UN helicopters begin ferrying aid to cyclone-ravaged delta

by Solomon

Monday, 09 June 2008 21:02

New Delhi – Aid seems to be finally trickling in, with six United Nations helicopters currently ferrying supplies to cyclone-hit areas. Critics however, fear that the delay has had a severe impact on the survivors. The first supplies, which were airlifted, reached Burma's Irrawaddy delta, the worst-hit by the cyclone, only last week. Over the weekend, Burma's ruling military junta allowed five additional helicopters to fly into the delta with aid supplies. "Two [helicopters] flew in yesterday while four undertook missions today to deliver food," Paul Risley, spokesperson for the World Food Programme said in Bangkok. Debbie Stothard, Coordinator of a campaign group, the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean) said, "It's never too late but the problem is many people have died by now." "It is a big tragedy for the people in cyclone-affected areas, they have been in a helpless situation for more than a month," Stothard added. A Burmese aid worker, working with an international aid agency in Rangoon, however, said the development in aid distribution are too little and several areas still remain untouched. "Many people are surviving on their own without any aid. Now that it is over a month people are suffering from various diseases," the aid worker, who has just returned from the Irrawaddy delta's Laputta town, said. The government's restrictions on the movement of international aid workers have also slowed down aid for the needy, the aid worker said. "International aid workers are needed because of their expertise in handling and reaching out to a greater number of people," he added. Meanwhile, the WFP said the Burmese government had so far granted 36 visas for its international staff, but it had not received the nod for its four other choppers waiting in Bangkok. The United Nations has said nearly 1.3 million of the total of 2.5 million affected by the cyclone that lashed Burma's coastal areas on May 2 and 3, have received aid. Burma's military rulers, however, said with the government's prompt action and the participation of the people of Burma, the 'emergency relief phase' for cyclone survivors is over and the government was now focussing on reconstruction. But with little or no aid received a great number of survivors, have died, Debbie Stothard of the Altsean Burma said. The international community should rethink its approach in assisting the survivors, she added. "If there is further delay, then they (international community) should support humanitarian intervention without permission of the SPDC," Stothard said. < Prev   Next >