One of the privileges of living between two cultures (Thailand and New Zealand) is that every time I return to one culture I get a fresh look at it. In Thailand the overwhelming feature is that of keeping calm, at least on the surface. It’s about going with the flow and not losing your cool. In New Zealand the overwhelming feature is the issue of justice. People are indignant about others doing the wrong thing. People may be indignant about encroachment onto another person’s property, poor driving, or seeing human rights abuses.
This time back in NZ I was just struck by how many Kiwis were horrified and indignant when they were told what was happening in Burma. Many people want to “do something”. To me this sense of justice is a strong and redemptive feature of New Zealand society. It is a part of our culture that powerfully reflects God’s heart. God is a just God, and is indignant about injustice just as we are.
I was given the privilege of talking on Shine TV, and the Radio NZ National Program “Morning Report” while back in NZ, and more recently was able to be a part of a documentary on National Radio’s Sunday morning “Insight”. This is a reflection of New Zealand’s profound interest in the problems of Burma.
On this trip back I was able to connect with many of you as I realized how upset you are also about the human rights issues in Burma today. Thank you for carrying the flame. The issues of Burma are very much on God’s heart and only a “God-solution” will resolve the complex long-standing problems in that country.
How do we get “God solutions?” We use God weapons. They are not weapons of war. They are the weapons of Love. We must love the people of Burma in order to bring change. That love will drive us to pray, to serve and to give.
Thank you dear friends, for loving the people of Burma.
Passionate for a Jesus revolution.

Stu Corlett
(Co-founder of Partners NZ and Shan Projects Director)

I visited a refugee camp called Mae La in 2006 and spent time with Partners staff. I heard lots of stories, and I have forgotten a lot, but there are several things that remain in my memory. One image is that of a teacher telling me where all the children come from. She said that some are orphans, some are sent to the camp for schooling, and some are lost children. Another man told me that Karen parents teach their children that when the Burma Army comes, that they are to run. They are to run into the jungle, not to come back to the village, and run east until they cross a big river, and then they will be safe. They will be in Thailand. These children find each other as they run through the jungle, together in the uncertainty of what has happened to their parents. They are together in the misery of not knowing if their parents are dead, whether they have escaped to another refugee camp, or are hiding in the jungle. These are the lost children.

Another image I have is that of a father explaining his anguish that he had to leave one of his children behind. He will never know if the child is alive, dead, or captured by the army. And he will have to live with the guilt of making that decision.
But the image that shouts the loudest in my mind is the hope. When asked what will change the Burma army a man once answered, “They need the love of Jesus.” In the midst of so much pain and suffering, the Karen cling to forgiveness and hope. And this hope is from God.
A new day is dawning in Burma. A day where fear is not their consuming thought. Where running will be done for the pleasure it brings. A day where people are free. And it is through the power of the love of Jesus that this day is coming. And I ask you.... How can you show the love of Jesus?

Lyrics:
Always running, never ceasing, under darkened skies
Heading eastward through the mountains and cross the river wide
Lost my mother and my father on the day the soldiers came
Burning houses, hurting people, its never been the same
How long will this last, when will this war end?
How long till it’s past and there’s justice in the end?
Always hungry, ever thirsty, never satisfied
Seeking shelter in the jungle and running to survive
How long will this last, when will this war end?
How long till its past and there’s justice in the end?
And I will wait on my feet again
For the skies to clear and sun to shine again
And I will pray on my knees again
For this hate to pass and love to rule again
And I will stay in this place again
A place where hate and fear cannot steal my heart
And I will pray on my knees again
For you love to warm and melt this heart of stone.

Holly Brown (Australia)

You can download the song Burma' (3.95MB MP3)from www.newdayforburma.org.au

My soon-to-be teenage daughters love to talk about what they would like to be when they grow up. This week it was super models! While I am glad they both have very healthy self-esteems, I felt it was wise to offer some advice on how to narrow down the options! Start with the question: “How can I make a difference in the world?”

It’s a question I have asked myself often over the years. This year though, it’s not a question I have needed to ask. That’s been especially true since May 2, when Burma was hit by a disastrous cyclone and tidal wave, far more devastating than the tsumani in 2004, leaving at least 150,000 people dead or missing, and 2.4 million people starving and homeless.

