The monster was wailing, things were crashing on the roof, and the windows looked to break at any moment. The walls and ceilings were moist with water and part of the ceiling had even opened up to spill water below. I felt that with these winds, the whole wall and ceiling could really be peeled away at any moment. I chanced another look out my door and with the force of the winds, plus the caved-in ceiling and electrical wires, chancing an escape seemed not much better an option, especially given that I didn't even know where the emergency stair case was.
I went to the office, went to several monasteries and assessed damage here, back to the office for an awful meal of cheese sandwich and fries, back at my hotel just as a Yangon international school was hosting a year end bash by the pool. It was dozens of white expats with dozens more bottles of hard alcohol and beer, and talking about trips being taken to Switzerland, France, and the US in the coming summer.posted by gen at 3:58 PM on May 14, 2008
As we made our way back to Yangon, I was quite conflicted and didn't know how to think through my confusions. As I said, I'm not an aid worker and I'm not a journalist. And I'm certainly not an aid worker or journalist with experience working in a disaster zone. And yet, there neither of these professions are now in Myanmar, which means that aid cannot be assessed or given and information cannot come out to the rest of the world. It seems that I can't help but try to do my part to help in these areas, but the danger is that I really don't know what I'm doing. As one of the drivers pointed out, the circumstances were pretty dire here even a week ago. Even before the cyclone hit, people were living in more urgent and dangerous conditions than perhaps New Orleans after the hurricane Katrina. When I ask people what they need, what they don't have and what they urgently require, there seems to be a cultural and linguistic gap that I can't get through or understand quite yet. Sure, this same gap exists in my field, but I know how to do some things and I know what to look for and how to set and reach objectives to bridge these gaps. Here I just feel lost, and frightened that I'm doing or reporting the wrong thing in such an urgent situation. They needed rice and medicine before the cyclone hit and they still need it after, and I have no idea what to do about this. I don't know how to impart that so many of these people had so little before the storm and were very much used to harassment by the authorities, and expecting no assistance from their government. I don't know how to determine how much worse it is now, in specific and exact terms, than it was before.
"... With the wind beginning to howl, people shot pool while sipping expensive martinis as 1980s American pop played over the faux-juke box. Wearing my Shan-style shirt and a lungyi and drinking lime juice, I felt more than a little out of place and stayed the requisite time, hiding behind a couple very bad games of pool before braving the street and returning home. I procrastinated sleep with an episode of “The Office” and then was in bed just after 11 pm, unaware that the world would change by early morning. ..."posted by paulsc at 5:57 PM on May 14, 2008
"... This is because to write about the political aspect of this situation puts myself in risk-- it could mean arrest, deportation, or denying of future visa. It puts in jeopardy my work which could ultimately effects thousands of people. (Of course I have no intention of posting any of this or identifying myself, and hope this will not happen, but there is always a chance. Doing so certainly puts me at even greater risk) Given the events of the past three days, I don't see how this is possible any longer. I just can't see this situation in any way but as a crime against humanity. I have just returned from my evening sitting, which given the denial of aid on the government's side, I had no success in ignoring the thoughts plaguing me and remaining with sensation or even breath. ..."For Christ's sake, how bad must a narrative be, how self serving an agenda must one narrative relate, before you relent?
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posted by ericb at 3:46 PM on May 14, 2008