“Tragic and powerful”
–Burma Digest
On May 2, 2008, a Category 4 cyclone made landfall on Burma’s southern coast. Winds of 130 miles per hour raged all night, and storm surge drowned much of the Irrawaddy Delta in over 12 feet of water. Whole villages vanished, at least 130,000 people died, and two million were left homeless, making Cyclone Nargis the worst natural disaster in Burma’s history. Among the survivors were thousands of children orphaned or separated from their parents.
Eyes of the Storm tells the struggles of several orphaned children left to fend for themselves and rebuild their shattered lives in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Among others we meet 10-year-old Ye Pyint who is now surrogate father to his younger brother and sister; they live in a makeshift hut in what remains of their village. We follow Min, the 16-year-old who is the sole survivor from his family and is now trying to live as a monk in a Buddhist monastery miles away from his devastated home.
Through the eyes of the Burmese filmmaking team who shot undercover for over 10 months in defiance of the ruling junta’s media blackout, WIDE ANGLE provides a rare window into one of the world’s most secretive countries. The hour-long documentary also features American and British journalists who have reported from Burma and speak of its history and the hopes and fears for its future.
PBS should indicate that DVB a rabidly anti SPDC organization is a co producer. Vilifying SPDC aside does this help anyone here to volunteer or donate to these victims’ benefit.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6479/is_3_30/ai_n31178685/
Let us not forget the detail that ensue following a hard to predict path of this storm.
Even harder for a de facto paranoid government who has been sanctioned to the hilt, conveniently overlook by all, for at least 20 years , as well as deprived of legitimate aids by the same advocates that now blame the government failure
Zorro should this time officially return and document the progress. Knowing he is actually part of the problem not the solutions to the plight of the sufferings orphans. Most of the help of these vulnerable ones from within the country. As for the without: Japan, Korea and SIngapore has done more without any accolades that Zorro #29 post suggest that isthe mean to an end for him. “FAME”.
Mari
Visit Myanmar and ask your guide. If you are truly serious: Seek and ye shall find.
I have set up a charity registered in the UK but collecting money from anywhere in the world. It is called Helping The Burmese Delta (see website http://www.HelpingTheBurmeseDelta.org for what we have been doing). I collected many thousands of pounds from friends during May 2008, 9 days after Nargis, and set off for the delta in person to deliver the aid that none of the big agencies/NGOs seemed t be able to get into the delta. I have been back to the rural delta five separate times, and organized a 6th trip with carpenters and workmen to Haingyi which helpers in Burma carried out while I was in UK. We built new homes and renovated others for 3000 people in Haingyi, built a reinforced concrete village school in the Bogalay rural area, helped farmers seed and fertilize 60 acres of rice in Pyapon district, support a nun’s orphanage which looks after children sent down by rural delta monks to keep them safe from the human traffickers, have provided cooking utensils and fed literally thousands of people on many runs into remote zones, and now we are gathering a list of very bright orphans to find some support for them to finish High School – this has to be done by boarding and costs about $1500 per year per child for all their living and tuition expenses. I beg you to look at our website and press the donation button because these poor, poor people have no-one else to help them, in reality. The delta will not recover for at least 5 years, there is still salt in the soil preventing agricultural success, only 20 out of 350+ rural schools in the Bogalay district have ever been rebuilt, of which only 4 were in brick, of which only one (ours) is reinforced against storms. There is a lost generation – many poor/elderly grandparents unable to care fully and educate their grandchildren whose parents were wiped out by Nargis because they were working on the harvest out in fields at the time of the storm. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE WORK FOR US TO DO. Please have a look at the website where we have placed our latest newsletter – then you will know how you can help. We have opened a CAF Bank charity account in the US so american donors can claim gift aid. Finally, to reassure you, I always go in person to deliver the aid and not one penny of donations is spent on running the charity.
Thank you, Move On. I would love to visit and see what myself and my husband could do to help, but my concern is safety. Is it safe? We have three beautiful children; we would love to expand our family by adopting a child or siblling pair, but we have to consider the safety factor. Is there a way to be in contact with one of the orphanages to see what we can do to help from here and then plan a trip to adopt and bring them back here to the States?
Friends of Burma,Inc is a 501(c)3 charity which has been helping the people of Burma since 1985. We know the situation and have many projects. Right now, helping the microcredit groups is very helpful in therapy for them to work out their grief and trauma–having something to do to make a living gives them a reason to live. You can help do that. To start a group costs $300 and many poor women will be helped to learn a trade and support each other. To my knowledge, adoption out of the country is not allowed. There are many orphans, but I do not believe anyone can adopt them. More to the point is to help the remaining families and childcare facilities (Burma doesnt like the word “orphan”) to support the children they have taken in. Many people have taken in these children. Just to let you know, we have been there many times, the last time was in July. The needs are many and there are many organizations helping besides us. Diana
Diana,
I am both sad and relieved to read your comment. I am relieved to find out about a charity like Friends of Burma. That sounds like a great “Let’s do something, not just talk about it.” organization. I am interested in looking further into that. What is upsetting to me is that out of the country adoption sounds out of the question. It seems ridiculous to me that a country that has so many children growing up parentless would rather them stay in the country than be placed in a family. How wonderful it is that there are families there trying to take in these unfortunate children and raise them with their own families! Like I commented before, the people trying to head-up the “childcare facilities” certainly need to be congratulated on doing what they can. Still, is is sad to me that we (and many others, I am sure.) would love to welcome a child or sibling pair into our family with open arms and aren’t even given the chance to try even when it would be such a blessing to our family as well as lighten the load on one of the orphanages at the same time. How can something that seems to be a positive for all parties not be allowed?
Mari Anthony
Please do visit the land. Talk to people you met openly. Things are not as straight forward as Aaron might like to suggest. Typical US view of an Asian country, using Sanction admitted here to have hurt the people more but still not relenting.
YES IT IS ABSOLUTELY SAFE to visit the country. Friends of Burma is but one of the quiet organization helping the most vulnerable. There are many other organization inside Burma that do the same very effectively.
Burma situation has become to day is truly the tragic result of the government as well as the 20+ years of sanctions imposed by the west. The degree of which need to be debated here if frontline is truly concern about these most vulnerable ones.
Otherwise this is merely a lip service to so called express ” concern” but not really going back to the raison d’étre.
Pleas visit the country and form your opinion.
We lived in Yangon for 6 mos. The govt. does NOT allow adoption at all, unless you are a Buddhist, and even then I think it would be nearly impossible.
Sadly, only the ones who can snatch the kids for bad reasons seem to get them out of the country. PRAY that people will care enough to do something. But if the whole world watched during the Tsunami and still did nothing…I don’t know what would cause them to act now.
I need to help these poor children…I’m still in tears with sadness and anger that a baby has to become the parent for his siblings. Please let me know how I can help!
Thank u so much to all the journalists and PBS for showcasing the plight of the innocent Burmese people under the harsh and brutal military rule.
Zorro, thank you for the risks you took in filming this documentary. Anyone who has seen it can not help but be moved by the children’s stories and as you can see from the comments, many of us want to help the children featured in this film. As you know the whereabouts of the children, would it possible for people to donate money via the DVB website so that the funds could go directly to the children in the film? I have already donated money to a charity that work in Burma, but would like to donate more and to know that it is going to go directly to the children featured in your film.