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This is Me:

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Because I choose to live life without television or 24/7 radio, I go without the immediate and constant update feeds of news. I focus on my family and come to news more slowly unless I go specifically looking for it (American politics, financial news, home school education and the lesbian nation being a few examples of my daily news updates.) I see only the headlines and can pick and choose those stories that seem relevant to my life. It's my way of coping with global stress and war.

Even though the ruling government of 1989 changed the name of Burma to Myanmar - OUR government / press / average person on the street didn't really make that leap (either out of respect for the pro-democracy movement there or just ignorance). Of course I have followed the plight of the Burmese monks in their efforts to free political prisoners and have independent voices and freedom of religion. So when I saw the headline "Cyclone Hit Myanmar - 3,000 dead" I did not actually connect Burma to Myanmar. If I had, I would have guessed that the government was underestimating the damage. I would have guessed that the dense population of people living in rural coastal areas would have been devastated. So for those of you who are like me - here is the news. The question is - how shall we respond?

Death toll hits 22,000 & climbing
1/2 the population of the country is either dead, wounded, homeless or without basic supplies.

NY TIMES

(abbreviated - 5/6/08)

“Stories get worse by the hour,” one Yangon resident, who did not want to be identified for fear of government retribution..“No drinking water in many areas, still no power. Houses completely disappeared. Refugees scavenging for food in poorer areas. Roofing, building supplies, tools — all are scarce and prices skyrocketing on everything.”

Officials said they would open the doors of their closed and tightly controlled nation to international relief groups. So far, most foreigners and all foreign journalists have been barred from entering the country.

But witnesses and residents said the military had been slow to respond to the devastation of the cyclone....[me: it sounds so horribly familiar.]

Residents of the country, formerly known as Burma, said that... riot police officers had been patrolling the streets before the cyclone in a show of force that was more visible than their relief efforts afterward.

Nine months ago, security forces had fired into crowds, killing dozens of people, to disperse huge pro-democracy demonstrations led by monks, and in the months since, the government has carried out a campaign of arrests and intimidation.

State-owned television had reported early Monday that 3,934 people died in the cyclone, [and that] nearly 3,000 were missing, all of them from a single town, Bogale.

“What is clear..is that we are dealing with a major emergency situation, and the priority needs now are shelter and clean drinking water.”

A spokesman for the World Food Program (<--- this link goes to NY Times articles about the program) said the government of Myanmar, which severely restricts the movements and activities of foreign groups, had given the United Nations permission to send in emergency aid...

Exile groups said some residents had told them they were angry about the weak response of the military, which had seemed strong enough when the task was to crack down on citizens."

NY Times - Seth Mydans reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Helene Cooper contributed reporting from Washington and Andy Newman from the United Nations.

Click Here to Donate

World Food Program (United Nations) is the only outside organization that I know of that has been allowed into Myanmar consistently. From objective accounts and UN financial reports (yes, I read them) they are all about direct aid and not lining their own administrative non-profit pockets or handing our US Agri-business Subsidies. They get their food from the regions closest to where they are working. If you want to donate even just a little, it will go toward bringing in basic relief supplies. It took me only 2 minutes or so (not including all the research I did on the organization.) You can even direct where you want your donation to go. Not that it matters that much but it is tax deductible. If you don't want to / cannot donate on line, you can contact WFP at info@friendsofwfp.org or 202-530-1694

Dani and I each have a strong belief that the more we give, the better off we all are. In that same vein, if you know and want to help Brynna F. from fest - there is a current plea for help and you can contact me below. We give what we can where we can and try to juggle what is left here at home.