Two kinds of stories touched me greatly during this time: stories from those working in Burma, of aid getting through to the survivors despite all the obstacles, and of the brave local community leaders who have been delivering the aid despite the threat of imprisonment or even death at the hand of the military regime. Sadly, details of who they are cannot be made public here because of fears for their safety. They are the heroes of today. The depth of their faith and sacrifice is a constant challenge to me.

The other kind of stories that have warmed my heart are first hand accounts of ordinary Kiwis back in NZ who have found a way ‘to make a difference’ for Burma, even when their own resources are being stretched with the rise in living costs in New Zealand.

There’s the 50 year old in Napier and the 60 year old in Auckland who both chose, instead of having a big birthday bash for themselves, to have a big ‘Partners’ Party with a Purpose’ – where their friends brought donations for Partners instead of presents for them!
There’s the couple who, when they sold some property, thought of Partners first before deciding what they would spend the rest of the money on.
There’s the family who ended up with a healthy refund from the IRD, once their tax returns were complete, and decided to pass this ‘excess’ in their budget on, to feed the hungry in Burma.
There’s the children who gave generously from their pocket money, or chose to have a ‘Partners’ Party with a Purpose’ in order to share with others so much less fortunate than them.
Then there’s the family of 5 who instead of saving to take their family to a Pacific island for a tropical holiday, have chosen to bring their children to visit a refugee camp instead and serve Partners in the process.
Not sure if I should encourage this one, but it tickled my funnybone, to have a friend send in the full contents of the office ‘fines’ jar for ‘offensive’ behaviour! That’s creative giving!

When so soon after the cyclone, there was an earthquake in China, unrest in Zimbabwe, and floods in the US, the world’s problems threaten to overwhelm us into inactivity, and it can seem easier to bury ourselves in the latest gossipy magazine or TV sit-com. However I am so thankful to be part of a community of people who believe that there is something all of us can do to help those in need in whatever corner of the world God puts on our heart, and that together we CAN make a difference. In the same way, that brave Europeans helped the Jews in the time of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, we are in a position to bring about positive change in this area of the world, by standing up for those suffering human rights abuses.

It is so fulfilling to see my three children who have lived in Thailand for the last 8 years, adopt a heart for the poor and the suffering too. In fact, last month the international school that they all go to, was bitten by the “Help Burma” bug also, after the senior class was invited to run a fun sports day for one of the Partners’ children’s projects where children from Burma are brought to safety to receive an education that could not have otherwise. It was wonderful to see these children who have seen such tragedy in their lives, having so much fun with things they had never seen before like parachute games, water balloons and glowsticks, and also to see the western students falling in love with these precious children! Love in action is certainly contagious!

One important thing I’ve learnt is that there is little benefit in using my energies on wrestling with God over the big questions like “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” when the most worthwhile thing I can do is ask “how can I help these people?” That means seeing these disasters – natural and man-made - as opportunities for fortunate ones like us to stretch out and love those in desperate need.

I was one of a fortunate few expatriates who gained access to the Delta area and was able to spend time visiting villages and meeting some of the local aid workers who have managed to get aid through despite the attempts of the government to restrict access to the disaster area. It was a privilege to rub shoulders with local heroes like these people, who also assisted in the clean-up process witnessing more horrific sights during that time than anyone should ever see in a lifetime. It is wonderful to be able to resource these local groups with aid supplies bought with Partners donations, and witness how effectively they are getting aid deep into the cyclone ravaged area.

I heard many tragic stories firsthand from the cyclone survivors. Many were encouraged when I told them that I represented love and prayers from Partners supporters from around the world including New Zealand and Australia. They were encouraged that people so far away would be concerned with their plight.

What difference could one person like me make? One distraught woman, of a similar age to me, shared how she had heard her mother calling for help from the rice field but both her and her husband were carrying two of their children each trying to keep all heads above the rising water and were unable to go to her aid. This family lost their home and all of their belongings but fortunately all of their children miraculously survived. However now they are grieving the loss of their mother and grandmother. Who else around her had the strength to listen to her tell her story over again as if it was the first time, when everyone else had their own tragic story? Instead God supplied the ears of an Australian. I offered reassurance that she had made the right choice as a mother, a gentle squeeze of the hand and a prayer of blessing over their new home and her family. I attempted to instill hope that many on the other side of the world are being moved into action to pray, to give, and to be a voice for the suffering people of Burma.

