Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Yangoon (Agenzia Fides) - International aid has begun to reach the victims of Cyclone Nargis. Caritas Internationalis, the United Nations through the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Red Cross, and several humanitarian aid organizations are already on the move in the Myanmar’s capital, Yangoon, as well as in other areas of the country. One of the major difficulties that the international aid is facing are the restrictions from the country’s authorities, which are imposed on any external relation. However, there are positive signs in this area, as a group of experts from the UN will visit the capital of Myanmar to make a preliminary assessment of the damages and they have already managed to send an initial shipment of $10 million dollars in aid. It has also been publicized that Myanmar’s authorities have accepted aid from the United States.
The toll of victims continues to remain uncertain. Until yesterday, the number was 25,000 dead, however today sources say that it is a catastrophe with incalculable proportions. According to the military authorities in Burma, in the District of Labutta, in the Irrawaddy Delta, alone there could be at least 80,000 dead. Sources from the United States have placed the number at 100,000 dead.
Entire villages have been destroyed. The Red Cross says that at least 1 million people have lost their houses, unaware of the dangers of epidemics. According to some local sources, in the region of Daala and Twantey, south of Yangoon, with a population of 300,000, 80% of the buildings have been destroyed and other areas are covered by a meter (about three feet) of water. It is also evident that the people are constantly more dependent on food assistance, as the food reserves are running out and the price of rice has tripled. In the areas of Twantey and Daala, the population has taken refuge near convents and schools, without food or drinking water. This grouping together of the people in certain places (over 50 in the Twantey region), is presenting a challenge in trying to provide sufficient aid.
Caritas Italy commented on the risk of water contamination, as tubes have ruptured. “In Myanmar,” the Catholic charity organization commented, “while the number of victims from Cyclone Nargis rises, the most serious emergency is that of the water, as it creates a great risk for epidemics.” Caritas, thanks to the coordination of international networks, is already providing first aid assistance, after assessing the situation of the affected areas in the Dioceses of Yangon, Pyay, Mawlamyine, and Pathein. The intervention is being provided through the distribution of basic necessities, especially drinking water, food, and medicine, as well as providing assistance and lodging for victims in churches, parish structures, and other sites where there has already been an aid effort begun for the population. Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI made an emphatic appeal for international solidarity in the face of this tragic situation that Myanmar is suffering, at the close of his General Audience. (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 8/5/2008; righe 38, parole 491)
