Stories about Myanmar (Burma) from May, 2008
Myanmar: Inadequate aid
Penguin Blog uploads an article by American journalist Emma Larkin who has a first-hand account of the cyclone disaster in Myanmar. Larkin notes the small aid reaching the Burmese: ” It is like throwing sesame seeds into the mouth of an elephant.”
Fire at Myanmar embassy in Thailand
A fire broke out at Myanmar’s embassy in Thailand. Because of the fire, aid workers were not able to secure visas. Absolutely Bangkok comments: “What a coincidence that the fire ravaged that part of the embassy where those visas should have been issued?”
Myanmar: Beyond Rangoon Project on Flickr
Latest pictures of relief operations in cyclone ravaged Myanmar can be accessed at Beyond Rangoon Project.
Myanmar: Open and close borders
The Siam Sentinel sums up the inconsistency of Myanmar's attitude in accepting aid: “Burma opens its borders. Burma closes its borders. Burma agrees to allow foreign aid workers to enter its borders. Burma closes those borders again.”
Myanmar: U.N. leader speech
Ashin Mettacara posts the speech delivered by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who visited Yangon, Myanmar this week. Excerpt of the speech: “I saw the saddest things: homes and villages destroyed, fields flooded, roads and bridges washed away, so many lives lost. We work hard in our lives, for ourselves and...
The Burma Daily Online
Copies of the The Burma Daily were confiscated in Cambodia. But articles of the paper can be accessed online.
Southeast Asia: Coping with the rice and food crisis
Food prices continue to rise in the world market. Southeast Asian governments are now re-examining their food and agricultural policies in order to prevent consumer panic and social unrest. Bloggers are discussing the food crisis and its impact in the region.
Videos: Creativity in facing the water crisis
With two very recent natural disasters in mind: the cyclone in Myanmar and the Earthquake in Sichuan, China, the topic of getting pure and drinkable water to needy populations has come back into the conversation. Following, several videos which propose different solutions to supply clean water or at least make it easier for people to have a healthful liquid to drink.
Myanmar: Through the eyes of a mission worker
The Obnoxious 5xmom uploads an email of a mission worker in Myanmar: “It is a sad sight. Nature unleashed an orgy of death and mayhem, wounding an already suffering population. Yesterday, with tears in their eyes, women explained how the waves snatched their babes from their bosoms. A mighty tidal...
Myanmar: Situation in Laputta
ko-htike received an email from a friend who had seen the situation in Laputta, Myanmar: “More than ten thousands victims are staying, sleeping on the wet ground under the miserable roofs in the camps of the monasteries and pagodas; and some victims are staying outside in the rain. They have...
Myanmar: Report from Yangon
New Mandala received a report from a correspondent based in Yangon, Myanmar. An excerpt of the account: “The stories from the night of the cyclone that the villagers shared with me were gruesome. I was told how streets were turned into rivers through torrential rainfall and storm surges of over...
Myanmar: A survivor's story
Myat Thura wanted to cry after translating a Burmese blog. Nyi Lynn Seck quoted a survivor of the Cyclone Nargis: “Most of the dead were women. Many suggested they died not because of drowning, but because of injury during flooding…When I climbed to the boat pier, I saw a corpse...
Myanmar: “A wonderful place in the wrong hands”
A Filipino journalist writing for pcij.org was in Myanmar when a powerful cyclone hit the country early this month. The writer comments: “Burma struck me as a rich country with so many poor people. It is a wonderful place in the wrong hands.”
Myanmar: Invasion is counterproductive
Commenting on the proposal to invade Myanmar, Accumulating Peripherals believes that “An actual invasion or an attempt to seize and secure the entire hurricane-affected area for relief efforts would be wildly counterproductive”
Myanmar: Citizen videos in Cyclone Nargis’ aftermath
Despite restrictions on journalists imposed by the Burmese junta who govern the country, people have been going out and recording what is really happening to the victims of this natural disaster. On May 2nd, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar (Burma), generating massive damage and tens of thousands dead or missing.
Myanmar: Media coverage of cyclone
New Mandala is shocked to discover that a state-run newspaper in Myanmar reports the impact of the Cyclone Nargis only on page four of the paper
Myanmar: Government information website
In case you are looking for the Junta's official mouthpiece, visit myanmar.com.
Sri Lanka: Responsibility and Burma
ICT4Peace on the idea of international responsibility and citizen-centered disaster response in the context of the humanitarian crisis in Burma.
Japan: Views on the Sichuan Earthquake
The earthquake in China's Sichuan province, besides taking its toll on tens of thousands of Chinese citizens, has also had reverberations far away in the Japanese blogosphere, where the topic ranked top among blogging keyword lists and sparked conversations in forums over the past few days.
Myanmar: Voices through Tweets
Twittering is getting popular among Myanmar community and blogosphere. Although many Myanmarnese are yet to make effective use of available tech gadgets and popular medium such as twitter, facebook and the like due to lack of information and resources, a few overseas bloggers and students are beginning to indulge in various communication mediums to express their voices. The so called micro blogging mechanism, Twitter, has become quite active among Myanmar users in reporting recent cyclone Nargis news.
Myanmar: Twittering the cyclone disaster
Burmese bloggers have been using Twitter to give updates and reports about the situation in Myanmar. Twitter provides useful links to recent news articles and blog posts about the relief efforts, donation information details and other eyewitness accounts of the continuing tragedy in Myanmar.
