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Relief agencies struggle to reach Burma cyclone victims
by Ed Beavan
 Down: a man looks at a fallen tree near a decorative archway near Myanmar airport, on Sunday REUTERS |
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DEATHS in Burma have continued to rise after the cyclone that devastated the country last weekend. Reported figures varied as the Church Times went to press: the Burmese government announced that 22,000 people were dead and 41,000 missing, while other reports put the figure at 60,000 dead, and one million left homeless. Cyclone Nargis caused a storm surge, which sent a 3.5-metre-high wave across the country. The low-lying Irrawaddy delta region, to the south-west of the capital, Rangoon (Yangon), was badly hit, causing homes to be flattened and cutting power lines.Rangoon is one of five regions declared disaster zones. In Bogolay, a city of 190,000 people, an estimated 95 per cent of homes have been destroyed. Vast swaths of rice-growing fields in the Irrawaddy delta, which is known as the breadbasket of the country, are said to have been ruined. |
 Submerged: an aerial view shows a flooded village near Rangoon, on Monday REUTERS |
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The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, called for the Burmese military government to put aside political pride and focus on “the overwhelming needs of the people”. The diocese of Winchester has had a link for 130 years with the Anglican Church in Burma, the Church of the Province of Myanmar, and its six dioceses. Bishop Scott-Joynt spent ten days there in February.
He described the Burmese people as “utterly vulnerable”, and spoke of his concern after his attempts to contact friends in the country had failed because of a breakdown in telecommunications. “I’m extremely concerned. But it’s clearly very important for the Burmese regime — which is extremely anxious about what it sees as external interference — to focus on the overwhelming needs of the people and communities. This must take precedence over any political views, hopes, and pressures; and I hope they will allow the UN to take the lead in the aid effort,” he said.
British aid agencies were attempting to co-ordinate relief efforts, but were being hampered by the breakdown of telecommunications, difficulties in gaining visas for aid workers, and the lack of accessibility to the affected areas — many of which are impossible to reach without boats or helicopters.
It is understood the storm had been brewing in the Bay of Bengal for several days, but communities were ill prepared because of the lack of early-warning systems.
The aid agency Tearfund contacted its partners in Thailand, who had managed to speak to staff in Burma. Sudarshan Sathianathan of Tearfund said: “On top of the tens of thousands that have died, we know that many more people have been badly hurt, are without homes, food, clothes, or medicine, and are badly traumatised by the level of destruction that the cyclone unleashed.” Tearfund has committed £150,000 to emergency relief.
Christian Aid has launched an appeal, and has already allocated £50,000 to its local partners. Its Burma expert, Ray Hasan, said: “The logistics of this disaster are very challenging. Some of the worst-hit areas are very poor and remote. We hope that the Burmese government gives aid agencies full access to the affected areas.” |
 Vital provisions: top: residents of Rangoon try to fill their buckets with water on Wednesday AP |
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World Vision has also launched an appeal, and plans to airlift aid, including water-purification tablets and blankets. Dr Kyi Minn, the charity’s Asia Pacific Regional HIV and AIDS Adviser, who is based in Rangoon, said: “The destruction is unbelievable. Elderly people are saying this is the worst storm they have ever seen.”
Canon Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of the Barnabas Fund, called for prayer for Christians in Burma, many of whom have experienced persecution from the military regime: “They have endured many years of persecution, faithfully and courageously.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury said on Wednesday that he had written to the Archbishop of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon, the Most Revd Stephen Than Myint Oo: “I am heartened to know relief efforts are under way to help hundreds of thousands of people who are without clean water, food, or shelter. Our hearts grieve with all those who have lost their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods. In the face of such loss, all I can offer in my prayers for you is the totality of the love of God, even in the face of all that on earth is disfigured by natural disaster. ‘This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day’ (John 6.39).” |
 Burmese soldiers unload boxes of supplies from a Thai transport plane on Tuesday AP |
| The Tearfund Burma emergency appeal is at www.tearfund.org; phone 0845 355 8355. The Christian Aid Burma appeal is at www.christianaid.org.uk. |
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