One Door Open, One Door Closed (China & Burma)
Stephen McCutcheon
May 28, 2008
May 2008 will surely always be remembered as one of the most horrifying months on record for natural disasters. Already its hallmarks have been almost 150,000 dead and literally millions homeless, suffering and starving.
Just a week ago here in China, an Earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale rocked Eastern China to its core flinging wide tremours that were felt as far away as Beijing (1500kms), Taipai (Taiwan) and even Hanoi in Vietnam.
Seizing the opportunity, the Chinese Government unleashed an unprecedented stream of news coverage from the earthquake zone resulting in an outpouring of support from across the Chinese nation.
Yet, whilst one door is cast open, another one remains brutally closed in neighbouring Burma.
Since Tropical Cyclone Nargis ravaged an area the size of Afghanistan in Southern Burma, aid has barely trickled into the South East Asian nation as the Military Junta attempts to control the rehabilitation process thus endangering the lives of millions in the process.
Such delayed aid to the millions of homeless across the country's south means that the action needed to normally stave off disease and starvation has been critically delayed leaving many survivors in a position no better than immediately after the disaster and crucially similar to the plight of the millions stranded in China at this very time.
Each country needs help now and neither is less deserving. Food, funds and the smallest measure of fortune are slowly finding the people who need them, but it's never enough and for those whose lives hang in the balance, this post deals with how you can help and what still needs to be done.
Broken Lives in China
We thought maybe a plane crashed or there was an explosion nearby. But then the building heaved. As we hustled down the hallways and down the stairs, the sensation was the same one you get when you take off in an airplane; with that sudden weightlessness and then the dip of the plane. Cement was flying and so was glass. Very fortunately, the building did not crumble down upon us. I can still envision one extremely hard hit and I thought the end was coming. The building rumbled so loud, it seemed to be coming down.
Smashed lives, courageous rescues and monumental suffering dominate the airwaves in China but despite all the clamour, aid is still only trickling into some areas. Since May 12th the strongest earthquake in 32 years has taken an official total of 34,073 people at time of writing, though up to 70,000 (to date) are feared dead and buried.
Wenchuan Earthquake captured on Youtube
The quake originally occurred near the town of Wenchuan, in the Chinese province of Sichuan. The area is mountainous, ridden with gorges, and relief efforts have been hampered by landslides and heavy rain. Over 4.9 million homes are claimed destroyed in one of China's most inaccessible regions. Although over 130,000 troops are currently deployed in the earthquake zone, many have been reduced to battling over muddy mountain trails to reach hopeful survivors.
Colossal landslides of mud and rubble knocked down telephone lines and mobile phone masts and left every road blocked. On the road north from Chengdu, minibuses carrying boxes of aid sat in long tailbacks while the army was stranded 60 miles away.
In the town of Baichuan over 80% of all buildings have been destroyed with the highest death count of upto 5000 deaths. Upstream of the town of Dujiangyan, cracks have appeared in the Zipingpu damn, keeping the army busy and putting 600,000 residents at risk. Questions are also being asked today on why so many schools collapsed during the earthquake - reports state over 7000 classrooms destroyed in the disaster.
It's important to remember that while we can't control the destruction of the earthquake, we can help save lives afterwards and infact deaths can and must be prevented. Though foreign rescue teams were allowed into China for the first time on Friday, over 122 aftershocks exceeding 4+ on the Richter scale have already rocked the region sparking dozens of heavy landslides and hampering relief efforts.
There are plenty of ways to donate both inside and outside of China and below are several sources both official and recommended by the blogosphere. At the moment, millions of people are currently in need of blankets, emergency food, tents, drinking water and disinfectant and here are the ways you can help.
Donations Abroad
The Red Cross is most likely the best way to donate money from abroad. CN Reviews.com also has a great comprehensive list of over 30 ways to donate towards the crisis. Here is another good resource at China-crossroads.com including some fairly comprehensive information on how to volunteer.
