Death toll in Burma may reach 500,000

[HeXploiT]

THE death toll in cyclone-ravaged Burma could hit 500,000 ? more than TWICE the total killed by the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Last night?s warning came as it emerged that 17 Britons, including ex-pats and backpackers, were still missing.

Sources said 200,000 people were already dead or dying.

But the figure could rise to HALF A MILLION through disease and hunger if the nation?s hardline army rulers continue to block aid for the devastated lowlands of the Irrawaddy Delta.

That would dwarf the 230,000 deaths across South East Asia in the 2004 catastrophe.

Nyo Ohn Myint, of exiled opposition party The National League for Democracy, told The Sun at a border crisis centre: ?Much of this will be a man-made disaster, caused by the military regime.

?The bodies need to be collected and burnt as soon as possible or disease will claim many more lives. But the government has organised nothing and its 400,000 soldiers are doing nothing while undistributed aid piles up.

?They are hoping bodies will be washed out to sea so the final count is smaller ? but it could kill half a million people within a matter of weeks. The world must know what is going on.?

Disaster struck on Saturday when 120mph Cyclone Nargis forced ashore waves up to 20ft high. The Irrawaddy town of Labutta ? population 80,000 ? was wiped off the ma

Local doctor Aye Kyu told how families clung to trees as their homes were swept away.

He said: ?I asked survivors how many there were left. They said about 200.?

A spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid said: ?The entire lower delta region is under water.

Teams are talking about bodies floating around. This is a major, major disaster.?

The UN World Food Programme said up to a million may have been left homeless in the vital ?rice bowl? farming region alone.

In the city of Bogalay, 95 per cent of homes are thought to have been destroyed.

In the township of Dedaye, south of the main city Rangoon, desperate kids scavenged among the debris of their homes for anything useful to survival.

On the outskirts of Rangoon forlorn families, including a mother cradling her screaming baby, queued for emergency handouts of rice.

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In Britain, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander told MPs the situation was ?grave?.

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

Charities Save the Children, Oxfam and the British Red Cross have also swung into action.

But most of the aid is yet to be distributed because of the secretive Burmese junta, led by ruthless General Than Shwe.

His isolationist regime is paranoid an influx of foreigners might have a political impact on a national referendum due tomorrow, set to strengthen the army?s grip still further.

Just four of the air force?s 80 helicopters have been used to move food, water and medical shipments.

Meanwhile, many desperately needed supplies remain in neighbouring countries awaiting clearance, along with aid workers denied visas.

Aid packages which have made it to Rangoon Airport were still on the tarmac.

There were fears that some could be stolen and sold on by corrupt officials.

Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, insisted: ?We can?t wait for them any more.

?The Security Council must pass a resolution for aid delivery now.

?We need to see the British, French and US navies begin delivering assistance. Every extra day lost is causing the deaths of yet more innocent victims.?

The Burmese embassy in London claimed aid workers were not being allowed in because of fears for their safety.

An official said: ?The Irrawaddy Delta region is hard to travel at the best of times. Once it is safe, we want more in the country as soon as possible.?

Source: Sun.UK

This is turning into a nightmare. Don't think much more need be said.

 

[mxyzptlk]

yea, what a horrible travesty that could've been avoided had the military regime in charge bothered to warn the people of the incoming threat..

 

[StageLeft]

Very strange that at least 100 times as many people will die from this as Katrina and yet relatively speaking it barely gets any news at all.

 

[Slew Foot]

Yeah kinda weird, theres like no news of this, even during the tsunami, it was nonstop news, this is getting largely ignored.

 

[HeXploiT]

I'm not so sure it was being ignored. Rather I have the sense that it's just a matter of very poor communications.

 

[Superrock]

I hope the government collapses so we can go in and help.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Very strange that at least 100 times as many people will die from this as Katrina and yet relatively speaking it barely gets any news at all.

To blatantly steal from America: The book I have your answer for you in their body count conversion table.

2,000 massacred Congolese = 500 Drowned Bangladeshis = 45 Fire bombed Iraqis = 12 Car-bombed Europeans = 1 snipered American.

 

[palehorse]

This goes well beyond sadness.. I'm not even sure there's a word for this. 🙁

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: mxyzptlk
yea, what a horrible travesty that could've been avoided had the military regime in charge bothered to warn the people of the incoming threat..

Maybe they wanted some population reduction in a rather Machiavellian way? (I don't mean for that to come off sounding heartless; I'm just trying to say that perhaps that was in the back of the rulers' minds.)

 

[CanOWorms]

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

That surely absolves them of destroying the country, raping and pillaging it for years. Maybe if they didn't concentrate on plundering and actually developing, 500k people wouldn't be dead.

This is the legacy of British history.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

That surely absolves them of destroying the country, raping and pillaging it for years. Maybe if they didn't concentrate on plundering and actually developing, 500k people wouldn't be dead.

This is the legacy of British history.

I'll bet you anything that within ten days Bill Gates will come out and state that he's giving twice that much.

 

[soccerballtux]

Why don't I care about this? Am I a horrible person because I don't? It sucks....what's new to life?

I guess I'm too poor now to care; I'm more in debt than any of those people dead were allowed to be.

