Two More Ways to Help Victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
Today I have two more ways you can help the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar to tell you about. (On Monday, I listed some good places to send donations that our friend Erick told us about.)
First, the U.S. Campaign for Burma is asking you to sign your name to a form letter asking U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to publicly call for UN Security Council action to demand that the Myanmar junta allow international aid and aid worker to enter the country and contribute to relief efforts. Please sign the letter here. It only takes a moment or two.
Second, Avaaz.org is raising relief funds for distribution by a network of Buddhist monastics and monasteries in Myanmar. In a mass email, organization leader Rick Patel writes:
- Humanitarian relief is urgently needed, but Burma’s government could easily delay, divert or misuse any aid. Today the International Burmese Monks Organization, including many leaders of the democracy protests last fall, launched a new effort to provide relief through Burma’s powerful grass roots network of monasteries–the most trusted institutions in the country and currently the only source of housing and support in many devastated communities.
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Giving to the monks is a smart, fast way to get aid directly to Burma’s people. Governments and international aid organizations are important, but face cahllenges–they may not be allowed into Burma, or they may be forced to provide aid according to the junta’s rules. And most will have to spend large amounts of money just setting up operations in the country. The monks are already on the front lines of the aid effort–housing, feeding, and supporting the victims of the cyclone since the day it struck. The International Burmese Monks Organization will send money directly to each monastery through their own networks, bypassing regime controls.
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The monks are unlikely to receive aid from governments or large humanitarian organizations, but they have a stronger presence and trust among the Burmese people than both. If we all chip in a little bit, we can help them to make a big difference.
You can donate to the monastics’ efforts here. You can also watch an appeal from U Uttara, the Secretary General of the International Burmese Monks Organization, below.
