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May 14, 2008
Lives Ebb Away
as Myanmar's Military Sidelines Vital Aid
By Simon Parry
Myawaddy (Myanmar)
It was supposed to be a moment of hope, a breakthrough in the
troubled international aid effort for the hundreds of thousands of
Myanmarese victims of Cyclone Nargis. Instead, I watched as the
delivery of the first overland aid convoy was received with stark
indifference by military officials either ill prepared or
uninterested in speeding the aid to those in need.
At lunchtime Saturday, seven days after Nargis killed an estimated
100,000-plus people and left up to 1.5 million homeless, Myanmar's
junta finally allowed in two UN refugee agency (UNHCR) trucks
carrying 20 tons of tents and plastic sheeting, enough to shelter
10,000 victims.
It had taken five days of pleading and cajoling. But at 1 pm, to the
undisguised delight of the aid workers, the aid was finally allowed
in from Mae Sot in northern Thailand on condition no aid workers
were on board.
Once across the border, the precious cargo was in military hands. UN
staff prayed it would be rushed to the stricken Irrawaddy Delta
where every hour is costing lives.
Sharing some of their hope, I defied a ban on foreign journalists
and crossed into Myanmar with the trucks. What I witnessed was a
debacle. The moment the trucks were out of sight of the border post,
they were directed off the road and along a three kilometre dusty
track to a semi-deserted monastery and pagoda.
As our taxi bumped along behind the trucks, I still expected to find
army trucks and ranks of troops ready to unload the cargo and take
it to the cyclone-hit communities. Instead, the cargo was received
by a languid young major who was with only two other soldiers.
I watched as they waved the trucks to parking bays without looking
to see what they contained, then ambled back to a reception area to
resume the card-playing and tea-drinking that had been interrupted.
Dumbfounded, I waited to see when the relief operation would begin.
But nothing happened, just elderly monks and casually dressed
government officials wandering around, seeming to ignore the UN
trucks.
My presence had been noticed, so I walked up and introduced myself
and congratulated them on securing the aid. When would it be leaving
for the disaster area, I asked?
The major, Myat Hdut Aye, explained that nothing more would be
happening for the time being. "It will have to wait here until
tomorrow," he said, gesturing to the trucks. "Then it will be
transferred by road to Yangon. We can't do anything more today."
I asked gently why it wasn't being moved immediately. Silent for a
moment, he blushed before replying: "We need a big truck to carry
all these things and it has to come from Yangon." So when would it
arrive? He looked a little more uncomfortable and said: "We hope it
will be here in time to leave early tomorrow."
As we chatted, a senior officer, who had been sleeping inside, came
to the doorstep and began quizzing my driver-interpreter: "Who is
this man? Is he with the UNHCR? Why is he taking pictures?"
We shook hands, retreated to our car and drove quickly back to
Myawaddy, across the Moei River from Mae Sot, where it was soon
apparent why so little attention was being given to the arrival of
the aid.
Three kilometres from the idle aid trucks, scores of rifle-toting
soldiers were patrolling five polling stations for the referendum on
constitutional reform - held in spite of international entreaties to
delay the vote and focus on cyclone relief.
Those in Myawaddy brave enough to risk arrest by speaking to me said
the heavy army presence was meant to intimidate people into voting
"yes," in line with the junta's wishes.
"Everyone is watched and anyone who votes 'no' has been told they
will be thrown in prison Sunday morning," a market trader said.
Except for the soldiers, the polling stations were deserted.
"There are thousands of soldiers in Myawaddy and many military
trucks that could transport the aid," a 51-year-old restaurant owner
told me bitterly. "But this regime does not care about saving
people. They only care about saving themselves."
The town many have escaped the cyclone's wrath, but the storm's
impact was being felt here and across the country. "People are too
hungry to even think about politics," another man said. "The price
of rice has more than doubled in the past week and cooking oil has
trebled."
The dismal reception for the aid convoy was in stark contrast to the
hard work and optimism displayed on the Thai side of the border.
"Officials in Burma have insisted on certain things and we are
trying to do things the way they want us to," the UNHCR's Tan said.
"For us, the most important thing is to get the material in and to
distribute it to the people who need it as quickly as we can," she
said.
The aid eventually arrived in Yangon on Monday, which was "better
than expected," said Tan.
May 14, 2008
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