A cyclone left at least 22,000 dead in Myanmar and the death toll could still climb. More than a million people are now homeless after this natural disaster, and 40,000 are still missing.
But the repressive military junta that has ruled since 1962 is limiting who it accepts aid from to "friendly" countries. President Bush offered help from the U.S. Navy but so far Myanmar isn't accepting.
This is a human tragedy and politics should be set aside. Myanmar may not want help from the U.S. government, but as Americans we can help.
To see a list of organizations sending aid to Myanmar go to http://www.interaction.org/burma
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People need to know.
When devine intervention occurs. Because of mens hardness to the poor. We are seeing the thing nobody can stop. The weather. Because leadership in places on earth are selfserving and in denial. In 2007 there was an upserge in civil unrest in Burma(Myanmar). Last year, before the devestation, the military killed a number of innocent unarmed people. For rioting in a country where the GNP is minute. A country where most of the population are uneducated and the yearly income for agricultural labor is around $40.00 per anum. So many young men who who have no interest in the army join the temples. Where they can get an education and work. Its a dead end. In this country there is no other way. This has been the Burmise way of life for thousands of years. Rice, seafood and certain fruits are their main staples. Preventable desease is rampant. There is no clean water or waste treatment facility for the ghetto. The military backed government there, obviously, cannot support the population. So devine intervention caused a great storm to hover on the land and nearly 200,000 men, women, and children along with their livestock were killed. Now, by military order, the natives are forbidden to talk to any foreigner and all care packages are controlled by the malitia. As a result of devine order. Look at the people who perished. In any situation where devine intervention is present, we need to know exactly what to do. Nobody sits still after a storm hits. So who ever is able to help the poor regain a foothold on life, they should be allowed to help. Before the storm, even before the earth quake came we knew it was coming. I could feel my nose quivering at 3:00am in the morning last year in May. I even contacted the national weather service. Finding out later the same morning a mssive quake had destroyed everything. In conclusion: Those fancy mechine are helpful. But you can't fool an old nose like mine. An early warning earthquake detection system (EDS) is necessary to save lives and preserve the ancent history of the orient. Help should never be denied when poor people are sick and injured. Especially when a whole town is destroyed. There is no excuse for an oversight like this one. With a constant air of indiscretion over millions of lives who can afford to be so forgiving?