Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - The Myanmar authorities are planning on organizing a conference in Yangon before the end of the month of May, perhaps even towards the end of this week, for the donating nations of southeast Asia, in hopes to organize aid for victims of Cyclone Nargis as efficiently as possible. This was what Noppadon Pattama, Foreign Affairs Minister of Thailand, stated today in Singapore. Nyan Win, Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Minister, according to a statement from the diplomatic head in Bangkok, will organize an encounter with the countries of ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Countries). Today in Singapore, an encounter is being held for Foreign Affairs Ministers of ASEAN, focused on humanitarian aid for Myanmar.
The General Secretary of the organization, Surin Ptswuin, will go to visit the devastated country to assess the gravity of the damage. According to the Thai Foreign Affairs Minister, the conference may take place May 22 or 23. ASEAN is comprised of Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia. The encounter will serve, therefore, as a manner of formalizing the aid effort that is so needed right now in the cyclone-stricken country. Countries of ASEAN like Malaysia and Thailand have already sent aid to Yangon.
Meanwhile, the country’s situation continues to be fairly dramatic. The official balance is already mentioning 134,000 dead or missing, while international organizations like the UN mention statistics that could reach 200,000. Caritas has referred to it as “an unprecedented disaster.” The United Nations has stated that right now, two weeks after the arrival of Cyclone Nargis, there are still somewhere between 1.6 to 2.5 million people awaiting aid. In the meantime, over 70 teams of relief workers from the UN are working in the area of the Irrawaddy Delta, distributing first aid kits, medicines, mosquito nets, tents, and materials for water purification. The risk for infections and epidemics is still fairly high. According to UNICEF, nearly 1 million children in former Burma territory are in need of urgent assistance and aid. (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 19/5/2008; righe 27, parole 335)
