Dealing with catastrophes
Politics should not affect aid to victims of tragedies

Reading and seeing the devastation wrought by the cyclone in Myanmar (the former country of Burma) has been heart-wrenching.

	Editor's View Mary C. Uhler

The death toll from the May 3 disaster had climbed to more than 28,000 as of press time for the Catholic Herald. The Associated Press reported that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned that "malign neglect" by the isolated nation's military rulers was creating a "humanitarian catastrophe of genuinely epic proportions."

It is indeed sad when politics plays a role in getting aid to victims of disasters such as this. Myanmar's military rulers are suspicious of the United States, which has been one of the junta's biggest critics. And rightly so, it seems, due to human rights abuses and the failure of the current rulers to hand over power to a democratically-elected government.

But it is tragic that the rulers of Myanmar are not accepting help from every country offering it, whether they have good relations with that country or not. If humanitarian aid had reached Myanmar more quickly, perhaps more people could have been saved.

Difficult for victims and survivors

A Catholic News Service article on May 12 showed how difficult it has been for cyclone victims and the survivors. A 31-year-old Catholic father told the Asian church news agency UCA News about the destruction in his village, where only one house was left standing.

Tha Hlaing mourned the death of two of his three children. "One of my sons was swept away when the water level was up to his neck," the grieving father said. Several days later, another son died after he caught a cold.

Now he and his wife are left with their remaining son. They are being sheltered in a Baptist church because their home was destroyed and the roof of the Catholic church was torn open.

Catholic volunteers arrive to help

A small Catholic volunteer group from the Yangon Archdiocese arrived within days of the cyclone and began assisting Than Hlaing and the rest of the 3,000 residents of the village. The village was only accessible by boat, because the trees, downed electricity pylons, and other cyclone debris were blocking the roads.

The volunteers found flooded fields with decomposing bodies of people and cattle. Other bodies floated past in the river. The volunteer group of three lay persons, their parish priest, and a priest from another area arrived May 9 and began bringing in food and diesel fuel by boat. The fuel was to be used to run a rice-husking machine and pumping out dirty water from a tank of drinking water. The church workers also began distributing sacks of rice and clothes. One of the volunteers said she was "shocked" to see all the dead bodies of people and animals.

Appeal for international aid

The Catholic Church in Myanmar has appealed for international aid. Through the newly formed Myanmar Disaster Relief Committee, under the leadership of the Yangon Archdiocese, the local church has begun offering food, clothing, shelter materials, and medicine to the affected people.

International assistance has started trickling in. The United States finally got permission to send a cargo plane with supplies to Yangon on May 12 with two more air shipments scheduled for May 13.

Let us hope that the Myanmar government will continue to accept foreign aid and not let any preconceived political views stand in the way of humanitarian assistance. Hopefully Catholic Relief Services and Caritas - the Catholic Church's international relief agency - will keep us posted on how we can help the people in need in Myanmar as they cope with the awful devastation in their country.

Mailbag

	Mailbag policy We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Limit letters to 200 words or less. All letters must be signed. Please include your city or town of residence. Send letters to: Mailbag The Catholic Herald 702 S. High Point Rd. Madison, WI 53719-3522 Fax: 608-821-3071 E-mail: info@madisoncatholicherald.org

There are no letters this week