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For an eye witness account 11 May 2008 click here
Jesuits from around the world have responded to Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma at the beginning of May. And some based in South East Asia have been sharply critical of the Burmese authorities’ handling of the disaster.
Fr Paul Pollock, the Regional Superior of Thailand Region and Myanmar Mission, was in Yangon when the cyclone struck. “The storm hit on Friday night; by Saturday morning, Yangon was a devastation,” he said. “Massive destruction to nature is most evident, because Yangon has so many trees. But this meant that the trees crashed onto the homes, the wind blew off the zinc roofing of the poor, (if the house was not already crushed by a falling tree). Billboards, telephone poles, electricity cables, all over everywhere. So most roads were also inaccessible, no buses, no taxis.”
The three Jesuit houses in Yangon (Canisius, Berchmans and Campion) experienced minor damage but there have been no casualties among the local Jesuits. “Eventually people started to help out, to cut and move trees, to get roads open,” Fr Pollock reported. “Our 21 candidates (for the Society) at Canisius worked very hard under the supervision of Fr Ipong, to get our property back in shape, and also to help with the neighbours’ properties and access roads.”
British Jesuit, Fr David Townsend, who is based in neighbouring Thailand, says the inadequate response by the Burmese authorities has made the situation far worse than it needed to have been.
“Although Nargis was devastating, the lack of civil society, civil freedoms, the blatant ineptitude of the military government, and its murderous selfconcerned paranoia is, by restrictions and inaction, allowing the millions of survivors, especially in the more inaccessible Delta region, to waste away without shelter, food, water, and appropriate waste disposal. It is horrendous,” he said.
Jesuit organisations in Australia, in particular Jesuit Mission and the Jesuit Refugee Service, responded immediately to the disaster. “We are doing everything we can to assist those in Myanmar (Burma), both in Rangoon and in the most affected areas of the delta,” said Provincial, Fr Mark Raper. “This crisis will have a long term impact on the lives of many
Burmese people.”
Eye witness account 11 May 2008
Thanks for all the inquiries of support and sympathy.
People of Burma need you and your sympathy.
I am deeply sucked into the work now. We had an urgent meeting and a committee on Myanmar
disaster relief is formed. I am helping in training the volunteers ,
working on projects , assessments and also in the write of the
appeals. Last eight days I was on the move , today I returned. I do
hope I will have time to write a longer report. Today we had meeting
with supporters , tomorrow I will be training another 40 volunteers. Church responds , since they do not have experience in meeting
disasters of this magnitude , even my little experience is useful to
them. So I am very often out with them. Planning , training and
visiting sites.
Suffice to say , Burma weeps today and the tears of the innocents
wounds our sensibilities. I have seen the suffering of these
graceful people. when nature colludes in compounding their agony ,
heart gets mutilated with despair.
I just returned from one of the most affected areas. nearly 30000
people met a watery grave. In Kyalatt , Phaypon and Bogala and the
villages around , thousands perished.
I was far off in Phyapon , down the Irrawady river , with the bodies
of human beings and cattle floating along the boat ride , we reached
a destroyed village.
We were the first outsiders to reach them. Cyclone Nargis bombed
them , flattened them and left them rattled with their spirit rattled.
In a sadistic show of 'shock and awe' nature attacked the hapless
men and women at night , attacking them from the seas , river and from
the air. Menacingly howling winds , at a blistering pace tore
through settlement , as fighter bombs would have bombed.
It is a sad sight. To my eyes which have seen Tsunami , kashmir
earthquake , this is really overwhelming. 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 wave
ensured that tears stayed on as the children embraced watery
graves.
As our boat moved along , a body of a five old boy driffed across ,
child of a mourning mother somewhere , the boy drifting in an unknown
waters , waiting for a burial , unwept and unsung.
People do not have drinking water. As their settlments were crushed
into pieces , the decaying debris , in the water logged terrain emanates deep smell. Food is not there. children were biting at
the coconut shells as we went in. Dead animals are spread out near
those debris. The people neither have the energy nor the will to
bury them. There were many refugees , living in roofless churches and
monasteries. Help has not reached them.
We are doing what is possible in Burma . Last two days we are
reaching out to the starving people. With disel prices skyrocketing
and not available , transport is still a problem.
There is still no electricity and water even in Yangon .
Burma is in deep mourning. The count as crossed 80000 and still
counting. The majestic Irrawady was the mother to these people.
It gave them food , was the transport water way , serpenting
majesticallly through some of the most beautiful rice fields in
the world. The delta was an alluring beauty before Irrawady fell to
the evil charms of Nargis. The mother became the monster , the
beauty became a beast.
The lands and fields were ravished on that night. The people
will take ages to come to normalcy. That needs great fellowship,
not only in material needs.
I will keep updated as and when internet is available. Be assured
the people of Burma are grateful to every simple good deed.
In a remote corner , wading through slush mud , we reached a small
broken church , where famished refugees were waiting for outsiders.
When we reached there , they welcomed with gratitude and served a
cup of burmese tea , the only thing they could have.
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