IRIN
MYANMAR: Hope fades for cyclone missing
20 August 2008


KOKKO, 20 August 2008 (IRIN) - Soe Naing was in the town of Labutta at 
the far end of Myanmar's Ayeyarwaddy Delta when the cyclone obliterated 
his village, sweeping away his wife and three daughters.

"I could have saved at least two or three members of my family if I had 
been at home," the 38-year-old said.

But only his eldest son survived, after a giant wave left him almost 
dead in a forest - the same forest where many families would later find 
the broken bodies of many of their loved ones.

Almost four months on, Soe Naing's search for his family continues: "I 
still can't believe that they are dead. I never found their bodies," he 
said.

Such tragic stories are not unusual. What is unusual, however, given the 
sheer scale of the disaster and calls for greater international 
assistance, is the lack of response in assisting bereaved families.

Despite efforts by the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), and the daily 
broadcasting of messages and contact numbers on state radio, few 
families have been reunited, say aid workers who asked not to be 
identified.

According to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report [see: 
http://www.asean.org/21765.pdf] released by the Myanmar government, the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN on 21 July, 
over 84,000 people lost their lives when Cyclone Nargis struck on 2-3 
May, with close to another 54,000 people still missing.

Over 300 people in the village of Kokko, close to the Pya Ma Law river 
where Soe Naing lived, lost their lives, while scores more went missing.

Messages

Soe Naing has repeatedly tried to get news of his loved ones through the 
MRCS but has not succeeded so far.

Each day outside the MRCS's office, visitors scan a notice board with 
the names of survivors, their photos, places of origin, as well as their 
current whereabouts, in the hope that somehow their loved ones survived.

While Soe Naing has yet to receive any news, about 400 safe and well 
messages from survivors have been delivered, bringing heartfelt relief 
to some families.

"I am glad when I see these messages. I can only imagine how their 
families must feel when they learn that their loved ones are safe," said 
Kyaw Kyaw Soe, team leader of the Red Cross's restoration of family 
links unit from Labutta.

However, the numbers remain small compared to the thousands still 
unaccounted for. Based on the notice board in Labutta only a handful of 
people from different villages can look forward to being reunited with 
their families.

Chan Tun in his 50s was just one of seven people awaiting to be reunited 
with his family in the village of Tae Bin Gine. His younger sister found 
his name on the notice board after contacting the MRCS, only to learn 
later that her brother was in a displaced persons camp.

Save the Children, which is currently working on family tracing and 
child protection issues in 11 affected townships, has registered 92 
children separated from their parents in Labutta township, Nang Kham 
Hom, a child protection office for the non-governmental organisation, 
told IRIN.

"We mostly lost women and children in the storm"

Kyi Aye, a village elder from Kan Gyi Su - one of a number of small 
villages near the Ywe river - lost 34 relatives to Nargis.

"If they were still alive, I'm sure they would have come back by now. 
I'm sure they are dead," he said.

"Even we strong men had difficulty surviving. How could we possibly 
expect children to survive such a disaster?" he asked.

"Before, we had 12 children [in the community]. Now we only have this 
one child left, but he lost his mother," he said, pointing to a 
youngster playing alone nearby. "We mostly lost women and children in 
the storm," he said.

Of the 11 families in Kan Gyi Su, the storm left behind eight widowers 
and one widow - another stark reminder that most of the storm's dead 
were women and children.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), women and children made up 
more than half of Nargis's victims.


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