Cyclone relief stalled in Myanmar: ‘I just hope we get help before we die.’
Four days after Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar, killing hundreds and destroying communities in its path, aid groups seeking to deliver humanitarian aid were thwarted by the junta on Thursday as survivors faced mounting threats of hunger and disease. faced.
Pierre Peron, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said aid agencies stood ready to deliver food, medicine and other much-needed supplies but were awaiting approval from the military regime.
Aid agencies fear the death toll, estimated by some at more than 450, will only rise as victims of the cyclone face food shortages, disease, lack of clean water and the loss of their homes. Survivors also face the threat of unexploded land mines that may have been moved during the flood. An estimated 5.4 million people in Myanmar were affected by the storm.
Without swift relief, humanitarian experts fear the death toll will rise, as happened after Cyclone Nargis, the catastrophic cyclone of 2008 that hit Myanmar further east and killed more than 135,000 people. The military government was also criticized at the time for its slow response.
“We have asked for unrestricted access to affected communities,” Mr Peron said. “In order to deliver, we need access to affected people, relaxation of travel authorization requirements and expedited customs clearance for goods.”
The junta has not publicly commented on its decision to bar international aid groups from stricken areas where rebels seeking autonomy have long been fighting the military. The junta has said it is sending aid, but most of the survivors interviewed by The New York Times say they have not received any help from the military.
A spokesperson for the junta could not be reached for comment.
After a decade of sharing power with civilian leaders, the military seized power in a 2021 coup and is now waging a bloody civil war involving armed ethnic groups and pro-democracy forces.
The cyclone hit areas where much of the fighting has taken place, including Rakhine State, Chin State and Magway Region. Rescuers, activists and flood survivors say the military is reluctant to let outsiders into the area because it wants to maintain control over who receives aid.
In Matupi, a town in Chin State, 68-year-old farmer Salai Khaung Lian said he fled to higher elevations in the forest with his wife and two grandsons on Sunday before the storm hit. The cyclone blew the roof off their house and now they have nowhere to go.
“We have no shelter, food or drink,” he said by telephone. “I just hope we get help before we die.”
On Thursday, the junta reported that 48 people had died in the storm, although rescuers in a devastated area told The Times the number was nearly 10 times that.
Dr. Win Myat Aye, the rival National Unity government’s humanitarian and disaster management minister, said 455 people had died, according to reports he had received.
Most of the dead were Rohingya Muslims, who were herded to relocation camps more than a decade ago, he said.
“The main reason why the Rohingyas are dying in large numbers during the cyclone is that they have to live in a small area with a large population,” he said. “The majority of Rohingya deaths are due to a lack of freedom of movement and unfair restrictions on their rights.”
The minister called on the junta to allow international humanitarian organizations to provide unlimited aid.
“International organizations have announced how they will help,” he said. “But to help the displaced, they must adhere to the junta’s agenda. The army says it will help all people, but in reality words and deeds are different.”
One of the hardest hit places was the area around Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, where many of the Rohingya camps are located.
A rescue worker there, U Tin Naing, estimated that 95 percent of the homes in the area were damaged or destroyed. At least 400 bodies had been found, he said, and they were immediately buried.
“We are still counting,” he said. “We still can’t add up the number of deaths because of the bad phone lines and internet connection.”
Khaing Thu Kha, a spokesman for the Arakan army, which has been battling Myanmar’s army for autonomy since 2009, said the region urgently needs help.
“When the storm hit, the food that had been collected in advance to help out was damaged by the rain,” he said. “Shelter, food, drinking water and medicines are urgently needed.”
Soldiers made a show of delivering food to Rohingya living in one camp on Wednesday, but people living in several nearby camps said they had not received anything.
In Matupi, about 100 miles north of Sittwe, activists said the ongoing war between resistance fighters and the army would complicate recovery efforts.
“Being a war-torn area,” said Chin Human Rights Organization program manager Salai Mang Hre Lian, “we are concerned about the risk of military landmines and unexploded bombs exposed by the storm.”