| 6th May 2008
EMERGENCY AID FOR BURMA Following the
severe cyclone which hit Burma on Saturday, 3rd May, the military
junta has finally begun to accept offers of aid from international
aid organizations. Money and other donations are urgently
needed, as the junta's delay in accepting aid has increased
the risk to the population affected by the cyclone. > Trocaire
has set up an emergency fund for Burma.
Click
here to give donations to Trocaire's Burma Emergency Fund
Click
here for T rocaire's news and PR about the emergency in Burma
Current Status in Burma from
www.coe-dmha.org/apdr
Tropical Cyclone Nargis struck southwestern
Myanmar (Burma) at around 16:00 Friday (May 2) local time,
packing sustained winds of 120 mph (190 kph). Myanmar's official
state-run media reported the death toll Monday (May 5) at
3,934 people, with 41 injured and 2,879 missing. Myanmar's
Foreign Minister has unofficially put the death toll at higher
than 10,000 and media sources have cited government agencies
as saying the toll is around 15,000. The UN says hundreds
of thousands of people have been left homeless in the countryside
while the country's main city and former capital, Yangon (Rangoon),
was devastated by the storm.
Nargis touched down in Irrawaddy Division,
about 155 miles (250 km) southwest of Yangon. The Irrawaddy
towns of Bogalady, Laputta and Patanaw were reported destroyed.
The Irrawaddy delta is the country's major rice-producing
area and officials anticipate extensive damage to crops. After
making landfall, the storm passed directly over Yangon late
Friday night local time, causing widespread destruction to
buildings and infrastructures. It then tracked toward the
northeast on Saturday (May 3), skirting northwestern Thailand
before dissipating in Myanmar's Mon state. Yangon, Irrawaddy
Division, Bago (Pegu) Division, Kayin (Karen) state and Mon
state have all been declared disaster zones. Twenty-four million
of the country's 53 million people live in those five regions.
Some 6 million live in Yangon.
Myanmar's government has said that it
will welcome international aid, although it is not clear whether
it has accepted the pending UN disaster relief mission. The
UN says that it appears at this stage that the assistance
envisaged is primarily bilateral, with aid going directly
to the government relief agencies.
Plastic sheeting, water purification
tables, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits,
food and fuel are all considered urgent needs.
A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination
(UNDAC) Team has been dispatched and members were assembling
and meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. Terje Skavdal,
regional director of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), headed the meeting and said
the operation was being based out of Thailand because the
UN support system inside Myanmar is insufficient. Due to blocked
roads, flooding and downed communication and electricity lines,
UNOCHA says it is difficult to assess the extent of damages,
especially outside of Yangon.
In a statement Sunday (May 4), UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon expressed his sympathy for those affected by Nargis
and said in addition to the UNDAC team, the UN was prepared
to offer necessary assistance.
Authorities are concerned over profiteering
in the aftermath of the storm, with prices of food, fuel and
building supplies already having risen about 300 percent,
according to the Associated Press. Like other Asian nations,
Myanmar had already been affected by the rising global price
of rice.
Myanmar officials said Monday that a
constitutional referendum scheduled for Satuday (May 10) will
go ahead as planned, despite the cyclone's devastation. Myanmar
has been ruled by the military since 1962. The junta has refused
to allow international observers to monitor the election and
many analysts and opposition members have dismissed the document
as a sham designed to entrench military rule.
Impact
Sunday's death toll had been reported
at just 351, but aid workers and officials are beginning to
gain access to some of the devastated rural areas and by Monday,
the official toll was 3,934 dead. Foreign Minister Nyan Win
has said the death toll is easily 10,000. Some media outlets
cited official sources as saying the death toll had risen
to 15,000 by Monday evening local time, but the reports could
not be verified. The UN also says that there may be more than
3,000 missing in Irrawaddy Division alone. The UN says several
hundred thousand are estimated to be without shelter and safe
drinking water.
Although the UN reports that hundreds
of thousands of homes were destroyed, there is no official
estimate of the number of people displaced by Nargis.
Thousands of people in Yangon, a city
of about 6 million, are reportedly camping out in government
school buildings. Authorities closed the city's one airport
because of damage and flooding. The government has said about
98,000 people were made homeless on Haing Gyi island in the
Irrawaddy Delta. Moving inland along the delta, several sources
reported that 95 percent of homes were estimated to have been
destroyed.
According to the government, at least
57 ships sunk in the Irrawaddy River and dozens of smaller
boats were also lost.
Electricity and communication lines were
taken out in the storm and UNOCHA says it will be several
days before either are repaired.
Officials say an insufficient supply
of potable water will be a major problem as very little running
water is available in Yangon. Without drinking water, health
authorities fear the potential spread of water-borne diseases.
The IFRC, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors
Without Borders) and the NGO Christian Aid said their staffs
were able to warn many people ahead of the storm. Warnings
also ran on state-run television and in local newspapers,
although local media say many people have access to neither.
Despite initial fears, neighboring Bangladesh
was not affected by Nargis. India experienced heavy rains
in its eastern coastal states as the storm formed in the Bay
of Bengal. Thailand reported five districts in Tak province
along the border have encountered serious flooding conditions
from continuous heavy rains. More than 100 houses have been
inundated and over 1,000 left homeless.
