=====
Zomi says:
Many people, both Burmese and non-Burmese people, are concerned about the
plight of the victims of the cyclone, and are trying to do whatever they
can
to help the victims. They raised funds, they tried to send rice, water,
medicine, etc. to help the victims.
But the SPDC wanted to have those resources go through the hands of the
SPDC, so that the SPDC can pocket those resources.
But those who want to help the victims want to give their aid direct to
the
victims.
What a mess! What a tragedy!
=====
Metro Vancouver residents fear for their families in Myanmar
Darah Hansen
Vancouver Sun
Monday, May 05, 2008
VANCOUVER - Vancouver resident Htay Aung has not heard from his family in
Myanmar in three days, and he fears it could be days more before he learns
of their fate.
Myanmar, once known as Burma, is still reeling from the aftermath of a
deadly tropical cyclone that slammed into the impoverished and politically
troubled Southeast Asian country Saturday, tearing off roofs, uprooting
trees and knocking out electricity with winds that reached upwards of 190
km
per hour.
As many as 10,000 people are now feared dead, with more than 100,000 left
homeless.
The number of dead and injured is expected to climb as authorities make
contact with outlying towns and villages along the coast and in central
Burma.
On Sunday, the country's ruling military junta declared disaster in
several
regions, including the country's largest city and former capital, Yangon
(Rangoon), as well as the Irrawaddy delta and Karen and Mon states.
According to media reports, Yangon - a city of six million people - has no
electricity, water lines have been broken and the transportation system is
unable to function. Access to clean water has been severely limited.
The news is a big concern to Aung, who, like thousands of overseas
Burmese,
has been unable since the storm hit to find out anything about his father
and brother in Yangon, as well as a sister in an outlying township.
All contact has so far proven impossible with the country's
telecommunications systems barely functioning, if at all, across the
hardest-hit areas. Flights in and out of the country's largest airport in
Yangon have also been temporarily grounded.
"Everything is disconnected," Aung said in an interview Monday.
Win Myint Than of Richmond is among the lucky ones. An embassy contact has
confirmed for her that her mother and sister are safe in Yangon.
But Than remains anxious to talk directly with her family members to
understand the full extent of the disaster.
So far, she said, she's forced to rely on media reports and the Internet
for
information.
A formal call for humanitarian relief has yet to be issued by the
international Red Cross, but is expected, said Alice Lam of the Canadian
Red
Cross in Vancouver.
Lam said about 17,000 first-aid officers have been mobilized to many of
the
worst-hit areas to distribute blankets, food and water to survivors.
She said anyone wishing to help immediately can so through the Red Cross
International Disaster Relief Fund.
The local Burmese community, too, will be raising money for the cause.
Aung, a former student activist who came to Canada as a refugee more than
a
decade ago, said he is now accepting cash contributions through his group,
Burmese Student Democratic Organization. All money, he said, will go to
United Nations or Red Cross relief efforts in Myanmar.
=====
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