What we have seen from the media and some photos sent to us privately confirmed that our worst nightmares are confirmed. Many areas in the outskirts of Yangon are badly hit, and the Irrawaddy Delta area (which means the rice-bowl of Burma is destroyed and this will affect long term problems of food supply). Images of uprooted old old trees that I revered and was the source of my pleasure when I was living in Yangon; of bloated corpses floating in ponds of water and in paddy fields; and rows and rows of children’s lifeless bodies, have all been too heart breaking.

The worse is yet to come, according to health experts. They warn of water-borne diseases, that will spread quickly given the military government’s slow response in medical and clean up work. Many victims have untreated wounds inflicted by the storm; a reporter saw a man with his leg cut off unattended to, and other reports of victims being sewn up with rusty needles. In better times, I have been acquainted with tales of horror in Burmese government hospitals – a writer who is a trained MD we know personally has told me he no longer practised medicine as he could not bear the despair of working in hospitals that are not equiped, that do not have decent surgical tools to deal with patient care, do not even have enough beds that patients have to sleep in corridors and by staircases. In times like this, I cant imagine the scale of the medical emergency. And yet the junta are not allowing entry to those trained and equipped to attend to the casualties. (Expletives censored).

We should know by now the levels of fear (phobia), selfishness and insecurity that the military leaders operate with, fear of foreign aid workers leading locals into uprisings; unwillingness for “merit” to be given to foreigners, fear of admitting their inadequacy of dealing with the distress. They have begun just 2 days ago to start opening up to western relief efforts (prior to that they only accepted from Burma-friendly governments) but it’s been called “drip-feed”, given the serious response that is required.

I have received news that even the bigger international foreign aid organisations based in Burma have now begun distributing their money secretly to the grassroot groups, as these organisations face strict controls and denied access to many local tragedy stricken areas. I believe that the local relief agents who work on the ground are the ones who will be able to find the best solution and way around the restrictions imposed by the regime. They will be able to relief starvation and shelter needs of the people but medical aid is an immediate priority. We need to apply more international diplomacy and pressure to allow medical aid and relief to be sent to victims of the cyclone.

Biscuits, noodle packets, condensed milk cans and mosquito nets intended for Cyclone Nargis victims were sold openly in the streets and markets.

as found in DVB site – “I saw dry (instant) noodle packets, condensed milk tins and mosquito nets for rescue efforts in downtown areas. They are selling noodle packets at Nyaungpinlay Market for 600 (Kyat) = USD 0.52 cts a packet. Condensed milk too. They are of the same brands mentioned in the (government) media… They are selling them on Barr Street. They are selling condensed milk and noodle packets in Nyaungpinlay Market. We are surprised how these materials designated for flood victims ended up in the shops.”

News of atrocities, manipulations and inhumane gestures have been reported since the aftermath of cyclone Nargis. Many things have been said to justify why aid has not arrived, poor infrastructures and mainly the xenophobia of the junta of not allowing access for foreign aid expertises on the soil of Burma.

On the ground, local ad hoc community groups are working hand in hand with local monasteries in areas of disaster to feed congregations of victims in groups whether large and small. They get together, cook the food and distribute them and when cash is available, it is cleverly passed onto the victims without getting the attention of the junta. This is important as not only would the junta want a “cut” but they also want the publicity of doing “good”. After all they have been suffering under the decision of “refusal to take alms” imposed by the monks on members of the junta and this a good chance for these thugs to get some “free” merit that is associated with giving donations to counter their common kind of activities, like robbing aid convoys, beating up people in peaceful demonstration or their current pet project in bullying and lying to get people to vote “YES” for the referendum for the junta’s draft constitution.

Another way to explain this is that the junta and cronies would not allow any persons or groups, whether local or foreign, to gain publicity for doing something good (especially not to foreign entities as this would mean admitting their own inadequacy in dealing with the disaster). They definitely have their hands full in preventing this, as almost anything done by anyone looks good compared to what is being done (or not done) by the junta. You can’t go wrong here.

While the ad hoc groups could organise and feed the distressed so long as they could get hold of some funds, the foreign aid groups (FAGs) that are based in Burma has not been able to do as much. These FAGs (usually refered to as INGOs- international NGOs) who had signed MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) with the junta, operating in the country for many years, could be seen making statements in the media about the poor infrastructures, power outage and the lack of cooperation from the junta. What have they been doing inside Burma?