Background
Cyclone season is the Bay of Bengal typically
runs from May through November. Nargis was the first cyclone
to hit the Bay since category-4 Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh
on November 15, killing nearly 3,400 people and devastating
the southeastern coastline. In May 2004, the junta made a
rare request for assistance after a cyclone hit Rakhine state,
killing at least 140 people and displacing around 18,000 others.
Some casualty estimates put the death toll for the 2004 storm
at more than 1,000. It was reportedly the worst storm to hit
Rakhine since 1968 and carried sustained winds up to 100 mph.
Country Profile
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has
a population of about 53 million and has been ruled by a succession
of military juntas since 1962. It is one of Asia's poorest
nations. The current junta, ruling since 1988, has isolated
the country from the outside world, making it difficult at
times to extract information about events taking place in
the country. The capital city, Naypyidaw, is located about
240 miles (390 km) north of Yangon.
Many Western nations have imposed sanctions
on Myanmar in protest of its alleged human rights abuses and
a crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests in September
2007 in which at least 31 people were killed. Myanmar receives
far less foreign aid - about $US2.50 per capita - than regional
neighbors Cambodia ($47) and Laos ($63) and below the $14
average for low-income nations, according to Reuters.
Government Response
Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win has
said his country will welcome international aid.
The government has so far pledged US$5
million for relief. Military and police units have been deployed
as part of rescue and relief operations
An Emergency Committee has been established,
headed by the prime minister. The committee has declared Yangon,
Irrawaddy Division, Bago (Pegu) Division, Kachin state and
Mon state all disaster zones. The committee has also mobilized
military and police units for rescue, rehabilitation and clean-up
operations in the Yangon area.
Myanmar's minister of social welfare
met with UN officials on Sunday (May 4) to discuss the terms
of accepted assistance.
National Response
Myanmar's Red Cross planned to dispatch
five assessment teams Monday to Yangon, Irrawaddy, Bago East,
Bago West, Mon and Kayin. The agency is distributing 5,000
liters of drinking water to schools and pagodas where people
have sought temporary shelter in Yangon.
International Response
United Nations
A five-member UNDAC team, led by Eliane
Provo Kluit from OCHA, has been dispatched and is convening
in Bangkok. The team is making plans for a relief operation
in Myanmar, but it is not known whether the UN has received
official acceptance from the Myanmar government to conduct
the mission.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is deploying
five teams Monday to assess damages in Yangon, Pathein (the
capital of Irrawaddy Division) and Bago.
A United Nations Disaster Management
Team (UNDMT) with assistance from an Inter-Agency Standing
Committee (IASC) has developed a cluster system in the country
that shared information on preparedness levels last week.
More information will be released after further meetings.
The World Food Program (WFP) has 500
metric tons of food stored in Yangon that it plans to distribute,
along with generators stored in Cambodia.
A UN Coordination Team in Myanmar is
examining the situation to determine whether to allocate money
from the UN Central Emergency Reserve Fund.
NGOs / IOs
The British Red Cross has released US$59,100
(30,000 pounds) from its disaster fund.
Church World Service (CWS) is appealing
for US$50,000 to start its relief operations in Myanmar.
The International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has released an initial
US$189,000 (200,000 Swiss Francs) to help with the Red Cross
response in Myanmar. Red Cross teams are now on the ground
assessing damages in all five affected regions of Myanmar.
IFRC plans to release 2,000 shelters and 2,000 family kits.
IFRC lists its top relief priority as shelter.
Malteser International is providing US$15,490
(10,000 Euros) in assistance.
World Vision estimates that nearly 2
million people were affected by Nargis and has declared shelter
and water the most urgent needs. It is appealing for US$3
million in global donations to support its relief efforts.
Initial supplies handed out will include zinc sheets, tents,
tarpaulins and medicines.
Foreign governments
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) has called on its member nations to provide urgent
assistance to Myanmar.
India will soon send two naval ships
loaded with food, tents, clothing, blankets and medicine,
according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) is sending tents and generators to arrive Thursday.
Thailand has donated an initial US$50,000
and planned to use C-130 aircraft to airlift nine metric tons
of food and medical supplies worth US$284,400 (9 million Thai
baht) to its neighbor.
The United States has provided an initial
US$250,000 and has an emergency response team on standby.
A State Department spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying
that the Myanmar government had not given the US team permission
to enter the country yet Monday. The US embassy in Myanmar
has issued a disaster declaration in the country.
Mrs Hayden's Class Ballyroan
Boys' National School, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 heard
the story of the families who came to Ireland from Burma and
thought it would be nice to make these families feel welcome
by sending them Christmas cards. They worked really hard as
is evident from the cards they made. Click on the thumbnails
to see larger images.
   
The Launch of the Photographic
Exhibition, BURMA: Forgotten Nation - Forgotten People' at
Ballina Public Library on February 4th, 2008.
