Aid on the runway.
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Until Cyclone Nargis struck, Burma was the world's 7th
largest rice producer. Now analysts are concerned that
production may plummet, causing rice shortages
even in first world countries. On May 8, Burma's dictator
ordered that all aid to the country be embargoed, even
though the UN continues to try to deliver it. This means
that the chances of recovery are now minimal. It may be that
Cyclone Nargis and dictator General Than Shwe have joined
hands to destroy the
country and cause an unprecedented international shortage of
a key commodity. The question is this: did the Burma junta
buy rice futures when they saw the storm coming? Is this why
they didn't warn their people and why they are refusing to
allow aid in? If so, they are making millions on the
destruction of their country and the worldwide agony that
will result. In the US, Costco restricted rice purchases
to 2 bags per customer.
We have warned on this website before about the danger of
cyclones in the Indian Ocean striking the delta of the Indus
in Bangladesh, but that flashpoint was missed by the recent
Indian Ocean cyclone Nargis. Instead, it struck the Irawaddy
Delta
in Burma (called Myanmar by its military dictators). From
the moment that the cyclone struck, there was little
question that there would be severe damage. Subsequently,
though, the fantastic cruelty of the military regime has
transformed a disaster into a catastrophe of
world-historical proportions. The junta is led by a monster,
Than Shwe, who is
personally responsible for the agony of millions of his
countrymen.
At present, up to 100,000 people are known to have died, but
the destruction of infrastructure, the total failure of the
medical system, of roads, of water and food supplies and
shelter, and the active efforts of the dictatorship to cause
further suffering by preventing aid from reaching the people
has insured that the death toll will continue to rise. Where
it will stop, nobody knows, but there has seldom in history
been a more fearsome example of a government turning on its
own people.
The civilized world is trying to help, and Mercy Corps is
among the many charities attempting to get aid to the
people. You can help by clicking
here.