Those holding higher positions in such organisations are very well remunerated, their foreign middle executive, e.g. translator and project leaders draw 70 -100x the local average income while members of their local staff will be 10x (an average local income in 2007 will be between USD 15 to 20 and if the person is lucky it will include food and accommodation). This knowledge created a set of meanings where every foreigners working in Burma are being perceived to be well funded. Those who are volunteers and working with low or tight budget are being judged as keeping fund for themselves and not paying the local employees or collaborators well.

10 years ago, to get 260 km into the countryside the travel will take nearly 9 hrs, now it is between 5 to 6 hrs. Travel is still difficult on a normal day. Irregular, periodic and inconsistent power supply is general knowledge so is having no power outside the city. Power comes only from generators and road side lights are non existence.

It is common knowledge (at least for those that had experience working in Burma or with organisations in there) that the junta and cronies are adverse to anyone challenging their hold on media publicity; averting international attention and counter propaganda are some of their other specialities. SO it is perfectly normal that they would paste their own labels with names of generals onto the boxes and rations of foreign aid materials (material from friendly countries that have been allowed in) and want their people to operate distribution by refusing visas to foreign aid workers or simply hijacking aid convoys when found along the way. There are checkpoints along all major roads leading in and out of Yangon. Again this should be common knowledge to the foreign aid agencies.

Why is there no Plan B for these known conditions? Plan A was to do what’s agreed on the MoU and scenario projections will know that this plan does not work during disasters. Those who have learn fast have now started to work to pass on funds to the local established and ad hoc groups to assist the victims but this should be well planned in advance and not being improvised now. OR is it also necessary for the FAGs to orchestra their own propaganda machine, to have their logo on their staff, their logo on their aid and to create documentation for their media machinery? Just like the junta.

At whose cost? More Burmese will die.

The first boat carrying aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross managed by their local office sunk on the 11th because of carelessness in the navigation through the debris filled water (anyone sailing through water after a cyclone or typhoon will look out for floating or sunken debris just like driving along the road when temperature goes below zero will look out for icy patch if it has just rain). You can’t say you don’t know.

So even the local staffs from the city have their limitation if they venture out of their territory without being well trained. I think the operating strategies of the FAGs need to be rethought long before anything happen and not used now as….. .

If the local groups are given only a fraction of what these international FAGs receive, they will be able to provide most of the immediate aid to feed and house the people.

I would admit that the locals will not be able to man any high tech equipment, but you don’t need specialists to cook local food and distribute them.

May 12, 2008 (DVB) – “…There are many refugees in Bogalay. They are living in every monastery. I went to four. I found more than 3000. Some of them are going to Ma-Upin. There are five places (refugee camps). Some were taken to Ma-Upin forcibly…but the refugees don’t want to go to Ma-Upin. Some were taken forcibly. The husband was taken and the wife left behind. The child was taken away. The husband was left behind.

DVB: Who took them away? With the army truck?

“Yes, with the car, forcibly taken. Some were told not to stay in the monastery. They told them to follow them or to go back to their village. The refugees are on riverbanks outside the monasteries. They do not let them stay…they are following the order of the army.

DVB: You saw 3000 in Bogalay alone, is it?

“Yes. They are full of wounds. There is no medicine. As for food, they don’t even have rice gruel. One bowl for 3-4 people.

DVB: Aren’t the authorities not helping to provide food?

“No. But they are selling local people 800 kyat a ‘pyi’…There are about 80 people in a monastery and they didn’t have breakfast. In the evening, private donors came to give rice gruel…

DVB: Aren’t local people feeding them?

“Yes, they do. But they also have problems…what I mean is they were harassed by the authorities. They are being followed and watched little bit…

DVB: Tell me about the situation in Bogalay?

“They (donors) could go to some monasteries. Some, they couldn’t. They forcibly took away refugees. They could not do that in some monasteries as local people are preventing them (from being taken away).

DVB: As there is no sufficient medicines, what kind of diseases are they suffering from?

“Boils, soft stomach, cholera and that’s all.

DVB: As far as I know, about 100 people (it could be more) have diarrhoea/cholera.

DVB: Aren’t doctors or medics giving them medicines?

Nothing. If I have to tell all, when we took the corpse to the hospital’s mortuary, that same corpse was found in the river…There is no medical care for pregnant women. I saw two of them die. People were not accepted (by the hospital) and they were turned away.

DVB: What is the condition for the local people?

“The main problem is water. Water is completely un-pure. There are 1-2 ponds/reservoirs with pure water. Some ponds are filled with leaves and dirty things and not suitable for consumption. But people do drink it. It is impossible to survive. The government is giving no support. There are 120 villages, as far as I know…

DVB: Have some people returned to their villages from Bogalay?

“Some villages, only 40-50 people survived in a village 0f 300-400. They are trying to find food, medicine and water on their own. There is no support.

