Myanmar: A disastrous response

Inter Lake editorial

Disasters caused by acts of nature are understandable; disasters caused by government mismanagement and human venality are not.

The cyclone that ravaged Myanmar in Southeast Asia on May 2-3 was certainly bound to cause massive destruction, but the loss of life was greatly compounded by the Myanmar government's incompetence, corruption and paranoia.

First of all, the government had access to information that the cyclone (Southeast Asia's equivalent of a hurricane) was going to hit with devastating power at least two days in advance. That information was not relayed to the people of the impoverished country, leading to countless deaths caused by lack of preparation.

Secondly, the military junta that rules Myanmar rejected humanitarian aid from the rest of the world for nearly two weeks, resulting in starvation and disease taking additional thousands of lives.

Finally now, a trickle of aid has arrived in the country, but reports indicate that it is not reaching the intended victims of the cyclone. Instead, supplies are being hoarded in government warehouses while rotten, moldy and low-grade food is being handed out to the masses - those lucky enough to get anything.

Americans - and other good Samaritans around the world - can only pray for the government of Myanmar to come to its senses before the death toll doubles needlessly. Certainly, if improvements don't happen soon, the government may be writing its own death warrant, as the people may be forced eventually to rise up in revolt in order to ensure their own survival.

The government of China, meanwhile, has acted with appropriate swiftness to respond to the massive earthquake that hit Sichuan province this week.

Within the first few hours, soldiers had arrived on scene to help dig out those trapped in the rubble, and as many as 50,000 soldiers had arrived within the first day.

Nor did the Chinese let pride stand in the way of their effort to do whatever was possible to aid survivors. Instead, President Hu Jintao announced that foreign aid would be welcomed.

Dr. Maurice Ramire of the American Board of Disaster Medicine said the disaster in China has been handled correctly so far.

"Speed is absolutely critical in a situation like this. China has done the very opposite of Myanmar. It has dumped every asset into the area. Their initial response is very good," Ramirez said.