Q & A from the Chinese Embassy in London
List of Items needed by the Chinese Embassy in London
Donations in China
For expatriates already living in China there's no shortage of information online about how to donate to the earthquake. Following is a list of alternative ways to donate that should expand over the next few days as I short througth the plethora of ways already mentioned on the internet.
Sichuan Quake Relief - a new organisation formed with the backing of the Beijing Bookworm specifically to handle small projects associated with the rehabilitation process after the May 12th earthquake.
Recommended News and Blogs
Global Voices - Time to Pray - a number of blogs from earthquake survivors and volunteers on the front-line. This article shares an extremely comprehensive overview of earthquake news, blogs and volunteer efforts from across the zone.
China Law Blog - How you can Help
Shanghaiist - Earthquake News 2008
Shanghai Expat - Today I cried - Schuan Earthquake
NPR on location in Chengdu - NPR were filming on location in Western China when the destructive May 12th earthquake changed everything...
China Daily - Government English Paper with Earthquake 2008 Section
Xinhua - China Earthquake 2008
Daily Blogs
Daily Blog from Childrens Hope International volunteering in the Earthquake Area
Blog by Melody Zhang [CHI Director] currently travelling through remote outlying areas to survey the situation of orphans stranded by the May 12 catastrophy.
Washed Away in Burma
Though it happened two weeks earlier, tropical cyclone Nargis has claimed an official total of 78,000 thousand lives in Burma (Myanmar) and the death count continues to mount. Whilst most countries would be now thinking of rebuilding shattered lives, Burma continues to create them.
Since the May 3rd cyclone ravaged an area the size of Afghanistan in the south of the country, the Burmese military Junta's attempts to handle the crisis "on their own" have only suceeded in exacerbating it.
Seventeen days after the cyclone as many as two million survivors are yet to receive any aid at all.
Almost immediately after the cyclone struck, rescue teams, aid and emergency supplies have all been refused as the military Government plays tough to the world outside. What few journalists have been allowed into the country talk of bodies "rotting in the streets," starving children mobbing aid trucks and the spectre of death hanging over every remaining doorway.
Winds exceeding 100 mph obliterated thousands of villages consisting of nothing more than bamboo huts and twine. Livestock drowned, roads washed away, lives torn asunder and all their remains is death, suffering and absolutely noone to clear up the mess.
General Than Shwe, the Burmese leader, is so far from reality, he's been seen handing out boxes of so called 'Government aid' with "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand" labelled on the side. The Junta recently claimed that they'd spent over USD 1m on aid to the people of Burma despite the fact that USD 20m in aid has already been raised by the UN.
The government wants total control of the situation, although they can't provide much and they have no experience in relief efforts.
In contrast with the transparent approach China has taken to the relief effort, many may feel that donating to Burma is a lost cause given the Government's heavy hand in the area, but this must NOT be the case. Everyday more and more shipments of aid are making it through and into the hands of those who need them, and we can only hope the trickle of aid getting through continues to grow.
Oxfam has recently claimed that up to 1.5 million people are in danger of dying as disease, starvation and despair grip the survivors. Already outbreaks of Cholera and diarrehea have been reported and the situation is unlikely to improve for weeks.
ActionAid International have set up medical camps to cater to 550 villages or 135,000 people and are just one of the many worthy efforts working now and making a difference.
If it's one thing the Pakistan Earthquake showed me, it's that fast response saves lives and the window of opportunity for Burma is shrinking rapidly. The country needs countless supplies of medicine, accommodation, rice and clean water and they need them now.
Please don't count out those in need and donate what you can. Some of the better ways are listed below and the list will certainly expand as I find more reputable sources to place on it.
Donations to Burma
British Red Cross - seemly the most reliable means to donate to the disaster and actively working now in Bruma.
Disasters Emergency Committee - Channelling funds to an umbrella organisation of 13 disaster committees with an active emergency fund for Burma.
UNICEF - With 130 staff working in Burma today, funds donated to UNICEF reach directly the people who need help the most.
