to break rocks by hand and paying them $1 per day!

You must question what good this is!

No apologies if I sounds angry about this - I am!

[kiwisongbird]

2.5 million affected by this

"government" is kicking people out of schools and "encouraging" them to go back to their homes so they can use the schools and other shelters for polling booths

bodies still floating in waterways

aid being sold in cities

keep reading people, keep praying and don't be shy of sending help financially to people who are able to get aid to the ones who need it - here's an account number of an organisation that is getting stuff in

HAVEN FOUNDATION
Endorsement account
Bank: Bangkok Banik
Acc 390 4 31823 9
Swift Code: bkkbthbk
Branch: Chan Puak Gate
125 Chang Puak Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ph: +66 53 212 904
Email: helpburma@thehavenporject .net

If you want to phone them, make sure they're real if you like - these guys are getting stuff through...

Be challenged - even if you have nothing to give you have more than these people... if you buy your lunch, brown bag it for a month - give the excess...
...if you have a Starbucks coffee a couple of times a week - drink water - send the excess...
... if you usually rent a movie on a Saturday night - read a book - send the excess...

Your 'poverty' would be a welcome thing for these people who have less than nothing!

[sandyandporter]

2.5 million affected by this

HAVEN FOUNDATION
Endorsement account
Bank: Bangkok Banik
Acc 390 4 31823 9
Swift Code: bkkbthbk
Branch: Chan Puak Gate
125 Chang Puak Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ph: +66 53 212 904
Email: helpburma@thehavenporject .net


Your 'poverty' would be a welcome thing for these people who have less than nothing!
Do you know if there is a website where you can donate online?

[kiwisongbird]

Dunno, but I'll ask today :)

[sandyandporter]

Dunno, but I'll ask today :)

Please post it if there is. I think there are many of us who could afford to give SOMETHING.

For the record.... there are no polar bears in Burma. ;)

[Andi]

HAVEN FOUNDATION
Endorsement account
Bank: Bangkok Banik
Acc 390 4 31823 9
Swift Code: bkkbthbk
Branch: Chan Puak Gate
125 Chang Puak Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ph: +66 53 212 904
Email: helpburma@thehavenporject .net


Do you know if there is a website where you can donate online?

Dunno, but I'll ask today :)


Yes - you can donate online at thehavenproject.net (http://thehavenproject.net). Click on the Donate Now link and it will take you to a page where you can choose to donate from the USA. Then it will take you to a donate site. I checked it out last night and it seems clean.

[kiwisongbird]

Yup, that's right - if those Americans among you donate through the American link you can use it for tax as well.

These guys are linked with people who are getting the aid into people without it being creamed off the top.

Here's some wonderful news I heard today - up until yesterday they had thought that they had lost two orphanages of children, yesterday a contact found out that all the kids were alive! Praise the Lord!

Please pray for the believers in Burma that they will know God more closely and that they will be Him for the people of Burma! :)

[kiwisongbird]

...in the meantime... the generals have closed the Irrawaddy Delta... no one is allowed in to help the people - where is the UN?

... the children will be the next wave of deaths...

[sandyandporter]

https://www.registrationfactory.c om/v3/?EventUUID=EBA8596F

[mcgreen311]

Is there a way to specify where you want the donation to go, or is it all going to Myanmar/Burma?

[sandyandporter]

Is there a way to specify where you want the donation to go, or is it all going to Myanmar/Burma?

You have to specify that you want it for Burma relief.

[kiwisongbird]

Yes, they work in many different areas,but a huge focus at the moment is of course Burma.

[mcgreen311]

They didn't have a spot specifically for it, but I tried to throw in some free text in one of the fields. :)

[kiwisongbird]

Way cool, on behalf of Burma, thanks heaps :)

[kiwisongbird]

A friend had plane tickets paid for and legal permission to go 'in' to help, she's a doctor... yesterday she was informed that that rules have changed and that to go 'in' she has to buy a tourist package that will cost US$700 and includes plane tickets, accommodation and all sorts of other stuff that she doesn't need... great money spinner isn't it?

The situation is not really any better for these people of Burma - we still need to be praying and giving financially if we can... I was speaking with one of the people of the foundation I've recommended on these boards, she said even $5 will help - any tiny bit you can give will help...

The next wave of death will be the children as they succumb to cholera, dengue etc... Kevin's seen footage here of injuries sustained by the disaster, people with their skin ripped from their bodies, people who look like they've been sandpapered, deep wounds - green with infection...and other things that are worse that he won't tell me about!!!

