Myanmar Junta in the Wake of Cyclone Nargis

With the increasing number of deaths and missing reported in the Nargis cyclone that hit Myanmar (earlier knows as Burma), it is quite devastating to hear that the foreign aids are being held up. I have been reading in papers daily regarding the disaster that took place. Even more disastrous is the condition in which the entire issue is being handled by the Junta.

Yesterday, it was reported in mail.com that the Junta had been giving out necessities in boxes and those boxes had the names of Generals. How much propaganda is necessary by the rulers for the people who are not courageous enough to vote against the referendum anyway! The tight grip the Junta has on the people is very much reflected in the hush hush tones in which they speak with the media (a little of which is allowed) and the fact that the referendum happened without a zilch with a tremendous turnout at the ballots!

As I was wondering why Myanmar is not ready to receive the aid on ground, I realize that it has always been like this. It never practiced a really open door policy. Whatever should be done should be done internally; meaning that Myanmar do not like to be dependant on anybody, even in the wake of a disaster.

It is a relief though that they are accepting the aid which is being distributed by their own ground staff. However, it is falling short of manpower as the death toll is on the rise and the figures keep increasing day after day. The figures that are revealed by the country falls below than that of the predicted and the toll could rise further if the situation is not changed fast enough.

Apart from the initial problems that are at the moment, the situation could totally go out of control. Many people are currently homeless. However, as the going gets tough, diseases could well start spreading sooner than later. As the delta region of Irrawady is flooded, the shortage of clean drinking water is a big issue. The petrol from the vehicles that are submerged in the water could well make it poisonous! The dangers of Malaria, measles and the like are on the rise. The weather in the near future is not helping as well.

If Myanmar do not have the manpower to handle the situation, it will have to let the outsiders help. In Singapore itself, the resentment and the helplessness of the Myanmar nationals can be seen. Many more would be all over the world! They are out of contact with their family members and the current handling of the aid by Junta is really heart wrenching for them!

I hope things will start getting better and my prayers are with them.