ActionAid International - Through local partners in country, ActionAid has already set up an emergency medical hospital to cater to 135,000 survivors.
Photos from the Quake Zone
Just a week ago here in China, an Earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale rocked Eastern China to its core flinging wide tremours that were felt as far away as Beijing (1500kms), Taipai (Taiwan) and even Hanoi in Vietnam.
Seizing the opportunity, the Chinese Government unleashed an unprecedented stream of news coverage from the earthquake zone resulting in an outpouring of support from across the Chinese nation.
Yet, whilst one door is cast open, another one remains brutally closed in neighbouring Burma.
Since Tropical Cyclone Nargis ravaged an area the size of Afghanistan in Southern Burma, aid has barely trickled into the South East Asian nation as the Military Junta attempts to control the rehabilitation process thus endangering the lives of millions in the process.
Such delayed aid to the millions of homeless across the country's south means that the action needed to normally stave off disease and starvation has been critically delayed leaving many survivors in a position no better than immediately after the disaster and crucially similar to the plight of the millions stranded in China at this very time.
Each country needs help now and neither is less deserving. Food, funds and the smallest measure of fortune are slowly finding the people who need them, but it's never enough and for those whose lives hang in the balance, this post deals with how you can help and what still needs to be done.
Broken Lives in China
We thought maybe a plane crashed or there was an explosion nearby. But then the building heaved. As we hustled down the hallways and down the stairs, the sensation was the same one you get when you take off in an airplane; with that sudden weightlessness and then the dip of the plane. Cement was flying and so was glass. Very fortunately, the building did not crumble down upon us. I can still envision one extremely hard hit and I thought the end was coming. The building rumbled so loud, it seemed to be coming down.
Smashed lives, courageous rescues and monumental suffering dominate the airwaves in China but despite all the clamour, aid is still only trickling into some areas. Since May 12th the strongest earthquake in 32 years has taken an official total of 34,073 people at time of writing, though up to 70,000 (to date) are feared dead and buried.
Wenchuan Earthquake captured on Youtube
The quake originally occurred near the town of Wenchuan, in the Chinese province of Sichuan. The area is mountainous, ridden with gorges, and relief efforts have been hampered by landslides and heavy rain. Over 4.9 million homes are claimed destroyed in one of China's most inaccessible regions. Although over 130,000 troops are currently deployed in the earthquake zone, many have been reduced to battling over muddy mountain trails to reach hopeful survivors.
Colossal landslides of mud and rubble knocked down telephone lines and mobile phone masts and left every road blocked. On the road north from Chengdu, minibuses carrying boxes of aid sat in long tailbacks while the army was stranded 60 miles away.
In the town of Baichuan over 80% of all buildings have been destroyed with the highest death count of upto 5000 deaths. Upstream of the town of Dujiangyan, cracks have appeared in the Zipingpu damn, keeping the army busy and putting 600,000 residents at risk. Questions are also being asked today on why so many schools collapsed during the earthquake - reports state over 7000 classrooms destroyed in the disaster.
It's important to remember that while we can't control the destruction of the earthquake, we can help save lives afterwards and infact deaths can and must be prevented. Though foreign rescue teams were allowed into China for the first time on Friday, over 122 aftershocks exceeding 4+ on the Richter scale have already rocked the region sparking dozens of heavy landslides and hampering relief efforts.
There are plenty of ways to donate both inside and outside of China and below are several sources both official and recommended by the blogosphere. At the moment, millions of people are currently in need of blankets, emergency food, tents, drinking water and disinfectant and here are the ways you can help.
Donations Abroad
The Red Cross is most likely the best way to donate money from abroad. CN Reviews.com also has a great comprehensive list of over 30 ways to donate towards the crisis. Here is another good resource at China-crossroads.com including some fairly comprehensive information on how to volunteer.
Q & A from the Chinese Embassy in London
List of Items needed by the Chinese Embassy in London
Donations in China
For expatriates already living in China there's no shortage of information online about how to donate to the earthquake. Following is a list of alternative ways to donate that should expand over the next few days as I short througth the plethora of ways already mentioned on the internet.
