Help for Myanmar?
As I mentioned many times before, we visited Phuket, Thailand a few weeks ago. On the way there, the flight was re-routed because of a tropical cyclone in our path. That was on Tuesday the 29th of April. On the immediate Friday after, that being the 3rd of May we received word that a devastating cyclone had hit the nearby country of Myanmar (Burma), approximately 280 km north of us, leaving nothing but devastation and destruction in its path.
It could have just as easily hit the Phuket area but unfortunately for the Burmese people Mother Nature ravaged their somewhat insular country, instead. At least 80,000 people were killed and thousands went missing. According to reports, a million are homeless. As you can imagine Myanmar on an average day is very beautiful and its landscape is at least as picturesque as Thailand's is.
To us vacationers in Phuket, the after effects of Myanmar's cyclone were only rain and cloudy skies, irritating yes (less tanning time, big problems), but not an obstacle that prohibited us from enjoying our air-conditioned hotel, exotic drinks and expensive meals by the beach.
So, after every single day of mostly worry free relaxing and complaining about meaningless, trivial situations, we'd watch the news only to be greeted by horrific images of people dead or starving and crying out for help, just up the road from us in Myanmar. Our Myanmar neighbours were even so desperate that they were even drinking the contaminated water because they had no other choice.
What could we do to help? We were so close but yet worlds away. Their militant government repeated the same old story, that being that it wasn't allowing for any external help and consequently food for our Burmese neighbours, who were obviously in dire need. The Burmese Government made it clear that they could look after their own and look after them they have, not really!
Two weeks on and some of the victims are only receiving remnants of rice and one litre of water a day to feed an entire family, while an abundance of food supplies waits on its country's borders. The same distance as the bridge that separates Ontario, Canada and New York State, U.S.A.
Funny how a few kilometres and a man made border can make the difference between feasting on three course meals and wine or struggling on rations of rice and contaminated water. I'll never understand that. Some governments don't seem to know how to make the right decisions and that's when democratic lands are sometimes forced to step in and make the decisions for them.
As it looks now, it seems that the government might be opening up to foreign aid, finally. Here, in Denmark at participating stores, when we use our Danish credit card (Dankort), 50 Dkr goes to help the Myanmar victims. For more information on the tragedy and ways to help visit Unicef.dk or Unicef International.
