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| Helping Hand: Displaced Burmese line up for food at a Buddhist monastery in Dalah, outside Rangoon. The state is pushing people
into state-run camps, which may not be well supplied. Getty Images |
Burma: monks vs. junta
Officials move refugees out of monasteries to stem monks' influence.
from the May 16, 2008 edition
Page 2 of 3
This week, monks said that people in the Irrawaddy Delta were being relocated by boats and trucks into the state-run camps, where it was unclear if there was sufficient food or water to help them, according to Agence France-Presse.
About 80,000 people had sought shelter in schools and temples in the Irrawaddy Delta town of Labutta, which was left in ruins by the cyclone, they said.
"The authorities do not have enough supplies. Monks still have to take care of these victims," says a young monk from Labutta, who had traveled to the main city of Rangoon (Yangon) in search of donations. "[People] want to rely on Buddhist monks," he said.
And in a move that alienated other Burmese, security forces were also restricting citizens from directly aiding cyclone victims in the delta, reported the Associate Press.
"[The military] don't want us to stay and talk to people. They want us to leave the supplies with them for distribution," said Zaw Htin, a young medical student who visited hard-hit Bogaley town on Wednesday. "But how can I treat them if I can't talk to them? How do we administer medical care if we can't touch them, feel their pulse, or give them advice?"
Monks have little themselves
Ananda, the exiled monk, says that monks are sheltering victims, even though they also lack food and basic supplies. "Buddhist temples don't normally have a lot of food supply, because usually they go around begging with alms bowls from villagers. Monks cannot exist without the people. We depend on them in order to live. So the monks are trying to help as much as they can."
Strong Buddhist beliefs
Ananda say that many wealthy people put great stock in regular donations to monks. "[Those] from Yangon want to make Buddhist merit by donating to monasteries," he says. "This way the monks can share with the villagers. But they cannot distribute it freely. They can only give by the government authority."
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