Our son recently had minor surgery and with antibiotics, clean water, clean living conditions, good food and vitamins STILL got an infection... we live in the neighbouring country - this time of year infection are extremely easy to get...

On tv in Burma they are mainly broadcasting the generals giving out food, the people are buying dvds in the markets that show what is really going on... as we live close we are able to see footage that has been 'brought' out of Burma...

Please even if this stirred your heart a little, don't let it die, please don't desert the people of Burma...

[sandyandporter]

https://www.registrationfactory.c om/v3/?EventUUID=EBA8596F

Here's the link again to give. Please, anything will help!

[sandyandporter]

Please don't forget about these people just because the news has moved on.

[mcgreen311]

Do you have any more updates?

[kiwisongbird]

Yes, surely the news has moved on - today I read on Reuters about abuse perpetuated by aid workers - I am sad and disappointed with this report - yes, it may have truth there but certainly doesn't encourage people to think about the plight of the Burmese people... child and other human trafficking is a huge issue in this part of the world - in fact that slavery trade now involves more people than in the heyday of the trade in America!

I can't put loads of facts up here, but pray that somehow this will remain in our hearts and minds as the people in the Irrawaddy Delta continue to die. There is a video here that my husband won't let me watch - I don't even know if it will get out to the west, not sure if that's happening...

A large amount of affected people are ethnic Karen - read on Free Burma Rangers site about how they are regarded by the junta. Then it makes 'sense' as to why they really don't care...

Remember we are not fighting flesh and blood but principalities and powers in high places.

Thank you for being interested and caring.

Pray, pray, pray and talk, talk, talk - please help to keep Burma in the minds and hearts of the people.

[mcgreen311]

Remember we are not fighting flesh and blood but principalities and powers in high places.


That is exactly what the sermon on Sunday night at my church was about.

[sandyandporter]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latest News

Concern Growing That Regime Is Blocking Cyclone Aid To Ethnic Karen
22 May 2008

The Burma Campaign UK today called on United Nations, and development
agencies operating in Burma, to investigate whether cyclone aid is being
blocked to ethnic Karen. The Burma Campaign UK is concerned about consistent reports of aid being blocked to areas with predominantly Karen farms and villages.

Ethnic Karen are believed to make up around half of the delta population,
and an even higher proportion in rural areas. Most of what little aid the
regime has allowed into the delta region has gone to townships. Access to
many rural areas mainly populated by Karen is blocked.

“The military dictatorship already uses the denial of aid as part of its
ethnic cleansing policy against Karen in Eastern Burma,” said Zoya Phan,
International Coordinator of the Burma Campaign UK. “Now they are killing
thousands more Karen in the delta by denying them aid. The fact that they
are Karen could be a factor in blocking aid, and this must be investigated
by the UN.”

The Karen have faced oppression from central government for the past 60
years. In Karen State the United Nations has accused the regime of breaking
the Geneva Convention by deliberately targeting civilians. The regime has
destroyed thousands of villages, uses rape as a weapon of war, and thousands of people as slave labour, with more than half a million people being
internally displaced. Many receive no aid because the regime refuses access
to the UN and aid agencies.

The Burma Campaign UK has also received unconfirmed reports of Burmans being prioritised over Karen in refugee camps. Many foreign aid workers may not be aware of the ethnic issue, and the Burma Campaign UK is calling on the UN and aid agencies to ensure staff are aware of potential problems, and to monitor aid distribution with this in mind.

It is not only international aid workers that have been banned from some
rural parts of the delta. Karen and Burmese aid workers are also being
stopped from delivering aid.

“Soldiers are turning back aid instead of helping to deliver it,” said Z P. “Untold thousands have died and many more will die, because aid is
being blocked. I am sure that Than Shwe will be delighted that some of the
countries best farmland has been cleansed of Karen people, and is free to be
taken over by the Generals and their business cronies.”

[mcgreen311]

I don't know what else to say that is despicable.

Where are you pulling the reports from, by the way?

[sandyandporter]

I don't know what else to say that is despicable.

Where are you pulling the reports from, by the way?

I'll try and get the source. They are coming to me from someone who can't post it themselves for safety reasons. THAT my friends is how bad this is.

Thank you for your continued interest and support! Please copy and paste this information to emails to everyone you know!

[kiwisongbird]

bumpity, bumpity, bump..keep reading, keep praying...

[mcgreen311]

UN condemns Burma 'camp closures' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7427989.stm)

A senior UN official has said that any coercion of Burmese cyclone victims to return home is completely unacceptable.

Terje Skavdal's remarks follow reports that Burma's military government had begun to evict homeless families from some government-run emergency camps.It has given them bamboo poles and tarpaulins and told them to go and rebuild their lives, say reports.