Amidst the tragedy there were many stories of miraculous survival. Many villagers huddled together in monasteries and churches for safety. In one village three babies were born during the cyclone. Anyone who has given birth will no doubt admire the tenacity of these women and their babies! What a privilege to share these people’s stories, to see the ongoing delivery of aid and provisions and to offer some hope amongst the chaos. Not speaking Burmese didn’t seem to be a barrier in my attempt at using my life skills to make a difference. It’s amazing how a squeeze of the hand or a reassuring smile crosses all boundaries.

Of course surviving the cyclone was a miracle for many, and yet in many ways I feel that the journey has only just begun for these people. With entire communities now under reconstruction survivors are pleading for ongoing supplies of food, shelter and equipment and rice seeds for farming. They are especially grateful for the love that has been expressed through the aid received already. Let’s keep showing love in action. We are making a difference!

Article and Interview By Oddny Gumaer

“Tell me about the night of the cyclone,” I asked him. As he started to share I was drawn into a story that sounded more like a plot of a movie that would describe the end of the world, than a true story that had happened only weeks ago. This is what he shared:

We came from the village Toung Goh from Lah Phutta Township. In my village there were 400 people before the cyclone hit. On the night of the Cyclone, 311 of them died. All the survivors have now left the village that was completely destroyed. I was the last one to leave our village. I was the village headman, a man with much land and many riches. Now I have nothing left, and I will never return to my land. It has been stolen by the military and they will never allow me to go back and grow rice on the land of my ancestors. If I go back again, I will become their slave. I will never go back to serve them.

On the day of the Cyclone Nargis we endured a strong wind that lasted all day. We were hiding in our houses hoping the wind would stop and that our houses would endure its power. The wind started t 10.00 A.M and got stronger as the day went on. It was the very strongest from 7-8 P.M. Then suddenly all got very quiet. There was no wind. No rain. No sound. We were all relieved that the storm had passed and we survived. We did not know that this was the beginning of our end. During the quiet the water started coming. It increased so fast. About 6 feet at the time. We all ran to the highest point in our village, which was where we had our church building. As the water kept rising we tried to save the children by lifting them up on the rafters of the church. That was the highest point we could get them. Some of us tried to hold the children close to ourselves. In the end the water had risen to 15 feet.

Then the force of the waves and after a while, the force of the wind, made the church collapse. The small children that we had wanted to save so desperately all fell into the water and drowned. I was holding my youngest daughter. The water covered my head and I tried to keep my arms in the air, and my daughter above the water. But I could not hold on as the water swept me off my feet and we were swept away. When I hit a tree, I clung to my daughter and I held on to the tree. That tree saved our lives.

All night I held on to the tree while the water rushed around me. I did not know what was happening to the people I loved. At 3 A.M the water level and waves started to decrease and soon it was all back in the ocean. What I saw was the destruction of my world. Everything was gone. There were the dead people on the ground. I found my own son still alive. He is only 9, and he survived the night by holding on to a cluster of bamboo. There were less than 100 of us still alive. All the others were gone. We were so exhausted after the night of fighting with death that we had no strength left to bury the dead.

The biggest problem was the lack of water. We had to save all our energy in order to stay alive. I tried to organize my people. We cut up the flesh of the dead animals and ate it. We drank the juice from the coconuts. The sea had polluted all the fresh water, so we could only drink the coconut juice the first few days. We were afraid that a new storm would come the following night, so with the strength we had left we built some rafts with bamboo and animal hair. Then we sat on the rafts in the evening waiting for the new storm. Even though the next storm never came, we still were always expecting it. During the days we dug up wet rice that we ate. We also dug a new well for water to drink. One of the young survivors went to a neighboring village asking for help. He returned with one sack of rice that we shared.

