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Sadness In Myanmar
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| KaiLee |
This is just horrible what is happening. Funny how the government was so quick to deploy the military to the same area to stop pro-democracy protests in September yet when this rolls around they couldn't even be bothered to warn them of the cyclone that was approaching despite warnings from India and Nasa.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/a...nmar/index.html
YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar's cyclone survivors have insufficient fuel to burn the rotting corpses of the dead as the country's military junta continues to block access for aid groups. Relief agencies say decomposing corpses litter ditches and fields in the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta area as survivors try to conserve fuel for transporting much-needed supplies.
The international community is growing increasingly frustrated with the junta's lack of progress in granting visas for relief workers and giving clearance for aid flights to land.
They are concerned the lack of medical supplies and clean food and water threatens to increase the already staggering death toll.
Myanmar's military government says more than 22,000 people died when the killer cyclone battered the country's low-lying delta region over the weekend. The top U.S. diplomat in the country has said the toll could top 100,000.
A World Food Programme plane carrying high-energy biscuits landed in Myanmar on Thursday to provide a small dose of assistance amid a mushrooming humanitarian crisis.
Another plane has received permission to land, but the status of other flights remained uncertain even as a clearer picture emerged of the scope of death and desperation in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.
"We have gotten valuable cooperation. The first steps have been taken," WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told CNN Thursday morning. "But it's taking too slow. It needs to go much quicker.
"We have lots of experience in situations like these. We know how to do this," Luescher said. "We just need the cooperation."
Paul Risley, another WFP spokesman, told CNN there were reports of "civil unrest" in the worst-hit areas where people were scrambling for limited food supplies.
He said U.N. assessment teams had observed "large crowds gathering around shops -- the few that were open -- literally fighting over the chance to buy what food was available."
There are also reports of price gouging in urban areas around Yangon, Myanmar's largest city and former capital, Risley said.
Shari Villarosa, U.S. charge d'affaires in Yangon, said the "situation in the delta sounds more and more horrendous."
The delta region had few roads to begin with, many of them were now under water and the storm had washed away numerous bridges, Villarosa said.
CNN's Dan Rivers, one of the few international journalists to have visited the hardest-hit areas of Myanmar, said relief had not reached the people who needed it most.
"We're hearing dreadful stories of hundreds of dead bodies left lying in the fields, decomposing," he said. "These people need help immediately." |
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| dEsidEL |
Burmese junta = useless 
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| Yohan |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
Burmese junta = useless
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no, worse than useless.
evil |
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| KaiLee |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
no, worse than useless.
evil |
amen to that....I had a friend from Myanmar and the stories he told me :nervous:
Let's hope the government smartens up and lets some aid in before too many people die! |
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| dEsidEL |
I demand the US move in to remove this evil regime .. immediately!
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| Yohan |
| quote: | Originally posted by KaiLee
Let's hope the government smartens up and lets some aid in before too many people die! |
Not likely... The junta doesn't want to lose control of the situation, and they will, if the foreign aid workers go in.
This is what happens when individual lives have very little worth...
22,000... it just seems like a number, but in reality, it's a lot of people dead.
By contrast, people freak out when there is one death in Canada from a flood and stuff.
I can only imagine what sort of chaos is occuring in Burma right now. |
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| Tordan |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
I demand the US move in to remove this evil regime .. immediately!
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Myanmar is on the "axis of evil" and it does have oil. I don't see why not!
I do feel bad for the Burmese people. What a catastrophe. :( |
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| KaiLee |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
Not likely... The junta doesn't want to lose control of the situation, and they will, if the foreign aid workers go in.
This is what happens when individual lives have very little worth...
22,000... it just seems like a number, but in reality, it's a lot of people dead.
By contrast, people freak out when there is one death in Canada from a flood and stuff.
I can only imagine what sort of chaos is occuring in Burma right now. |
Well...after living in China (which isn't as bad as Myanmar) something like this doesn't phase me as much as it would have before living here. It's still sad but I've come to accept it as something humans are capable of doing.
Apparently there is a ton of price gouging and tempers flaring in Burma. That was what I saw on the news yesterday so I can't even imagine what it's like 24 hours later :( |
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| Yohan |
| quote: | Originally posted by KaiLee
Well...after living in China (which isn't as bad as Myanmar) something like this doesn't phase me as much as it would have before living here. It's still sad but I've come to accept it as something humans are capable of doing. |
This is just one of things that really upset me about humanity is that when it really counts for humanity to help each other out, individual lives aren't worth much.
| quote: |
Apparently there is a ton of price gouging and tempers flaring in Burma. That was what I saw on the news yesterday so I can't even imagine what it's like 24 hours later :( |
Keeping update of the situation on BBC and I'm just getting more frustrated about the junta stalling which means more people die.
This is a crime against humanity. |
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| KaiLee |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
This is just one of things that really upset me about humanity is that when it really counts for humanity to help each other out, individual lives aren't worth much.
Keeping update of the situation on BBC and I'm just getting more frustrated about the junta stalling which means more people die.
This is a crime against humanity. |
It is a crime against humanity and it angers me that each minute passing is another human life gone thanks to these evil pricks :(
What are some of the things the UN can forcefully do if the junta won't let them in? I'm curious as to what actions they can take. |
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| Yohan |
| quote: | Originally posted by KaiLee
What are some of the things the UN can forcefully do if the junta won't let them in? I'm curious as to what actions they can take. |
Theoretically, a lot.
If you read the UN charter (http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/index.html) there's a lot which the UN can do. What UN charter doesn't cover, as long as it's something vaguely fits one of the guidelines in UN charter (Esp. Ch 7) UN security council can pretty much authorize anything as a pretext and do something.
In reality, because UN itself does not have any sovereign powers and can't make a country do anything, it really comes down to what other nations wants to do.
Everything that UN does relies on voluntary contribution from individual nations, especially the big 5 (US, Russia, UK, China, France). If anyone from big 5 vetos, no resolution will go through.
So, with each nation having agendas and interests, there will be a lot of talk before any resolutions get done to force Burma to accept foreign aid.
Another thing is that because forcing Burma to accept foreign aid in order to help the flood victim infringes on the concept of national sovereignty. Every nation guards it's right as a sovereign nation closely, and don't like being told what to do by others.
Of course, if the big powerful nations tell weaker nations to do this, eventually it'll happen, but nations with sketchy human rights records, or dictationships (ie Russia, China and other weird oddball places) don't want a pretext for UN to infringe on their sovereignty.
So, short version is, UN is useless on its own |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| Its called burma :mad: |
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