Karen refugees find a new home
in Mayo
Under the UN Refugee Resettlement Scheme, the Irish Government
has accepted over a hundred Karen refugees from camps on the
Burma-Thailand border. The refugees are based in County Mayo
where as part of their integration, they have been facilitated
with a two month orientation course as they face the challenge
of adapting to their new life in Ireland. Many of the refugees
have little or no English and some have spent long years of
struggle and deprivation on the move away from the Burmese
army and subsequently in refugee camps on the border. Even
in camps, they may have suffered further attacks by the Burmese
army which does not scruple to make incursions into Thai territory.
Meitheal Mhaigheo, the area based partnership company for
County Mayo and the Mayo Intercultural Action group have established
a mentoring programme to assist and support the Karen people.
Very recently Burma Action Ireland had the opportunity to
exhibit the Philip Daly photographic collection, ‘Burma
– Forgotten Nation, Forgotten People,’ at public
libraries in both Castlebar and Ballina.
Ireland receives refugees each year under this UN resettlement
scheme and is one of 18 countries and one of only six EU member
states which participate in the programme.
Trouble at Karenni Refugee Camp
Recently problems have arisen between Karenni refugees and
the Thai
authorities, resulting in the death of one refugee on 15th
December
2007. Expressions of concern and the involvement of UNHCR
and NGOs in trying to resolve the situation are ongoing. Click
on the website address for information and photographs.
"The BAI demonstration last Saturday
at O'Connell Street Bridge,
showing the monks with the flowers to cast into the water,
in
solidarity with the monks and people of Burma."
Protest Demonstration at the
Chinese Embassy, Dublin
40 Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4.
Tuesday, 25th September, 2007
8.30am - 10.30am.
Burma Action Ireland is protesting at the Chinese Embassy
in Dublin against China's continuing support for the military
junta in Burma. We shall be handing in a letter of protest
to the Chinese Ambassador.
Please come and support us in this protest.
Even if you are unable to come to the demonstration on Tuesday
morning, it would be extremely valuable if you would write
to the Chinese Ambassador personally, adding your voice to
the protest. You might wish to include some of the following
points in your letter:
China is one of the largest suppliers of arms to the Burmese
military regime;
The Burmese junta is selling natural gas to the Chinese at
very cheap rates to maintain China's political support, but
this effectively robs the Burmese people of the benefits from
their own natural resources;
China has vetoed the inclusion of Burma on the UN Security
Council Agenda and even vetoed a peaceful UNSC resolution
to strengthen the Secretary General's mandate in resolving
the crisis in Burma;
China is one of the largest investors in Burma, supporting
the military regime which is heavily involved in 'private'
companies in Burma;
Burma imports more goods from China than from any other country
(31% in 2006);
China bankrolls the Burmese junta with loans and credit arrangements;
China is depleting Burma's natural resources and supports
the military regime in using forced labour, forced relocation
and human rights abuses;
China has said that the detention of political prisoners in
Burma (the most prominent being Aung San Suu Kyi) is 'Myanmar's
internal affair.'
Please send your letter to:.
H. E. Mr. Zhang Xinsen
Ambassador Extraordinary
Chancery (People's Republic of) China
40 Ailesbury Rd.
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4.
Tel: 353 1 269 1707
Fax: 353 1 283 9938
Email:
chinaemb_ie@mfa.gov.cn
June 2007
Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd Birthday
was marked by BAI with a birthday cake and music at the Stephen's
Green Hotel in Dublin on 19th June 2007. Our Honorary President,
John Boorman, hosted the event which was attended by many
distinguished guests, supporters and well-wishers. Burma Action
Ireland would like to thank Keith Donald (clarinet) and Gerry
Lynch (guitar) for generously providing beautiful music to
accompany the event. Burma Action Ireland also wishes to thank
O'Callaghan Group Hotels for their support.
(photo 13): 'Honorary President of BAI,
John Boorman, and Aung San Phyo cut the birthday cake.'
(photo 10): 'Keith Donald and Gerry Lynch
get the birthday swinging in fine style.'
(photo 9): 'Among the distinguished guests,
BAI welcome the Ambassador of South Africa to the Birthday
Event.
The exhibition, ' Burma: Forgotten
Nation, Forgotten People' continues to publicize
the plight of the thousands of Burmese refugees. The exhibition
first opened in Cork Vision Centre in May 2006 and since then
it has been shown at two major venues in Dublin in June and
July, followed by Derry in September and Kinsale in November,
where the Kinsale Fair Trade Committee generously hosted it.
Several more exhibition venues around Ireland are planned,
continuing into 2007. The exhibition is especially relevant
as the escalation of aggression against ethnic minorities
in Burma by the Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) is constantly reported
from border regions of the country.'
The launch of the exhibition,
'Burma: Forgotten Nation, Forgotten People' at the Blue
Haven Hotel, Kinsale, November 6th 2006. Left to right:
The Mayor of Kinsale, Fred Treacy, Janet Twomey of Trocaire,
Padraig Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Kinsale Fair Trade
Committee, Justin Kilcullen of Trocaire, Simon Coveney,
MEP, TD, Mary Montaut Co-ordinator BAI and Michael from
Burma.
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