DVB: In this case, how are they surviving?

“They are sharing what they have, giving priorities to children. But if things are going on like this, they will not last more than a couple of days…there are many people suffering from cholera. The water is not clean and there is nothing to eat. And when they drink what they have their stomach bloats…

DVB: Foreign aid workers have arrived in Bogalay, haven’t they?

“Na. As far as I know one private car arrived. It was not allowed in and when we local residents went to pick them up, we were told to give them (authorities) one-thirds (of the aid)…When we gave things (to victims), we had to ‘donate’ some (to the authorities).

DVB: Who are those who demanded you one-thirds?

“These are people who are waiting the entrance of Bogalay…gates, the army, and some civilians but I don’t know who they are. What I am sure is, there are the army and the police. Shops in Bogalay would not sell things to strangers…what I heard is aid had arrived but I have seen no distribution yet.

DVB: Why?

“They said, they are waiting for order from above, one army officer told me. Some materials were in the mosque including engines for boats but I haven’t seen them use it yet. Only local people are donating; Christian and Buddhist organisations are helping people, and private organisations, NGOs are donating.

DVB: Other people who were not affected by the storm in other parts of Burma, rich people, company bosses, aren’t they giving rice sacks and the like?

“Yes, a little bit. But it is like throwing sesame seeds into the mouth of an elephant. In Bogalay, it is very hard to survive…very difficult to travel even. Give us food. Give us water. We even don’t have clothes to wear. People are full of wounds. Some of them are filled with pus. As we are private charity, we have to make do with what we have. We are using all medicines, traditional and western. It is not sufficient. As for food, we have only small bit and we can’t feed them with their number. It is impossible to go other places…I dare not go to some areas, rivers are filled with rotten corpses…we could only go to places near Bogalay now…we managed to get a list of 80,000 dead in Bogalay alone. They are taken from the survivors. They are accurate lists. We can’t get any from families that were wiped out completely.

May 11, 2008 (DVB)—A cyclone victim in Hlaing Tharyar, Rangoon, has said people in the township are not receiving any assistance and are being driven out of public buildings by local authorities.

In an interview with DVB on Friday, the woman said there were many cyclone victims in the township, perhaps more than 10,000, but they had been forced out of buildings where they had taken shelter by local officials and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association.

DVB: We understand the cyclone victims were asked to move out of a building. Can you tell me where that was?

“From state high school No. 3. None of the cyclone victims received anything when rice and oil were given out. The USDA and the local authorities were handing out rice and oil, so we went there but we were not given anything. They only distributed the goods to their own people. None of the starving victims received anything. There are many people in serious trouble with many of them staying in monasteries. We are staying in a hall.”

DVB: When were the authorities distributing rice and oil?

“They have been distributing the food for the past three days.”

DVB: What about today?

“No, not today. The people who are really starving did not receive anything. The food was distributed to people in their own organisations. Only about 50 of the victims received the food distributed”.

DVB: You said only 50 of the victims received the food. How many people do you believe need it?

“Over 10,000.”

DVB: The 10,000 people you speak of, did they lose their homes in the cyclone?

“Yes, they lost everything. Some died, some lost the roofs of their homes, and some were left without shelter and are starving. Some couples have many children.”

DVB: Which ward are you from?

“Ward No. 14.”

DVB: I see, but the victims must be from different wards?

“Yes. People from all wards came to the food distribution area.”

DVB: Why did they force you away from state high school No. 3?

“They said we were not allowed to stay there any longer. The person who ordered out was U Mya Win of the USDA. We were evicted yesterday and had to go without meals in the morning. Food is only given to their people and we, who are starving, did not get anything, neither oil nor rice. We are all homeless and I have to rent a place.

“I am a cyclone victim but I have not even received a grain of rice. They said they were distributing food at 1500 hours, so I went there and they told me the distribution was in the morning. They – the USDA Office – asked me to come early the next morning and I did and they told me the distribution would only be in the evening.”

DVB: So, you want to appeal to the USDA and the local authorities to be fair in distributing food aid. The international agencies are also concerned about the assistance reaching the people. The aid, it appears, is not reaching you. So, what would you like to tell the international community about it?

“I want to tell them that food aid is not reaching us, we are in trouble because of our food, clothing and shelter difficulties, and we have nowhere to stay. We want them to help us. The other day, my niece fainted after they closed the iron gates on the people queuing for food aid and she was caught in between. We are really in trouble and that is what we want the international community to know. We want the food aid to be sent directly to the people because we do not get anything if it comes through them.”

Reporting by Maung Too