Israeli Aid Teams Hard at work in Burma
|
About 150,000 people are feared to have been killed and at least 1.5 million people left homeless after south Burma was devastated by cyclone Nargis. Aid agencies in Burma say it is only a matter of time before there are large-scale outbreaks of cholera and other water-born diseases in areas affected by Cyclone Nargis, leading to thousands more dead. |
|
Even in this urgent situation, Burma's military authorities are refusing to accept international help. Most aid workers manage to get into the Myanmar area. However, most of the damage is in South Burma, in the Delta region. The Junta is not allowing aid workers into that region to help the people in need.
|
Despite the obstacles set by the authorities, Israeli aid workers were among the few able to enter deep inside the Delta region and assist the people in their time of need. To learn more about the situation we've spoken with a representative (note: name witheld to protect relief workers) of Israeli Flying Aid, one of the Israeli organizations working in the region now. |
Q&A:
- ISRAELIGIRL: What is the situation on the ground in the disaster area in Burma?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: From what we see in the deep Delta region there are still ten thousands of dead bodies lying around. The area is flooded with water, making it very difficult to bury the dead. People are in shock and are desperate. Since there are no international relief workers in the region they feel alone and isolated. With no significant help, they know they are on their own and have to help themselves.
- ISRAELIGIRL: What is the estimated death toll figures? Do those match the figures given by the Junta, Burma's military authorities?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: The current estimate is 150,000 casualties. The formal figures provided by the Junta are 30,000 people dead. The authorities are trying to minimize the perceived damage and are not doing much to help the local people. For example, the Junta is busily exporting rice to SriLanka and Thailand as usual and hasn't moved resources around to help the locals in the disaster area.
- ISRAELIGIRL: What are the main challenges in assisting the local community in Burma?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: We're fighting a war on our right to help these people out in their time of need. We believe it's our moral obligation to help these people in these hard times. Since the Junta does not want international aid, the locals are instructed not to receive such aid even if it's offered to them. To provide the much needed aid without endangering the locals who receive it, our people are trained to work in a covert manner, moving around much, not sleeping in the same hotel twice. In situations like these, private organizations can achieve much more than governmental agencies which operate in a formal restricted manner.
- ISRAELIGIRL: What type of aid do you provide to the local citizens?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: basic dry food and rice. Since everything is still under water it's hard to find dry wood to enable cooking so we're looking into ways to provide dry woods. We also distribute iron sheet used to build roofs and shelters - this is the Monsoon season and shelters are crucial.
- ISRAELIGIRL: Did the people in Burma have early warning about the disaster?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: It is unclear. The authorities may have had an early warning. However since the hardest hit region is very remote the warning probably didn't get there in time.
- ISRAELIGIRL: How is this disaster compared to others your organization has handled?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: In terms of the severity of the event and the amount of casualties it is similar to the 2005 Tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka. However, the Tsunami caused severe damage but the water returned to the sea, allowing recovery efforts to take place. In Burma, the water are standing, flooding the whole Delta region, which makes recovery much more difficult. In addition, the Tsunami hit a number of countries, spreading out the damage, here the damage is concentrated on a small poor region in Burma.
- ISRAELIGIRL: How can people help out?
- ISRAELIFLYINGAID: We need all the help we can get and any help is appreciated. For more information about how you can help and for donations please send an email to info@ifaid.com.
Click on the arrows below to view pictures sent in from Burma.
