Comments on: Cyclone Nargis

By: problemchildbride

problemchildbride — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:01:23 +0000

I agree the West often lacks sensitivity and blunders into other people’s countries. This is primarily a UN and worldwide Red Cross effort though, and they are only allowing the Chinese limited access too.

To not even warn your people a hurricane is coming; to rate your own grasp on power over the welfare of millions of your own people, whom you allow very little access to the outside world anyway; to materially affect the odds of the survival of thousands both before and when disease starts to take hold; and to blithely devote your time instead to a referendum is insensitive, arrogant and wicked, I reckon. With this particular junta though, these traits are already well-documented.

By: problemchildbride

problemchildbride — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:52:57 +0000

The help should be without reservation, purely humanitarian. Exactly. Why can’t the junta see that? It’s common for other countries to offer aid in such situations. The military “government” have no experience of responding to disasters on this scale – the Chinese testify to this too – and they willfully dragged their feet on issuing visas, and the rest. While people died. They politicised this by placing politics and their own grasp on power above the interests of their people.

On their state newscast today they reported on the referendum they held. 15 minutes into the broadcast they mentioned the cyclone.

By: Shebah

Shebah — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:19:33 +0000

The Junta also appear to believe that the West is only tryng to give aid to gain access and some kind of political control and judging by the reporting in the media in this country they are right, is all seems more political than humanitarian. Even some of the charity employees have given views on tv that came across as political – very dangerous as they could jeopardise all the charities who are there at present who are there on the basis that they are non-political. The help should be without reservation, purely humanitarian.

By: Shebah

Shebah — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:25:28 +0000

I have been a regular visitor to Thailand, and the border towns with Burma have a thriving trade both ways. Burma has a relationship with both China and Thailand who are assisting them in their current crisis. Why do Americans think they know best about how other countries work? They have fucked up in Vietnam and Iraq and made things worse. The government in Burma is taking aid from the various charities, they are happy to take aid from the West, they just don’t want Western people controlling it – there is no need for the west to go in and control it themselves – how would the US like the Burmese/Iraqi charities to enter and control the way aid was doled out in the New Orleans crisis. And a lot of aid goes AWOL – I have a friend working for the Red Cross/Crescent and she says much of the aid is only accepted in places like Darfur on the basis that it is passed to local business for distribution. She says much of the foodstuffs can be seen on sale at local markets at silly prices. It’s a given that charities who want to continue working in these countries have to accept as part of the local culture. The charities are pragmatic, as any help they can give is worthwhile, even is some of it is misdirected.

By: problemchildbride

problemchildbride — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:33:03 +0000

It’s worse today. All aid into the country has been stopped because the Burmese military were seizing it.

The UN is dragging its feet inexcusably on this. This is not a legitimate government and they are deleteriously affecting the fate of thousands of people. They are criminals now, if they never were before, and should be restrained by force until the Burmese people get some relief. This is what the UN is for – but still they dawdle to the timetable of a wicked junta. Unbelievably frustrating.

By: R. Sherman

R. Sherman — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:44:04 +0000

Hi, Sam. I just saw this on Drudge. Sad.

By: Eryl Shields

Eryl Shields — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:27:59 +0000

We get ourselves tied up in knots about these things, but for good reason: we want to help the people that need help and not make things worse for them. My mother was born and raised in Burma, and was half (or thereabouts) Burmese. I would love to go and visit but don’t want to support the Junta. I said this to a Burmese post grad student at the university recently and he looked at me as if I was mad “The government don’t own everything,” he said “stay with a family and shop in local shops, eat in small cafes, pay local people directly for the things you need.” I felt suitably chastised, but then later I wondered how he was here, why he has been let out of the country to study, is he a government official’s child? But then he jumped out of an airplane to raise money to send a Burmese child to school. He is studying tourism.

I think we should send our money in good faith, and keep our fingers crossed. If we send nothing then the people have no chance, if we send something then they at least have some chance.

By: Pat

Pat — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:04:12 +0000

In these cases I always go with the Red Cross. They and the Salvation Army are two charities we feel we can trust over many years.

By: VincentH

VincentH — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:16:30 +0000

There is a deal of fuss nowadays about the graft swiped from NGO and the like. But in most situations it is the normal method of making a buck in these places, day to day. There is a shocked reaction from people in the west when we hear about it. But, the tipping method in the States is seen by all as part and parcel of the wage of a waiter/ess. So with the graft in many of these places.
Over the last number of years there is a reduction in the volume of donations to the NGO’s because of this reaction. A reaction I believe to be a error, because it is hitting at the wrong level. Better by far to force the international banks to report and hold moneys of the high ups in the governments, like they do with the drug barons, and then recycle it back into the area. This would do much to force the holding of the moneys in the target area, kickstarting a circle economy.
The situation in Burma as with that Ocean surge and famine, is different and urgent, symposium can wait. People are dieing now.
This morning, I hear on the radio that the they are preventing Aid ‘planes from landing, bastards.

By: R. Sherman

R. Sherman — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:01:35 +0000

Since I read this post, I’ve been troubled all day about my feelings. We support an Aids orphanage in Uganda and the organization which runs the place (Baptist) is quite candid about the graft which is involved. Fully fifty percent of donations go to paying people off.

And I pay so little to support 2 kids and one mother.

My blood pressure rises to Olympian heights when I think about these bastards living large off the largesse of the rest of us kick in.

I don’t know what to do!

I know everyone thinks we Americans are rich bastards, but still . . .

Sorry about the rant.

Cheers, dear and thanks for pointing us to a way to help.