IRIN
MYANMAR: Local citizens take the initiative in cyclone-hit south
10 June 2008


BANGKOK, 10 June 2008 (IRIN) - Five days after Cyclone Nargis battered 
Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta, Win Aung, a lecturer in Yangon, the former 
capital, drove to the outskirts of the city to see whether the rumours 
of massive destruction in rural areas were true.

He was quickly driven into action by what he saw: flattened villages and 
people huddling in monasteries, schools and other temporary settlements, 
pleading for help.

Days later, Win Aung led a convoy of his business friends - including 
some rice traders - in six trucks laden with sacks of rice and onions 
for the hungry survivors.

It was the first of a series of missions taking Win Aung and his friends 
deep into the disaster zone to distribute food, mosquito nets and other 
supplies to the destitute.

Restrictions on NGOs

"In a country like Burma, NGOs and INGOs play a lesser role - they are 
always restricted," Win Aung told IRIN. "But the private sector is 
responsive. They can act very quickly."

Since Nargis struck, countless people from Yangon and elsewhere in 
Myanmar have joined in spontaneous private efforts to assist stricken 
compatriots left homeless and hungry by the cyclone. Estimates put the 
number of dead or missing people at 133,000.

In private cars and hired trucks, businessmen, students, journalists and 
artists have streamed into the devastated delta to distribute 
life-saving supplies to the needy.

Many more, including Myanmar migrants and students overseas, have 
supported friends' efforts with cash and material donations. Win Aung 
found that as word spread of his initiative, he began receiving many 
phone calls from acquaintances eager to contribute.

"The private sector has taken a leading role even though they have no 
humanitarian experience," Win Aung explained.

While these private efforts have been un-coordinated and at times 
amateurish, they nonetheless reflect a heartfelt desire by many local 
citizens to help - while UN agencies and international charities 
struggle to cut through red tape to scale up their own relief efforts.

"We do believe that a substantial amount of the assistance that has 
reached people - certainly in these first four weeks - has come from 
essentially local charity [with the] citizens of Yangon simply driving 
down into the delta areas and handing out food," Paul Risley, a 
spokesman for the World Food Programme (WFP), told IRIN.

Official response

Myanmar's government has expressed ambivalence towards such initiatives.

After cyclone victims began lining the main roads in the hope of 
obtaining supplies from passing cars, authorities circulated fliers 
urging donors not to distribute aid along the roads.

In one case, reported in the media, a convoy of 48 private trucks was 
impounded, and their drivers charged for traffic violations, on the 
return to Yangon after a relief trip.

Win Aung said local authorities' attitudes varied greatly. In one place, 
authorities demanded his group leave their rice and other supplies with 
them to distribute, which they refused to do, opting to leave with their 
goods.

Elsewhere, officials were more tolerant and supportive of their efforts 
and allowed them to distribute directly to victims.

On Win Aung's missions, Buddhist monks have also helped to coordinate 
aid flows, particularly in remote areas accessible only by boats. In one 
area, the head monk sent a monk with Win Aung's group to show them the 
way to needy villages.

"It was really beautiful," he said. "A monk guide led us to the place 
where aid had not reached."

Yet despite the extent of private relief efforts and the sheer numbers 
of well-meaning citizens involved, Win Aung said far more needed to be 
done to ensure the survivors' welfare and a sustainable future.

His friends are now debating whether they have the capacity to try to 
launch their own micro-credit scheme to help some of the needy get back 
on their feet.

"What we have done is just a drop in the ocean," he said.


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