Special Report – With the Refugees in Laputta

please read this report by Aung Thet Wine

It portray the hopeless conditions of a town hit by cyclone Nargis, the suffering of the refugees and the attitude of the international aid organisations.

17th May – Accounts from Inside

From the 2nd donation of S$ 1000 (USD 780 = 820,000 Kts)

Purchase was made on

dried fish(30 viss) and chic pea (60 viss) cost 227,540 Kts

1 viss=1.633 kg

Hire of 2 vehicles to distribute these food, cost 200,000 Kts

to be sent to Maubin monastery shelter, the vehicles are used to assist other groups distributing aid but lack fund to hire vehicles, donation to a monastery in San Chaung, assist a doctor to provide minor medical attention.

The rest will be used for the next day donation round.

Dr. Moe Kaung

Official Deathtoll – 78,000

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged foreign donors on Friday to closely manage aid deliveries heading into cyclone-affected areas of Burma to ensure supplies are not stolen by the military authorities.

Humanitarian Intervention needed Otherwise Hundred Thousand more will Die

16th May – Accounts from Inside

Monastery shelters in Hlaing TharYar Township

15th May – Accounts from inside

The merchant from Maupin came back.
All the clothes were given to people who are taking refuge in a monastery.
There are around 250.
People are also put into state schools.
The natives and people from Yangon are feeding them.
It costs 5 lakhs (USD 460) to feed about 1500 people for three meals a day.
He is going back there again this Saturday.
I’m going to buy dried fish and chic peas tomorrow.

This afternoon, I went to Hlaing Thar Yar with the monastery at Kamaryut.
We gave 300 meal packages at three different camps-a monastery, a “dammaryone”( a Buddhist school) and buildings at roadsides.
People from these buildings are told to move out by the end of this month.
There are 274.
At the monastery, there are 130 households living without any mosquitoes nets.
People at the quarter nearby “dammaryone” were going to the place where they were to line up to get toothpaste and soaps, but they will need to take lucky draws- only the lucky ones will get it.
I’m going to buy mosquitoes nets for them.

Internet connection very slow, picture will be loaded tomorrow.

Dr. Moe Kaung

Harassment continue by the consistently Evil Junta

The victims numbering a few thousand seeking refuge in Rangoon are now order to return to the devastated delta by May 20. There are no shelters, no water, no food and NO aid.

These international aid that have since arrived are mainly kept by the Junta. I guess they want them to vote for the referendum of the Junta’s drafted constitution. WHAT for??? The Junta has already declared that over 92% has voted YES.

Daw Khin Win Kyi, member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) was punched and arrested for daring to want to voice the suffering of the refugees to visiting senior government officials, foreign diplomats and UN officials in South Dagon Township.

This occurred around 4 pm at the time of the inspection of the donated tent shelter that was just put up for show to the foreign visitors. South Dagon is one the worst hit area around Rangoon and the refugees was in the care till now by private donors and slept in the monasteries and schools.

Very Little foreign Aid has reached the Victims of Nargis

14th May – Account from inside

Conditions deteriorate and become unbearable for the victims. They have to vacate temporary shelters to make way for carrying on the referendum on the 24th May in the cyclone destructed region.

Even in Rangoon, refugees in Dawpon Township are forced out by the miliatry. Private persons providing shelters for the victims are order not to do it anymore or face prosecution.

Controll along the road in and out of the delta now include random interogation of the travellers. Even private Burmese donors wishing to provide aid to the victims when spotted are turn back. Security is getting tighter.

Materials belonging to foreign aid organisation (red cross) have been discovered on sales in Mingalar market in Rangoon, normally these aid materials for sales are found near or in the delta region.

13th May – Accounts from inside

The sum of 300,000 Kyatts mentioned yesterday was used today to buy longyi (sarong) and t-shirts for 100 persons. These clothings will be distributed by the merchant. The next batch of fund will reach Singapore by Wednesday and will be pass on to our distributer on Thursday. The junta is now preventing victims to remain in the various monasteries and schools. They are forced out. Monasteries and monks are prevented from helping the victims. Most victims now showed signs of sickness, sores and trauma. Burmese medical teams working with local NGOs are having difficulties as the junta is not allowing them accesses to the delta. These teams need their equipments with them otherwise no care can be provided. Security control along the ways into the delta are very tight, anyone looking foreign or locals wearing foreign aid logo will be stop and turned back. Most locals carrying aid in small amount can get through undeteched, by negotiation or by giving “token”. Rumours that villages not populated mainly by Burman are not given any attention and aid.

