Myanmar in Despair

We have just learned of the extent of the devastation of the cyclone in Myanmar with the latest death toll surpassing 22,000 people. This is certainly a tragedy by any standards but it seems an especially unfair blow to the Myanmar people and with particularly bad timing in the face of the upcoming constitutional vote. Life in Myanmar was incredibly difficult even before the cyclone. Many of the people were eager, even desperate, to share with us their message of despair. The general sentiment was that the government effectively turned the international media spotlight away from the people’s cries for help in September by promising a new constitution. Meanwhile, several monks and other political protesters had gone “missing” as the rest of the world stopped paying attention. There seemed to be frustration with the fact that the rest of the world seemed to turn its back on the situation. The outcome of the constitutional vote is expected to be fixed in favour, which will only strengthen the military junta’s position of power. While we were in the country it was actually impossible to figure out what the terms of the constitution were. Any media coverage was completely biased and did not provide any real information, it was just a pile of fear mongering. (check out the pics in full size to see some examples and also see the picture of the office for the National League for Democracy in Bagan which, according to a local, was shut down by the government) In fact, the newspapers seem to be a forum for the government to pat itself on the back for all the good it is doing… always good news about Myanmar and bad news about the rest of the world. For a news article on the media coverage of the referendum click here: http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/4/24/rsf-no-press-freedom-for-myanmar-constitution-vote/ We also heard reports about the military visiting small villages and threatening the people with consequences if they did not vote in favour of the constitution. Most of the people that we spoke with were planning to boycott the vote, they felt that there was no point in going to the polls when the outcome was already predetermined. Perhaps this is why the government is still keen to go ahead with the constitution in the face of this tragedy, the people’s morale is low and they are too devastated, picking up the pieces of their lives to stage any protest and draw attention to the issues.

In addition to living under the rule of the military junta, the people are facing declining tourist dollars (a situation which is likely to get worse now) and fuel and food prices are at an all time high. The government is lining its pockets and giving nothing back to the people: the roads are terrible, healthcare is abysmal, outside of the major towns electricity is limited to two hours per day, and telephone service is often interrupted. By our estimates, ninety percent of the families live in single room huts with woven wicker walls barely thicker than a sheet of paper; they rely on generators run by expensive petrol to provide most of their electricity. In spite of all their hardships, the people in this country are the kindest, most trustworthy and gentle people you could ever meet. Always greeting us with big, genuine smiles and constantly showing concern for our well being; whether it be walking a kilometre through town with us in the blistering midday heat to make sure we found our way to our hotel, escorting us onto the ferry and keeping us company while we awaited our departure, waiting the extra two hours with us for our late bus, sharing food with us when they thought we might be hungry, or making sure we were okay with being drenched during the water festival. They never asked for a thing in return.

Now we are left wondering if they are even alive, all these people that had such concern for us. We keep thinking about the little ones that would run up and say “hello”, excited to practice their English, blow us kisses before dissolving into laughter on the river banks as our boat pulled away, or coax us into another game of badminton and wonder if they are okay; remembering the hundreds of people labouring in the paddies, planting the new rice that was supposed to feed their community, crops that are likely gone now.

It seemed impossible for these people to lose anything else, they already had nothing… now they have even less.

We have so many more thoughts than cannot be summed up neatly here but hopefully in writing this we can offer some sort of idea, if vague, of what is happening behind the curtain that the government has drawn tightly around the country. Perhaps more importantly and urgently, we can appeal to you to consider making some sort of contribution to help the people of Myanmar through this tragedy. We can only hope the government will open it’s doors wider to the foreign aid that is being offered. We have donated to the International Red Cross only because we know that they already have offices established within the country, but I’m sure there will be many different disaster relief funds set up where ever you are. International Red Cross Link (to donate to Myanmar specifically, select Myanmar under Programme) http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList2/Help_the_ICRC?OpenDocumentOpenDocument

Here are some links that might of interest (as our surfing time is limited please send us any links that you find relevant and we will be happy to post them):

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/despite-cyclone-myanmars-junta-offers/n20080505232509990009

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/09/news/Myanmar-Constitution.php

Regarding media coverage of constitution: http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/4/24/rsf-no-press-freedom-for-myanmar-constitution-vote/