Posting a forwarded email below about Myanmar: Cyclone death toll soars above 22,000
India is greatly indebted to Burma for an invaluable service and hopefully Indians and all people of the world may discover it by themselves over time. Let us pray for the strength and well beings of all our brethren affected in the terrible disaster. .
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Dear friends,
In the wake of a massive cyclone, at least
22,000 Burmese are dead. More than 40,000 are missing. A million are
homeless.
But what’s happening in Burma is not just a natural
disaster – it’s also a catastrophe of bad leadership.
Burma’s
brutal and corrupt military junta failed to warn the people, failed to
evacuate any areas, and suppressed freedom of communication so that
Burmese people didn’t know the storm was coming when the rest of the
world did. Now the government is failing to respond to the disaster
and obstructing international aid organizations.
Humanitarian
relief is urgently needed, but Burma’s government could easily delay,
divert or misuse any aid. Today the International Burmese Monks
Organization, including many leaders of the democracy protests last fall,
launched a new effort to provide relief through Burma’s powerful
grassroots network of monasteries–the most trusted institutions in
the country and currently the only source of housing and support in many
devastated communities. Click below to help the Burmese people with a
donation to the monks’ effort:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/3.php?cl=86168938
Giving
to the monks is the smartest way to get aid directly to Burma’s people.
Governments and international aid organizations may not be allowed into
Burma, or they may be forced to provide aid according to the junta’s
rules. And they will spend huge amounts of money just setting up
operations in the country. The monks are already on the front lines of
the aid effort – housing, feeding, and supporting the victims of the
cyclone since the day it struck. The International Burmese Monks
Organization will send money directly to each monastery through their own
networks, bypassing regime controls.
Last year, more than 800,000
of us around the world stood with the Burmese people as they rose up
against the military dictatorship. The government lost no time then in
dispatching its armies to ruthlessly crush the nonviolent democracy
movement–but now, as tens of thousands die, the junta’s response is slow
and threatens to divert precious aid into the corrupt regime’s
pockets.
The monks are unlikely to receive aid from governments
or large humanitarian organizations, but they have a stronger presence and
trust among the Burmese people than both. If we all chip in a little
bit, we can help them to make a big difference.
Click here
to donate:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/3.php?cl=86168938
With
hope,
Ricken, Ben, Graziela, Paul, Iain, Veronique, Pascal, Galit
and the whole Avaaz team
PS: Here are some links to more
information:
For more information about Avaaz’s work to support the
Burmese people, click here:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_report_back/
For more information
about the cyclone, the humanitarian crisis, and the political dimension,
see these articles:
New York Times: “A
Challenge Getting Relief to Myanmar’s Remote Areas.” 7 May
2008.
BBC: “Will Burma’s
leaders let aid in?” 6 May 2008.
India’s Economic Times:
Indian
meteorological department advised junta 48 hours in advance, 6 May
2008.
BBC: “Disaster tests
Burma’s junta.” 5 May 2008
Times Online: “Aid
workers fear Burma cyclone deaths will top 50,000.”
6 May 2008.
_________
ABOUT AVAAZ
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not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that
the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making.
(Avaaz means “voice” in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from
governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in
London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and
Geneva.
Don’t forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo
pages!
You are getting this message because you signed “Stand with the Burmese
Protesters”
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Also see…
BANGKOK — As hungry, shivering survivors waited among the dead for help after a huge cyclone in Myanmar, aid agencies and diplomats said Wednesday that the delivery of relief supplies was being slowed by the reluctance of the country’s secretive military leaders to allow an influx of outsiders.
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