Myanmar Tragedy in Tsunami Proportions

Cyclone Nargis wreaked havocin Myanmar on May 3. Reuters reports that more than 1.5 million people are estimated to be affected. The death toll is expected to rise exceed 100,000. The casualties were caused by a huge 12-foot wave that swept away many fields and villages. There are news reports of bodies floating in the stagnant water and survivors struggling to get food and medical aid.

There are also reports of the Burmese government's resistance to open up their doors to international relief. Massive funds have been raised to provide aid to resurrect the lives of the affected but help is reaching them slowly.

The cyclone has destroyed many costal farms and has exacerbated the existing food crisis in Asia.

This natural disaster is nearly in the scale of the Asian Tsunami that followed a massive earthquake in December 2004. The Tsunami devastated the coastal regions of Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka while leaving behind more than 225,000 casualties and losses exceeding millions of dollars.

Soon after this disaster, I worked with a relief organization that provided rehabilitation to the villagers in southern India in the town of Nagapattinam. Most inhabitants of the area were fishermen. There was no one who had not witnessed a casualty in their family. In the first week of the aftermath, the town was grim and the villagers were too numbed to even speak. Most people had lost hopes of finding their dear ones. Occasionally we would hear the survivors moaning and weeping .

Relief workers and funds provided timely help - so people were quickly moved to safer shelters to. Food and medical supplies were reached to them. Foster care services and orphanages stepped in to take care of children. It was amazing to see how the whole nation and the world came together to tackle the crisis. People is neighboring states volunteered for weeks after the tragedy to rebuild the lives of the destitute.

Putrefying bodies were washed to the shores days after the wreckage had occurred. Humanitarian organizations with the aid of the Indian Government arranged mass graves. The bodies were burned to for hygiene and to prevent diseases from spreading. This is critical because such an environment can be a breeding ground for contagious diseases and epidemics - hopefully, Myanmar is tackling the disposal of bodies in a timely manner.

But no amount of funds and relief efforts were sufficient to bring about normalcy in the town. Efforts at rebuilding houses for the survivors have been slow. Besides their psychological agony, the illiterate fishermen had few skills to find even odd jobs for livelihood. So even after nearly four years, their rehabilitation is an ongoing challenge. The disaster has left a deep wound in hearts of the affected that will probably never heal.

Myanmar's tragedy in the same sub-continent seems to paint a similar picture of helplessness in the face of nature's fury and inexplicable and inconsolable suffering. My heart goes out to all the victims. Even if the world rises together to combat the damage, we might be able to help partially only. I strongly encourage readers to contribute in cash and in kind to help the ailing in Myanmar.