An estimated 2.4m people remain homeless and hungry following Cyclone Nargis, which struck on 2 May.

Mr Skavdal, head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said he could not confirm the camp closures but pointed out that the agency did not endorse premature return to areas with no services.

"People need to be assisted in the settlements and satisfactory conditions need to be created before they can return to their place of origins," said Mr Skavdal.

"Any forced or coerced movement of people is completely unacceptable." ...

[sandyandporter]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362805,00.html
U.S. Navy Vessels to Leave Burma Coast
Wednesday, June 04, 2008

RANGOON, Burma —

The U.S. military ordered navy ships loaded with relief aid off Burma's coast to leave the area Thursday after the ruling junta refused to give them permission to help survivors of last month's devastating cyclone.

Adm. Timothy Keating, the top commander in the Pacific, ordered the USS Essex and accompanying vessels to depart the Burma area after what he said were 15 separate attempts in recent weeks to get the junta's authorization to help with relief efforts.

Burma's state media has said it feared a U.S. invasion aimed at seizing the country's oil deposits.

The ruling generals also have forbidden the use of military helicopters from friendly neighboring nations, which are vital in rushing supplies to isolated survivors in the Irrawaddy delta. This has forced aid agencies to scour for civilian aircraft around the world and bring them in at dramatically increasing costs.

The U.N. has estimated 2.4 million people are in need of food, shelter or medical care as a result of the storm, which the government said killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

Speaking in Hawaii on Tuesday, Keating said the U.S. unsuccessfully tried to persuade Burma's leaders to allow ships, helicopters and landing craft in to provide additional disaster relief.

The U.S. military ships were already in the region for international exercises when the cyclone hit. Keating made them available to help with relief efforts for the storm, and they were deployed near Burma in case they obtained permission to enter the country's waters.

But Burma allowed only limited U.S. military aid flights to the country, and barred the ships from approaching.

Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program, said the departure of the American ships meant relief agencies would not have the chance to take advantage of their fleet of helicopters.

"That is truly unfortunate because these helicopters represent immediate heavy-lift capacity in the area of the delta," Risley told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand.

Risley earlier warned that the logistical aspects of the relief operations, such as the chartering of helicopters, were causing expenses to soar.

In previous large scale disasters — such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Pakistan's 2005 earthquake — military helicopters were used to meet the massive emergency's immediate requirements, he said. Thailand and Singapore have many helicopters on hand, he said.

"For political reasons, the Myanmar government was reluctant to approve their use," Risley said. Myanmar was reportedly able to field only seven helicopters of its own.

Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the U.N. relief operation in Bangkok, said increased aid has reached survivors over the last few days, but access to the delta remains difficult.

"Much remains to be clarified as far as stepping up of the relief operation," she said. "We want better access for international aid workers ... both in terms of getting into the country and more consistent access to the delta areas."

The French aid agency Doctors Without Borders said its staffers were still finding remote areas in the delta which have not received any assistance from Burma or international sources.

Souheil Reaiche, the group's mission chief in Burma, also said that the affected population is higher than U.N. estimates because migrants and others not officially registered by authorities are found among survivors.

A total of 1.3 million survivors have been reached with assistance by local and international humanitarian groups, the Red Cross and the U.N., said the U.N's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a situation report dated June 2.

It said in Burma's Irrawaddy delta, the area hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, the proportion of people reached with assistance had increased to 49 percent from 23 percent on May 25.

However, the report warned, "There remains a serious lack of sufficient and sustained humanitarian assistance for the affected populations."

Hiroyuki Konuma, an official of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Bangkok, expressed concern that if rice planting did not occur soon, farmers would "suffer from hunger and poverty for a long time while national food security will be seriously jeopardized."

He said that 60 percent of the paddy fields in the delta, the country's rice bowl, were hit hard by the cyclone but that only 16 percent are too damaged to be cultivated in the next planting season, which starts July.

But Konuma said few farmers were returning to their land because they lack food and shelter, basic agriculture tools and draft animals, while access to the land was difficult because so many road and bridges were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Development Program announced it will provide 20,000 households in 250 delta villages with cash grants over the next six months to help survivors revive the farming, fisheries and poultry sectors.

"This will empower the survivors," said Hla Myint Hpu, who conducted the needs assessment for the project. "People want to keep their dignity. They want help to rebuild their livelihoods and get back on their feet."
_________________________ ________________________

Very sad.

[mcgreen311]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362805,00.html
U.S. Navy Vessels to Leave Burma Coast
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
season, which starts July.
_________________________ _______________________

Very sad.

