The good taste award goes to… Burma’s generals! Yep, those funloving generals are handing out food with their names on it. It’s international aid food, too. Gutsy stuff. They might have worn out their tongues on the labels, as well as the rhetoric.
One box bore the name of Lt. Gen. Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."
"We have already seen regional commanders putting their names on the side of aid shipments from Asia, saying this was a gift from them and then distributing it in their region," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, which campaigns for human rights and democracy in the country.
"It is not going to areas where it is most in need," he said in London
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It’s easy to see that people surrounded by their largely unburied dead relatives would want this bit of reassurance. They’ll also be pleased to know that the generals have guaranteed themselves a continuous supply of this secondhand generosity, by confiscating two planeloads of World Food Program supplies.
…But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits — enough to feed 95,000 people — sent by the U.N. World Food Program. Despite the seizure, the WFP was sending three more planes Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy, even though those could be confiscated, too.
"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.
Assuming they don’t run out of stickers, the aid will be undoubtedly available to anyone who lives long enough to receive it.
Meanwhile, a large percentage of Burma’s population, which is no doubt staying alive solely so they can thank their benefactors, hasn’t seen a damn thing, as far as anyone seems to know.
Heavy rain forecast in the next week was certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.
Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.
"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit May 3.
The world, which has been watching active genocide in Burma for decades and done nothing, isn’t too pleased about this situation.
The diplomatic situation is grim, with dire consequences hanging over the generals if they're not more cooperative.
Who knows, the "international community" may even threaten to withhold invitations to the Cannes Film Festival from the generals, and stamp their little footsies, and throw press releases at them.
Yep, things could get rough.
None of the featherweight, featherbrained, political posing has ever translated into doing anything effective for the Burmese people.
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Op-Ed: Burma's food aid delivered with generals' names on the boxes
