Reports are that 10,000 people were killed and millions more dislocated when Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar last week. And relief workers say tens of thousands remain unaccounted for (and are probably dead).
Rather puts the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in perspective, doesn’t it…?
But since it’s not wise to question why, how or where Mother Nature directs her tsunami-like wrath, I shall suffice to extend my condolences to the victims.
Thank God for all of the relief agencies, especially the International Red Crescent, that are assisting the survivors.
Meanwhile, even though Myanmar’s military leaders have appealed for international aid, they have reportedly prohibited U.S. planes carrying emergency relief supplies and a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) from landing in the country. (Although, given how poorly DART performed after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, who can blame them…?)
All the same, such a prohibition is entirely consistent with the military junta’s persecution of the Buddhist monks who organized non-violent marches for human rights in the streets of Myanmar last year.
Nevertheless, First Lady Laura Bush announced yesterday that U.S. aid would be flowing to the victims through its embassy in Yangon. And I commend her for criticizing the military leaders for exacerbating the death toll by failing to provide not only emergency relief but also adequate warning about Cyclone Nargis’s impending doom. (Never mind that the ghost of Katrina will enable them to dismiss her criticism as a case of the pot calling the kettle black….)
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Related Articles:
Military crackdown on monks in Myanmar
Myanmar Cyclone Nargis
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