Aileen McCabe, Asia Correspondent, Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, May 08, 2008
BANGKOK -- With up to 100,000 dead and one million homeless, aid is slowly making its way to victims of cyclone Nagris in Burma, but the country's military regime continued Thursday to stall many foreign efforts.
One United Nations aid flight arrived from Italy in Rangoon, and two others were expected -- all carrying food, water, tents and medical supplies for a population that has gone a week without shelter, fresh water and electricity.
But the supplies arrived without many experienced workers trained to assess the situation and distribute the aid. International disaster relief experts are still cooling their heels, mostly in Bangkok, waiting for visas to enter the country.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the situation as very frustrating.
"I don't think we're entirely surprised. We know the nature of the Burmese military regime. This is a regime that hasn't been known to take the interests and rights of its people to heart. We know about their abuses, not just of democracy but of human rights in Burma, but nevertheless, the Burmese people are suffering. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, are dead or displaced. The world community wants to help, and I think we're all prepared to put aside our concerns about how Burma is run for the next few weeks, just to deliver humanitarian assistance," Mr. Harper said Thursday.
While many relief groups continue to face delays in helping the cause, Red Cross groups have been able to access some victims and distribute aid to some areas.
Michael Annear, Southeast Asia Regional Disaster Management Co-ordinator for the International Red Cross, said the organization did deal with some hassle in starting its operations, but things are improving.
"Initially, there was some slight delay [on obtaining visas]," Ms. Annear said during a conference call Thursday, "[but] we've been quite successful in developing a system with the Myanmar embassies in other countries and also working from within the Myanmar Red Cross, who is working closely with the government to get approval for individuals to come in."
The personnel from the International Red Cross would be in addition to the Burma Red Cross, which has about 27,000 local volunteers working to help victims since the cyclone hit last Saturday.
The organization has a permanent delegation of workers in Rangoon, with external experts also coming in to help. More technical delegates are expected to arrive Friday and through the weekend.
Ms. Annear says the familiarity local Red Cross volunteers have with the area and its culture are an asset in distributing materials -- purchased locally -- to the most vulnerable regions.
However, according to eyewitness reports from the few journalists who have managed to get into Myanmar, the relief supplies that are trickling into the country from the outside are not getting to the people most in need.
For a brief period Thursday, the international aid community expected a breakthrough in the situation when word came through that the U.S. military would be allowed to begin aid flights into Myanmar. Thai military officials intervened on their behalf and it appeared the way was clear for a humanitarian airlift to begin. But, the flurry of optimism was short-lived.
Late in the day, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Eric John told reporters: "This morning, we and our Thai allies thought we had a decision from the Burmese leadership to let the C-130 (transport planes) in. As of now, we don't have that decision. I don't know whether they rescinded the decision, or if there was a miscommunication."
There is increasing concern that the Burmese generals intend to keep most foreigners out of the country at least until after this weekend's referendum on a new constitution. They contend the vote is a step toward democracy, but it has been widely condemned as a sham and there is intense criticism that it is even going ahead in many parts of the country impacted by the cyclone disaster.
Despite the degree of damage and loss -- and worldwide attention -- the true devastation of the cyclone is becoming more evident as time passes.
"The impact of the cyclone has increased," Ms. Annear said, citing housing and clean water sources as the biggest needs. "As we get access to the areas after the debris has been cleared away, we can see that a lot more impact has happened than could have been expected in the beginning. Many people have lost their homes, especially in the south."
Reports suggest that in the worst hit Irrawaddy Delta area -- where the cyclone touched down directly -- people still have not received any help.
According to the BBC, there is widespread flooding and bloated bodies -- both human and animal -- are floating in the salt water.
These conditions make Burma ripe for the spread of disease and further delays in aid supplies will only aggravate the situation.
Cholera is now a major concern, as is malaria.
Even before the cyclone, the World Health Organization warned that "malaria is a re-emerging public health problem" in the country and it is now exacerbated by widespread flooding, the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Some officials are warning that disease may end up killing as many as the cyclone if additional more help doesn't arrive soon.
No real progress is being reported on that front despite private and public appeals to the regime in Burma from the highest levels of governments around the world.
Only "friendly" governments such as China, India and Thailand have been allowed to help so far, and even they have been limited to delivering supplies and leaving.
This kind of "drop-off assistance" does not sit well with many Western governments, however. After years of ignoring calls for reform and sloughing off punishing sanctions, most governments do not trust the Burma generals to distribute the aid on offer, rather than stockpile it for themselves and the military.
With files from Arielle Godbout
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