Sichuan Quake Relief - a new organisation formed with the backing of the Beijing Bookworm specifically to handle small projects associated with the rehabilitation process after the May 12th earthquake.
Recommended News and Blogs
Global Voices - Time to Pray - a number of blogs from earthquake survivors and volunteers on the front-line. This article shares an extremely comprehensive overview of earthquake news, blogs and volunteer efforts from across the zone.
China Law Blog - How you can Help
Shanghaiist - Earthquake News 2008
Shanghai Expat - Today I cried - Schuan Earthquake
NPR on location in Chengdu - NPR were filming on location in Western China when the destructive May 12th earthquake changed everything...
China Daily - Government English Paper with Earthquake 2008 Section
Xinhua - China Earthquake 2008
Daily Blogs
Daily Blog from Childrens Hope International volunteering in the Earthquake Area
Blog by Melody Zhang [CHI Director] currently travelling through remote outlying areas to survey the situation of orphans stranded by the May 12 catastrophy.
Washed Away in Burma
Though it happened two weeks earlier, tropical cyclone Nargis has claimed an official total of 78,000 thousand lives in Burma (Myanmar) and the death count continues to mount. Whilst most countries would be now thinking of rebuilding shattered lives, Burma continues to create them.
Since the May 3rd cyclone ravaged an area the size of Afghanistan in the south of the country, the Burmese military Junta's attempts to handle the crisis "on their own" have only suceeded in exacerbating it.
Seventeen days after the cyclone as many as two million survivors are yet to receive any aid at all.
Almost immediately after the cyclone struck, rescue teams, aid and emergency supplies have all been refused as the military Government plays tough to the world outside. What few journalists have been allowed into the country talk of bodies "rotting in the streets," starving children mobbing aid trucks and the spectre of death hanging over every remaining doorway.
Winds exceeding 100 mph obliterated thousands of villages consisting of nothing more than bamboo huts and twine. Livestock drowned, roads washed away, lives torn asunder and all their remains is death, suffering and absolutely noone to clear up the mess.
General Than Shwe, the Burmese leader, is so far from reality, he's been seen handing out boxes of so called 'Government aid' with "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand" labelled on the side. The Junta recently claimed that they'd spent over USD 1m on aid to the people of Burma despite the fact that USD 20m in aid has already been raised by the UN.
The government wants total control of the situation, although they can't provide much and they have no experience in relief efforts.
In contrast with the transparent approach China has taken to the relief effort, many may feel that donating to Burma is a lost cause given the Government's heavy hand in the area, but this must NOT be the case. Everyday more and more shipments of aid are making it through and into the hands of those who need them, and we can only hope the trickle of aid getting through continues to grow.
Oxfam has recently claimed that up to 1.5 million people are in danger of dying as disease, starvation and despair grip the survivors. Already outbreaks of Cholera and diarrehea have been reported and the situation is unlikely to improve for weeks.
ActionAid International have set up medical camps to cater to 550 villages or 135,000 people and are just one of the many worthy efforts working now and making a difference.
If it's one thing the Pakistan Earthquake showed me, it's that fast response saves lives and the window of opportunity for Burma is shrinking rapidly. The country needs countless supplies of medicine, accommodation, rice and clean water and they need them now.
Please don't count out those in need and donate what you can. Some of the better ways are listed below and the list will certainly expand as I find more reputable sources to place on it.
Donations to Burma
British Red Cross - seemly the most reliable means to donate to the disaster and actively working now in Bruma.
Disasters Emergency Committee - Channelling funds to an umbrella organisation of 13 disaster committees with an active emergency fund for Burma.
UNICEF - With 130 staff working in Burma today, funds donated to UNICEF reach directly the people who need help the most.
ActionAid International - Through local partners in country, ActionAid has already set up an emergency medical hospital to cater to 135,000 survivors.
Photos from the Quake Zone
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