I read about this this morning. It's frustrating because this one of those things that sit back and think, "Someone (many people) died because someone else was being stupid." It's senseless.

[sandyandporter]

I read about this this morning. It's frustrating because this one of those things that sit back and think, "Someone (many people) died because someone else was being stupid." It's senseless.

It's worse than that I'm afraid. They're not dying because someone is "stupid", they're dying because someone WANTS them to! This natural disaster has saved the government time and money in their genocide efforts.

Fortunately someday they will stand before God in judgement.

[mcgreen311]

It's worse than that I'm afraid. They're not dying because someone is "stupid", they're dying because someone WANTS them to! This natural disaster has saved the government time and money in their genocide efforts.

Fortunately someday they will stand before God in judgement.

Oh, I know. Both elicit the same visceral response from me, because in both cases it is senseless. Well, I'm sure the government thinks there is some sense in it...

[DareDevil]

Oh, I know. Both elicit the same visceral response from me, because in both cases it is senseless. Well, I'm sure the government thinks there is some sense in it...
Burma's government seems to have no respect for human life and is obviously more concerned about being in power than about those who are currently suffering. This is also why I am convinced that the government thinks that there is indeed sense in these actions. Unfortunately, it is the kind of sense that one would expect from a drug dealer, pimp or slave trader for whom brutal violence and fear are perfectly acceptable means to secure and magnify one's power. :(

[sandyandporter]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363491,00.html

New Footage of Cyclone Nargis and its Aftermath Shows Desperate Conditions in Burma
Thursday , June 05, 2008


FOXNews.com has obtained exclusive video smuggled out of Burma that exposes grim conditions inside the country during and immediately after Cyclone Nargis.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

As Burma's military junta continues to throw up barriers to bringing much-needed foreign aid into the cyclone-ravaged nation, new video recently smuggled out of the country shows the intensity of Cyclone Nargis and the damage it left behind.

The video was shot by Burmese locals in the Irrawaddy River Delta region, one of the hardest hit areas.

• Click here to see raw video of the wrath of Cyclone Nargis.

The footage was sneaked out of the country using a complex system of couriers. Media and information are tightly controlled in Burma, also known as Myanmar, and anyone carrying video or satellite phone equipment can be arrested.

An aid group that operates from various border areas around Burma supplied the video equipment to villagers wanting to document their experience. The video was shot by untrained videographers, some of whom reportedly lost family members.

Scenes in the first video were taken on May 3, the day the storm struck, and show pelting rain and winds of up to 120 miles per hour.

The storm arrived with little warning, razing towns and damaging tens of thousands of homes, many of which were huts made of wood and reeds. Evacuations were impossible because of the lack of warning and communication systems.

Some people braved the elements, although most residents sought refuge in strong buildings.

Another video shows the deadly destruction left behind by Cyclone Nargis.

The night of the storm, locals reported that a 12- to 16-foot wave bore down on Laputta Township in the Irrawaddy Delta, where this footage was shot. Many of the one-story buildings were flooded, and people climbed onto their roofs to avoid drowning.

• Click here to see raw footage of the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

Warning: this footage contains graphic material

The 120-mile-per-hour winds threw people into the deep floodwater. Broken tree branches and collapsed houses filled the water with debris.

According to one village leader, 15 villages in the area were destroyed, and his entire congregation was gone.

Bodies were discovered in the fields and waterways when the floodwaters receded.

According to the U.N., Cyclone Nargis completely destroyed a third of the villages in Laputta Township, and over 80,000 people died or are still missing in the region.


Another video shows how victims of Cyclone Nargis — days and weeks after the storm struck — were still in desperate need of aid.

This footage, taken over the course of two weeks, shows refugees evacuated from coastal regions in the western part of the Irrawaddy River delta coming off of boats. Many of their villages were completely submerged.

• Click here to see raw footage of aid reaching survivors of Cyclone Nargis.

Survivors searched for basic necessities and crowded around cars bringing relief. Some found help at rescue centers set up by local aid groups.

According to humanitarian groups, handouts seen here were bought by donations and money funneled into the country by non-government channels. Little or no government aid was reported to have made it to this region when the video was shot.

Since then, assistance to this region has increased. A recent Red Cross report stated that 49 percent of the region's population is now receiving aid — up from 23 percent on May 25. But it warns that there remains a "serious lack" of sufficient aid.

The U.N. estimates that Cyclone Nargis killed 78,000 people in Burma, and 56,000 others are missing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[mcgreen311]

Article about a visit to Myanmar:

http://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/health/now/?p=507