 

[piasabird]

If they dont want our help let everyone die. If these people want to die in their pride, let them. We could just airdrop supplies in, but in flood conditions, we could only get so close.

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

That surely absolves them of destroying the country, raping and pillaging it for years. Maybe if they didn't concentrate on plundering and actually developing, 500k people wouldn't be dead.

This is the legacy of British history.

Ummm the country became independent in 1948.
That have had 60 years to get it together.

Interestingly, under the Brits it was one of the wealthiest countries in the area.
And then the Brits left and it got poorer and then the socialists took over and it went to hell.

This is the legacy of socialism.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

That surely absolves them of destroying the country, raping and pillaging it for years. Maybe if they didn't concentrate on plundering and actually developing, 500k people wouldn't be dead.

This is the legacy of British history.

Are you joking? Burma thrived under British rule. It's because they got kicked out and their government went socialist that they are a 3rd world country under military dictatorship.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

That surely absolves them of destroying the country, raping and pillaging it for years. Maybe if they didn't concentrate on plundering and actually developing, 500k people wouldn't be dead.

This is the legacy of British history.

Ummm the country became independent in 1948.
That have had 60 years to get it together.

Getting it together after the British had their way with you is not at easy task. Not many have pulled through.

Interestingly, under the Brits it was one of the wealthiest countries in the area.
And then the Brits left and it got poorer and then the socialists took over and it went to hell.

It's not that difficult to be one of the wealthiest countries in the area when the British and other European Empires destroyed a lot of the land around there. The Burmese people did not benefit much from British economic activities that were almost always designed to exploit the local people and enrich the British.

Don't be a British history revisionist. It's just as ugly as a Japanese claiming that the Rape of Nanking did not happen or a German claiming that the Holocaust did not happen.

This is the legacy of socialism.

I'm not saying that they are not responsible themselves. But do not discount the legacy of colonialism.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

The UK has so far pledged more aid than anyone, announcing a £5million package to be channelled through the UN.

That surely absolves them of destroying the country, raping and pillaging it for years. Maybe if they didn't concentrate on plundering and actually developing, 500k people wouldn't be dead.

This is the legacy of British history.

Ummm the country became independent in 1948.
That have had 60 years to get it together.

Getting it together after the British had their way with you is not at easy task. Not many have pulled through.

Interestingly, under the Brits it was one of the wealthiest countries in the area.
And then the Brits left and it got poorer and then the socialists took over and it went to hell.

It's not that difficult to be one of the wealthiest countries in the area when the British and other European Empires destroyed a lot of the land around there. The Burmese people did not benefit much from British economic activities that were almost always designed to exploit the local people and enrich the British.

Don't be a British history revisionist. It's just as ugly as a Japanese claiming that the Rape of Nanking did not happen or a German claiming that the Holocaust did not happen.

This is the legacy of socialism.

I'm not saying that they are not responsible themselves. But do not discount the legacy of colonialism.

you are being the revisionist.

 

[ProfJohn]

There are a lot of other countries that suffered under colonialism but are not thriving under freedom.

The problem in Burma is not colonialism, it is a military dictatorship.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: JS80

you are being the revisionist.

Oh, ok. The British were benevolent overlords.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
There are a lot of other countries that suffered under colonialism but are not thriving under freedom.

Yes, a few have overcome the challenges that the British brought upon them. Obviously Burma has not.

The problem in Burma is not colonialism, it is a military dictatorship.

One that rules in part due to British colonialism.

 

[ProfJohn]

go here and read so you can stop talking out of your ass.

History:
1948 it becomes an independent republic with a Democratic government.

1962 General Ne Win leads a military coup d'etat and ends Democratic rule. LONG after the Brits had left.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
go here and read so you can stop talking out of your ass.

History:
1948 it becomes an independent republic with a Democratic government.

1962 General Ne Win leads a military coup d'etat and ends Democratic rule. LONG after the Brits had left.

The British did not undo all the ills they did and leave immediately afterwards.

I suggest you read some real material on the subject of British colonialism rather than a Wikipedia article. Decreased life expectancy, man-made famines, etc. go against your revisionism. British colonialism was extremely harsh and many situations in the world evolved from the conditions they created. Many of the deaths here are due to this.

 

[nullzero]

Half a million death toll is mind boggling... I am suprised this isnt a bigger news story. May the dead rest in piece.... hopefully the dictatorship will collapse and the world can help burma rebuild and create a democratic and prosperous country.

 

[palehorse]

Originally posted by: nullzero
Half a million death toll is mind boggling... I am suprised this isnt a bigger news story. May the dead rest in piece.... hopefully the dictatorship will collapse and the world can help burma rebuild and create a democratic and prosperous country.

more democracy building by "the world"? oh boy...

 

[crisscross]

Originally posted by: palehorse74

Originally posted by: nullzero
Half a million death toll is mind boggling... I am suprised this isnt a bigger news story. May the dead rest in piece.... hopefully the dictatorship will collapse and the world can help burma rebuild and create a democratic and prosperous country.

more democracy building by "the world"? oh boy...

Unlike Iraq this is actually a fit case for an invasion.