Every day we sat there waiting for somebody to come and rescue us. We saw helicopters flying above us daily, but they never paid any attention to us. One day we saw 6 ships on the sea, but they too did not seem to see us. After a week we were finally able to get a boat to come and recue our people and people from neighboring villages who had suffered the same. The boat took 200 people with them to Lah Phuta. But I did not go with the first boatload of 200. As my people’s leader I felt that it was my duty to stay behind with the ones who did not get space on the boat. I knew the 200 would be OK on the boat. I wanted to make sure the 10 people that were left did not perish. After 9 more days of waiting our rescue finally came.
My people went to find shelter at a church compound. They were given food, medicines and shelter there. I myself went to Rangoon to try to find some work to provide for my family, but there was no work for me there. So I decided to come to this refugee camp to start a new life here with my family and relatives. I gave up on my village. I owned 70 acres that all has become government land now. The government will force my people into small huts that are owned by the military and they will force the people to work the land for the benefit of the military. The military needs rice for their soldiers and they are forcing my people to grow rice on their land so the military will have enough.

I have no faith in change. I have no hope for a better future for Burma. I decided to take my family here to this camp because their future is better here than on the land of my ancestors. We have no land here, but we do not have to be slaves for the regime that has stolen our land and the future of our children.

Benedict Rogers is the author of A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People (Monarch, 2004), and has visited Burma and its borderlands more than 20 times. He also serves as Deputy Chairman of the UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission. He is also a close friend of Partners staff.
Here is his assessment of the situation in Burma.

Burma’s military regime has officially declared the relief phase over, a month after Cyclone Nargis hit the country. Displaced people sheltering in churches, monasteries, schools and other public buildings are being forcibly evicted, and ordered to return to their homes or to military-controlled camps. Yet the death toll is estimated to be at least 130,000, and continues to rise. Over 2.5 million people are homeless. Aid is still only trickling in, and while there are some reports that more international aid workers have been allowed into the country, the regime is continuing to obstruct, restrict and delay access for most aid workers.

Meanwhile, the military continues its policies of repression. The offensive against the Karen ethnic people in eastern Burma goes on. Since 1996, over 3,200 villages in eastern Burma have been destroyed by military offensives, and a million people displaced. On 27 May, 500 villagers in eastern Mon township, Karen State, were driven into the jungle. According to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation working in the conflict zones, the Burma Army is still “attacking, burning villages and displacing people”, raping, looting, laying landmines and using people for forced labor.

On 23 May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the country and met Burma’s ruthless dictator, Senior General Than Shwe. At a press conference in the Hotel Sedona in Rangoon following the meeting, Ban Ki-moon sounded optimistic: “I am happy to report that we have made progress on all these issues. This morning, I had a good meeting with Senior General Than Shwe. He agreed to allow international aid workers into the affected areas, regardless of nationality. He has taken quite a flexible position.” But just two days later, Prime Minister Thein Sein announced that the regime would only “consider” allowing access to international aid workers, “if they wish to engage in rehabilitation and reconstruction work”. More than a week on, there are few signs of the regime fulfilling Than Shwe’s promise.

Four days after Ban Ki-moon’s meeting with Than Shwe, the regime announced it would extend, once again, the detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who has already spent over 12 years under house arrest. Her current period of house arrest began in 2003, following an assassination attempt against her at Depayin which resulted in the slaughter of over 100 of her supporters. She is held under the State Protection Act, which imposes a five year sentence. Her five years has expired, but on 27 May the regime extended her detention for yet another six months, breaking their own law. Instead at least 15 of Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters were arrested as they attempted to march to her home.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s continued detention shows that the regime is unwilling to yield. Ban Ki-moon did not even mention her name, knowing the hostility with which Than Shwe regards her. The Secretary-General judged that mentioning her might jeopardise the possibility of improvements in humanitarian access. His judgment at the time was understandable – but he has been left empty-handed.

Meanwhile, bodies continue to float in the flood waters and hang in trees, uncollected. Snake-bite is a common cause of death, as people and snakes compete for shelter. There are reports that the military has forbidden the burial of bodies, leaving decomposing corpses to spread more disease. State media has been dismissive of the humanitarian needs. The New Light of Myanmar, the regime’s newspaper, declared that farmers could “go out with lamps at night and catch plump frogs,” and that people were self-sufficient and did not need “chocolate” from foreign countries. What they do need, however, is basic food, medicine and shelter – and they continue to be denied such things.

