Responsibility to Rescue
Another deadly weather-related catastrophe in a region where cyclones have traditionally taken their toll, devastating people in their hundreds of thousands, in Bangladesh, India, and now Burma.Early estimates are that 20,000 Burmese have perished, with tens of thousands whose fate is yet unknown. It has even been estimated that the final death toll will look more like 100,000. Over the years, Bangladesh has lost over 700,000 of its people to the devastation of cyclones erupting on its coastline; India about 20,000. Now it's Burma's horrific turn.
Aided and abetted by the loss of huge mangrove forests along the Irrawaddy Delta, cleared to make way for farmland on the rich silt left by the Irrawaddy River. And that's just where the Cyclone hit the country with its worst excess of violence, the area where, ironically, most of its agriculture benefits the country.
And with that area inundated, crops washed away, the impoverished country now faces a food-shortage disaster exacerbating its already-diminished supply of basic foods for its people.
With the gradual (and yet ongoing) removal of the buffer of the mangrove forests there was little to protect the area from the rising tidal waves and the hurricane forces that hit the Irrawaddy and further into the larger residential areas, right into the country's largest city, once its capital, Rangoon.
The military junta that has imposed its iron rule on the country since 1962 has been incapable of responding to the disaster; nowhere is the military to be seen on rescue missions, their forte being putting down riots - with dire consequences to the rioters.
Always hostile to foreign intervention, the small cadre of ruling generals of this backward country is proving its complete incompetence as the Burmese people are left to fend for themselves.
The restoration of order, the search for food and potable water, the need for shelter, becomes a problem for the population itself to solve, however it can, despite its extreme suffering. Neighbouring Thailand flew in 9 tons of food and medicine, but distribution of even these modest badly-needed emergency rations is questionable; the infrastructure is simply not there.
A million people are estimated homeless in the wake of the cyclone and its 3.5-metre storm surge, submerging the area under an irresistible force of rampant seawater. The delta region is unknown territory now, its rice fields growing a rich crop of corpses, not grain.
One area of Rangoon has access to dependably clean drinking water, but the threat of cholera as time progresses, has raised its ugly head.
The military regime's first response was to refuse offers of international aid. Just as it did after the 2004 tsunami. New Delhi stands ready with transport planes on standby, awaiting permission from the Burmese government. Relief supplies and experienced disaster personnel from countries around the world are left waiting in neighbouring countries, unable to obtain visas and entry permits.
The United Nations has stockpiled 500,000 tons of emergency food aid inside Burma, along with drugs, water purification equipment and temporary shelters, but the UN is still awaiting a response from the government before they can begin transporting and delivering this aid.
And while the World Food Program did begin food distribution within Rangoon, the coastal regions where immediate need of aid is required, remains inaccessible. The Burmese Social Welfare Minister has thus far refused to state when entry restrictions will be lifted.
While shelterless survivors without food, medical supplies, water remain unaided, with huge tracts of the country still under water, buildings destroyed and crops completely ruined. The military junta insists it wants material assistance from abroad, but has no need of foreign personnel to distribute the material, to aid in rescue.
What the junta really would prefer is emergency aid in the form of cash, but Western countries are understandably loathe to proffer cash, preferring to advance aid in the form of food, water, medicines, shelter. While the United Nations pleads with the Burmese government to allow aid workers to enter the country, the government response is "give us money, we'll distribute it".
Foreign countries stand ready to aid, but wait for a formal request from the Burmese government. Which simply isn't forthcoming. Burmese victims of the disaster have claimed that the government gave them no advance warning of the oncoming cyclone. Despite that it was given two days' notice by India of the impending storm.
There's a country-wide vote in the offing, for the purpose of consolidating military rule. The country is ripe for a popular uprising. And then the generals can swing into action, proving how competent they are, committing mass murder on those who seek to dissent. The earlier riots led by Buddhist monks was just a trial run.
Labels: Political Realities, Societal Failures, World Crises
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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