Update 13th May

So far, our call has gone out through our personal networks – friends and colleagues in the arts and activism. We need to intensify the spreading of this information, especially information on how foreign funds can directly benefit and reach the victims of the Nargis disaster.

Many people have been generously donating to the various Nargis Refilef Funds. In Malaysia where I am now writing from, The Star newspaper received nearly RM 200,000 (approx. USD70,000) on 9th May alone, half of that from cheques made out by individuals, and today the prime minister launched a fund set up by Radio TV Malaysia and the foreign ministry.

I am encouraging people’s warm and necessary response to the grave need for aid in Burma, but I would like to caution donors to be wise on how they give. Having lived and worked inside Burma, we know of the restrictions on the operations of international NGOs who had to sign Memorandums of Understanding with the military government. They try their best and do what they can under these restrictions.

However, working “in official cooperation” with the Burmese regime (which these well known international NGOs and government organisations of foreign ministeries will have no choice but to operate under) have been shown to have great limitations – in this time of disaster and need for speedy emergency aid to reach the victims on the ground – I can say that the “official” way is not the best way. The media has reported the junta’s confiscations and hoarding of aid food and material sent in by foreign aid organisations and governments. Some of the donated food is now up for sale in shops in the city of Yangon. A portion of the aid money given to the big international NGOs must necessarily and understandably go to the cost of the operation – charter of planes, foreign personnel, etc. – however, the end result of this are cargos of goods stranded at the Yangon airport along with frustrated foreign specialist relief personnels.

This is NOT a ‘normal’ nor anywhere near ‘decent’ government we are dealing with. Not only are they not caring for their people, but are actively preventing others from doing it. Our contacts tell us that the police and military personnels are actively preventing monks and monasteries from feeding and sheltering the victims of Nargis; prices of food and petrol have sky-rocketed and the military and their relatives have been making profit out of the sufferings of the people, hoarding zink roofing for repairing the mostly destroyed roofs of homes and buildings and selling them at greatly inflated prices.

So an important word of advice –  give what you can, but give rather to Burmese grassroots organisations in your own country, or Burmese individuals whom you trust – who already have their regular channels of money transfer back to Burma. They are the ones who would know how to evade and work around the “official” channels, and they would be able to send the money to Burma to reach the channels that are directly giving aid to the people. If you have contact with trusted individuals inside Burma, you can also send money to them through a simple way – all Burmese immigrant communities have established their own ‘trusted’ way of sending money back home. As a precaution however, do not send large amounts at one time, make sure the recipient have received the money before sending the next installment.

The money that we are collecting through NICA is going entirely through the local networks, and we do NOT have any operation costs, as we have done away with all permenant and physical structures, and are working with individuals and networks whom we trust inside Burma, on ad hoc basis according to current needs and situations.

Let’s give wisely.

12th May – Update

Around 300,000 Kyatts (USD 300) is given to a local NGO going into the delta, Pyin Kabar Village. The travel will be on the road and later with the boat. This is the Ratana Mitta, Buddhist group doing HIV care. They have just worked in Maubin where victims from Bogalay take refuge. Thousands are pouring into Maubin as the authority is driving the victims away from Bogalay. Old clothes are also given to a merchant to take to the victims. This merchant will visit his home town, Maubin in 2 days time.

Pyin Kayine Village which is a large one where victims from
66 nearby smaller villages come to take refuge.
We also travel to some of these small ones, donating rice.

the primary school at the village in Hyne Gyi Kyun township

Support for VICTIMS of Cyclone Nargis, updated on 12th May

28,458 Dead(official); 102,000 Dead(estimated); 33,416 Missing (official);2 million Affected(estimated)

Check out our OPEN CALL now for details how you can contribute to help the affected people:

http://nicainburma.wordpress.com/open-call/

We have made it a permanent page on the blog site, so check it out!