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates has accused the junta of “criminal neglect.” Others, however, go further, charging the Generals with crimes against humanity. Britain’s Leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron has warned that if the situation does not change, the Generals should be brought before the International Criminal Court. The regime could be accused of negligence for failing to warn its people prior to storm, despite receiving 41 warnings from India. But its denial of aid and obstruction of aid workers cannot be put down to incompetence, but rather to a deliberate desire to hide the truth, and an extraordinarily inhumane attitude to its people.

One official told foreign aid workers: “What you, Westerners, don’t seem to understand is that people in the delta are used to having no water to drink and nothing to eat.”

In perhaps the most perplexing announcement, while ignoring the human catastrophe unfolding, the Orwellian regime declared the death toll of livestock. Cyclone Nargis, according to the junta, killed 665,271 ducks, 56,163 cows and 1,614,502 chickens. Meanwhile, US, French and British navy ships remain stationed off the coast of Burma, loaded with aid, unable to reach the people. The question on the minds of the hungry and sick Burmese people is: will those ships force their way in if necessary, or will they – like so many times before – turn their backs on Burma and sail away?

Article Printed By Cutting Edge Burma Desk, June 9th 2008 www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=555

By Partners Staff Member Chris Dolan,

Well, I am back from Rangoon, a few weeks older, a few years wiser, and a lot more determined to keep standing up for truth in this hopeless situation. Rangoon city itself was great, but it was excruciatingly sad to see how extensive the abuse and mismanagement of the Burmese military junta really is. We have confirmed reports of Burmese military personnel demanding bribes to allow aid to reach the affected, rape, and forced labor in the delta areas. One friend I met there had a meeting with the Minister of Disaster Response, and was told that there was a bank account in Singapore, and if funds were deposited, the necessary clearance to visit the delta would be granted. Even while people starve to death, these overly rich generals and businessmen are cashing in. (My friend refused to pay)

Villagers, mostly ethnic minorities, are being forced to build army camps in exchange for small amounts of food, and in some areas ethnic minorities are being ignored altogether. There are also many reports that the army is forbidding people to bury or dispose of the dead left after the cyclone over a month ago. The idea I guess is that they want the people to leave the area and move on, although one thing I have learned here is that it is futile to try and figure out why crazy people do the things they do.
And even while over a million go hungry amid the death and destruction left behind by Cyclone Nargis, this bunch of pompous generals are still launching attacks against the ethnic minorities along its borders. Just last week the military attacked Karen villages in Papun district, forcing over 1000 civilians into hiding in the jungles.

Overall, I spent two weeks working with our partner organization in Rangoon that shall go unnamed for their ongoing security. These guys are doing a great job of dealing with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, even though they are hampered at every turn by the government. We were able to train and equip a group of over 30 Burmese nationals, consisting of doctors and nurses to go out to the affected areas where no foreigner is able to go. These teams were able to provide and are still providing necessary medicine, food and shelter to thousands of victims of the cyclone and the oppression of their own government. By far the real heroes of this tragedy, the Burmese people themselves have pulled together and are doing the best they can to help the 1.5 million people affected. I was just happy to be a small part of helping them do a great job.
The majority of my time was spent writing articles for reports and publication, as well as helping in the office with IT stuff and training, and any other jobs that needed doing. As a big white guy, I was never able to actually reach the delta area where the need is the greatest. Our international staff were confined to the city, no one was allowed past the first army checkpoint. The possibility to get smuggled in was open at one point, but in the end, I felt it better not to go this route, as I would only get deported, whereas anyone caught helping would be arrested and imprisoned.

