Cyclone Nargis Continues to Wreak Havoc in Burma Two Years Later

by Michael Jones · 2010-04-30 10:03:00 UTC
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BurmaHow can a cyclone that happened nearly two years ago still be causing problems for people? In the case of Burma, it's pretty simple: the authoritarian government has little to no interest in helping many of the families and victims who were impacted by the May 2008 storm known as Cyclone Nargis.

That's the conclusion reached by Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a detailed new report looking at how the Burmese military regime has largely prevented humanitarian aid from reaching many of the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

The storm was the worst natural disaster ever to hit Burma, killing about 140,000 almost instantly. In the time since the storm, according to HRW, government authorities have cracked down on the activities of Burmese humanitarian aid workers, threatening their rights to freedom of expression and movement. The result? Aid doesn't reach its needed recipients. And the needed recipients languish under intense conditions.

"Civilians in cyclone-affected areas continue to be subjected to various forms of forced labor, everyday restrictions on movements, and infringements of the rights to freedom of expression and association," HRW's report said.

The results are catastrophic. UN estimates show that upwards of 100,000 people are still without adequate shelter in Burma two years after the storm. And more than 20 aid workers are in prison by the Burmese authorities, some having languished in jail for the better part of these past two years since Cyclone Nargis hit.

And that's in addition to at least 2,000 other political prisoners in jail in Burma. Sure, Burma has stepped up to make some international agreements with humanitarian organizations, letting outside groups in the country for the first time in decades.

But if this HRW report proves anything, it's that the presence of these groups is tenuous at best, and that surrounding their presence are more of the same human rights violations and atrocities that the Burmese regime has become legendary for perpetrating.

For more on the report, check out HRW's complete synopsis, "I Want to Help My Own People': State Control and Civil Society in Burma after Cyclone Nargis."

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Michael Jones Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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