Aid arrival in Burma 'still too slow'

15/05/2008 01:20:56

Frustrated foreign aid workers denied permission to enter Burma eleven days after Cyclone Nargis devastated the southern delta, are resorting to desperate tactics to get supplies into the country.

For days many have queued without success for visas in the Thai capital Bangkok, hoping to carry out a broad disaster assessment and address the logistics of getting food, water, medicine and emergency shelters to up to two million people.

Now, AFP reports some aid agencies have hired boats to navigate swollen rivers to deliver supplies to cyclone survivors.

The strategy is not without risk. Earlier this week a Red Cross boat carrying emergency goods by river sank after hitting a submerged tree trunk. No lives were lost, but much of the cargo fell overboard.

Others are considering offering emergency relief training to Burmese nationals, who could be trained in Thailand and then sent home to work.

"If we can't get in there, we're going to have to come up with alternatives," said Mike Pattison, a logistics manager for World Vision who has waited for a Burmese visa for days in Bangkok without success.

"You've got to continue to push for visas, but deal with the reality that we're not getting them and plan with that contingency," said World Vision spokesman James East.

Gloomy atmosphere
"I wouldn't call it resignation, but there's a recognition of the constraints that we're likely to continue to face," Save the Children spokesman Dan Collinson said after a meeting of UN agencies in Bangkok.

"It was a very gloomy atmosphere. People feel the constraints mean that only a fraction of what should be done is being done."

In the days immediately after the May 2-3 cyclone, many governments pledged millions of dollars in aid, and promised rescue and health workers.

Although limited amounts of aid have arrived in Burma from the US, Australia, China, India, Thailand and Vietnam, Burma's military leaders are insisting they can deliver it alone to affected areas.

"State of denial
On Wednesday Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Burma remains unwilling to allow any major influx of international aid workers into the country.

He was speaking in Bangkok after a brief visit to Rangoon for talks with junta leaders.

Mr Samak said the junta had made it clear that small teams of foreigners would only be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

US President George Bush says the junta's response to international offers of help is disappointing, and says "it's almost as if they're in a state of denial."

Aid bottlenecks and allegations of hoarding
Although more aid flights arrived on Wednesday carrying US supplies, AFP reports bottlenecks in Rangoon have slowed distribution to needy areas.

The UN has also raised concern that goods may be being diverted away from the needy, although that suggestion was dismissed by the British Ambassador to Burma, Michael Canning.

Speaking to CNN, Mr Canning said: "We are confident that the aid that has been brought in so far is being distributed to people in need."

"Where discussions have been less than satisfactory, has been in terms of opening up the whole aid operation so that this crisis can be handled in a more rapid and effective manner," he said.

"This is a crisis that would dwarf the capacity of any govermment, and we would like to see the logistic capacity brought in to allow this to be handled.

"It's all in Bangkok, it's all there, it's all waiting, and once it is brought in, people can begin to be helped a lot better."

Mr Canning says the situation in Rangoon is "getting back to something approaching normal", with power and water services running.

"But the damage in the south has had a catastrophic impact, and what we're really talking about now is a second wave of tragedy as vulnerable people exposed to the elements are not getting the help that's needed."

Weather experts warn more storms on the way
Also on Wednesday the UN warned more bad storms were forming near Burma.

Amanda Pitt, spokeswoman for the UN's disaster response arm, says the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre is reporting the possibility of another heavy storm over the country.

She says there could be torrential rains in the coming days.

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