It was a great to see how things work in a situation like this, and seeing the way the Burmese junta works was a real eye opener. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have gone, I learned so much from those brave people on the ground in Rangoon. These incredible people impressed me every day with their ability to deal with the terrible situation with grace and empathy. The sad fact is, they have way too much practice, they have been dealing with the callous evil of the junta for fifty years. One young woman that I will never forget lost her sister and family to the cyclone, yet she was on one of the first of our teams to leave and bring aid to the survivors. Everyone from these areas had lost someone, mothers, brothers, sons, friends. No one was spared, but what got to me the most was the attitude of those left behind. No one waited around for outside help; perhaps they knew that it wouldn’t come. They simply went about the daily tasks of finding food, shelter and water.

I could share with you a hundred stories of survival, of loss, corrupt government officials, of destruction. But the fact is, although those things happened, and are still happening, the harsh reality is that these people are on their own, and they know it. But they don’t quit, they don’t complain. They get on with life, they survive. I admire that. I am glad I got the chance to meet them.

Thoughts of a volunteer working with Partners in Thailand.

I'm currently in Thailand for three weeks with my husband and a couple of friends. We've been hanging out with our friends at Partners and had the privilege of spending some time teaching English in a refugee camp.

It was a truly eye opening experience. We met some inspiring Karen people at the refugee camp that made us feel so welcome and safe. Even though we came from opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum, different cultures and languages... our common love for Jesus quickly closed any divide, we easily became friends and shared our stories.

I think I've only really just begun to comprehend the scope of the atrocities occurring in Burma. Sure I've read all the newspaper articles, watched the news and even seen a few YouTube videos that were particularly graphic but it's only been in the last few days that I've started to have my heart broken. For me, I needed to meet the people, hear their stories and know their names.

I've been thinking a lot about the Miss Universe pageant today. In particular the part where contestants are placed into a sound proof booth so they can't hear the questions asked to the other contestants. They can't hear the question being asked and if they speak they can't be heard by anyone outside of the booth.

It feels like it's the people of Burma that are in the sound proof booth. The military junta do not want the world to hear what's going on.

They want to silence the minority ethnic groups.
They want the outside world to stop listening to the cries of the people for aid.
They want us to do nothing.

I really want to smash that sound proof booth, listen to what the people of Burma need, make some noise and find the best way to act. I must take this information home with me and make sure others hear too!

Claire Gibbons 10 June 08

Now the villagers face a very difficult situation. The Burma Army are forcing them to return to their villages (where there is still no food, clean water or housing) or be placed in special refugee camps prepared by the Burma Army (where there is little food and water). They are not allowed to continue living in churches, temples or at their relatives houses.

If they return to their villages, they are faced with an awful smell of rotting bodies as the villagers are prohibited from burying the dead!! The salt water can not be changed to normal water very easily. All of the rice was destroyed. The villagers try to survive by drying the wet rice as best as they can and by drinking rain water.

Now the Burma Army have announced that the relief time is finished and it is time to rebuild. However, the reality is their primary needs are still food, water, shelter and medicine.

For the second phase of relief aid, in order to rebuild their lives the victims need:
- Rice for growing
- diesel and water pumps to clear the land of the salt water
- Cows or buffaloes to plow the land in order to grow rice
- Housing
- Schools for children

Soon we are sending in a qualified development national staff member to assess how we can help further with the next stage of relief and development.

In case you are wondering Partners is in this for the long term - even though Burma has disappeared from the headlines of the daily news, we are committed to help these suffering people in as many ways as we can. Will you join us?

By a Partners Staff Member In Rangoon

Yesterday evening I saw a young man in the restaurant where we were eating wearing a t-shirt that said “world without strangers”. I couldn’t get that phrase out of my head, and I tried to figure out what it meant.

Three weeks after Cyclone Nargis ravaged Burma’s Irrawaddy delta area, Rangoon residents are returning to normal life. The same cannot be said for the devastated southern delta region though, where reports are still coming in of people dying from disease and even starvation. Unconfirmed reports have even come in of cannibalism among the survivors. The military’s half-hearted and unbelievably ignorant relief effort have forced many to dig through the mud of their ruined fields to find rice that was planted right before the cyclone hit just to survive, while international relief organizations fight frustration and boredom in Yangon and neighboring Thailand waiting for the generals to grant them access.

But hope still grows in the charred and ruined soil that is Burma today. Burmese nationals have stepped up and continue to send aid and help to the ravaged delta area. Daily trucks are sent to the devastated region carrying rice, water, and temporary shelter for the people there. Although no one here believes that the government will change, they still choose to take the high road and help their brothers in need. Everyday we are receiving reports from national staff and others about desperate people being given the food, water, and shelter they need to get through another day. Amid the death and destruction, the floating bodies of people and livestock, ordinary people are becoming extraordinary heroes. Buddhist, Christian, and animist are pulling together and crossing religious lines, breaking down long-held barriers and doing the best they can to help those affected by this tragedy.

As I thought about these reports, and as I meet with more and more people who lived through the devastation, I am beginning to understand what it means to be a “world without strangers”. Its not that we know everybody, or that everyone on the planet is our friend. It’s the fact that we are all human, and in some way or another we are all in this together. The strands that hold us together in times of crisis are so much stronger than the petty prejudices and hatreds that try to keep us apart so much of the rest of the time. Hopefully after all the work is done, after all the dead are buried and mourned, after homes are rebuilt, these relationships will continue, that friendships will be strengthened, and that hope will spring forth anew in this country that has been destroyed by the greed and selfishness of a few evil men.

By Steve Gumaer (Executive Director of Partners)

Ban Ki Moon said the Junta would allow relief workers in to assist the survivors. No confirmation on this yet. Don’t hold your breath. Since the announcement, 4 Unicef workers were granted visas. Wow. Today in Bangkok a fire broke out in the passport section of the Burma Embassy and burned applications and passports. One of our staff members had his application and passport in for consideration. I’ll bet the regime is disappointed about that.

Last week many people from Bogalay were forced to go to camps at M'ubin, Myawmya area. Today these same people were forced to go back to Bogalay so that the UN visiting tomorrow will see them back in their home area.

Most people do not want to go to the SPDC controlled camps but they are forced to go. Now there are camps supported by church groups. The SPDC has told the church groups that they must send a percentage of their people to the SPDC camps.

SPDC has designated parts of the cyclone affected area as 'black areas' people can be shot if found there. People must come to the relocation camps run by the SPDC in the 'white areas'.

Those in the worst conditions and in the most need are those living on small islands. They are cut off from most assistance.

World Vision has suspended aid to Bogalay, where they have an MOU to provide aid to survivors. Reason: the SPDC steals everything they bring in to the country. Nice guys.

Dead bodies are flowing in and out with the tides.

Dead= more than 200,00. In Lapota=60,000 dead, Bogalay=80,000 dead.

Our network – Delta Network- can get help in but in small amounts due to obstruction by the SPDC. Biggest needs are water, rice and now medicine. 4,000 to. 6,000 people reportedly died this last week in Wakama Township due to sickness.

By Dr. Martin Panter, Australia

Whilst the world waits and watches, holds discussions and meetings, thousands , maybe tens of thousands are needlessly dying in S. Burma. What started as a natural disaster has now become a calculated mass slaughter of the innocents, by a regime that is more concerned with holding on to power than it is for the the life of its citizens.

After the terrible genocide in Rwanda the cry of the International community was 'never again'. Never will we stand by and watch a preventable genocide taking place. But that is exactly what is unfolding right now in Burma. As each day passes thousands more die of hunger , thirst, and preventble diarrhoal diseases. Whilst offshore in ships of the American and British navies,and in warehouses in Thailand, Bangladesh and Dubai supplies and medicines remain on hold, all awaiting delivery.

What can we do? We can pray and we can act. let us storm the gates of heaven on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Burma. Those in the Irawaddy Delta, the area worst effected by the cyclone, which the Junta have sealed off from any aid deliveries,the inhabitants are mainly Karen Christians. This in itself gives a sinister twist to the Junta's deliberate witholding of aid. Let's contact our MP's, and write or email the Foreign Minister with our legitimate concerns. But let us not be apathetic or unconcerned and uncaring. The writer to the Hebrews in ch 13 vs 1-2 reminds us to 'Remember those in bonds, as though we were actually there with them' i.e. a close identification with their suffering. Can we do that,and believe for God to act sovereignly in response? Thank you on behalf of all those who suffer in Burma right now.

Rt Hon Helen Clark
Prime Minister
PO Box 18888
Parliament Buildings
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Ph: 64 4 471 9998 Fax: 64 4 473 3579
May 23, 2008
Dear Prime Minister,

An Appeal for the Humanitarian Intervention:

As citizens of New Zealand, we would like to thank you, and the Government of New Zealand as a whole for your quick and generous offer of humanitarian assistance to help Burma recover from the tragedy of Cyclone Nargis.

We are greatly dismayed to learn that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has refused this generous offer from the international community, asserting that all aid must be administered by the SPDC itself.

Given the unprecedented extent of this disaster and the continued danger that faces millions of Burmese citizens who are still waiting for assistance, and given the SPDC’s long history of mismanagement and corruption, we urge the Government of New Zealand to begin to move humanitarian assistance towards the country and do whatever is possible to get New Zealand assistance into Burma now without waiting to work through the SPDC.

We do not believe that aid provided to the SPDC will reach the people who need it most. Just recently the United Nations’ Food Aid Agency decided to leave from Burma after collapsed negation with the SPDC regime in Rangoon. WFP called off its all operations recently because of SPDC's mishandling humanitarian assistance after cyclone Nargis.

The military thugs do not have the resources to clear up all the dead bodies, provide drinking water or medical help before an epidemic explodes and effects not only Burma but the neighboring countries as well. Not warning the people of the cyclone is comparable to genocide and not taking humanitarian assistance is like murder.

We ask that you please work to secure access for NZ assistance to reach the people of Burma immediately.

Thank you very much,

Signed:-------------------------------

Name: -------------------------------, Address:----------------------------------------

Here's the latest report on what we as Partners have been able to do with the generous donations that caring people like you have sent us:

We have determined the most cost effective way to get the needed supplies to the people is for them to be purchased inside Burma. With this in mind, our primary aim is to get cash into the country which is given to trusted contacts who are then able to report back regularly to us.

Because of the nature of the situation, we cannot go into detail about how we work and who our contacts are, but we can give you a brief outline of what we have been able to achieve so far.

Partners has:
Sent in 15,000lbs of Vitameal (a nutritional supplement).
Sent in 100 rolls of plastic sheeting to provide temporary shelter.
Sent in more than $US100,000 for purchase of food, shelter & medicine.
Sent in more than $US17,000 for essential communications equipment.
Helped initiate and fund the Delta Network, comprised of more than 120 brave ethnic men and women who risk their lives to enter the delta region and bring relief and hope.
Created a network with an NGO on the ground in Rangoon to coordinate fund transfers, relief distribution and communications.
Sent in Partners staff and volunteers to assist in coordinating the response on the ground inside the country.

We also have another truck going overland to Rangoon next week with enough water purification sachets to enable 27,000 people to have clean drinking water for a month, alongside specialized gear for large volume water purification.

We would ask that you pray alongside us for continued favour and that the regimes eyes would remain blind to the work that we are able to do.

Thank you
Partners

Amidst all the sad stories of reports like the 16 villages that were completely swept out to sea, there have been some reasons to smile at small miracles that have happened. Here's one:
Yesterday we heard of the youngest survivor found by our group rescuing people in the delta area. A three month old baby was found still alive after being wrapped up and tied up in a tree 12 feet off the ground. What's amazing is that she missed being swept away in the flood water which rose to up to 12 feet in places, that the many snakes also trying to keep out of the water didn't bite and kill her, and that the sand and salt being whipped around in the seriously strong winds didn't suffocate her. Her mother is silently rejoicing, unlike many of the other mothers around her in mourning.

The other miracles we've celebrated in the last day or two are:
- our first shipment of food and shelter materials reached Rangoon. That means that 7 tonnes of rice and enough plastic sheeting to get 100 households under shelter from the monsoon rains will be distributed. In light of the need, this is a small drop in an ocean of suffering. But in light of the complications, the regimes blockades, and the inability of the world's governments to negotiate with the generals of Burma, it represents a miracle.

- One of our staff members was granted a visa to join the efforts in Rangoon. She is a Registered Nurse specialising in Tropical Medicine who will join with our local partners in Rangoon to get aid through to those in desperate need.

Onward!!!

Ruth