Myanmar's Children Starve as Foreign Aid Blocked

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Dowla Shwe, a mother of five is sitting at the side of a road in southern Burma and begging for food from every passer-by to feed her children.

Ever since Cyclone Nargis struck Burma last week, her children are only eating bananas and coconut.

She told Reuters that they haven’t eaten rice for the past few days:

We have nothing…They (her children) are getting weak, and I fear they will fall sick and die.

While she and other families have no rice to eat, the Burmese government is exporting rice to other countries (see previous coverage from citizen journalist Can Tran here). She is angry with her government for not allowing foreign aid workers to enter the country and help distribute food.

Shwe added:

I am angry with the Government…If they can't help, why not allow foreigners to come and help us?

The United Nations pressured the government recently, forcing them to resume foreign aid after it was suspended by the ruling junta.

In addition to Shwe’s family, countless others are without food, fresh water or shelter, and many may die if deliveries don’t reach their areas in time. Children are joining adults and begging for food on the streets. Some are trying to catch fish and crabs from muddy canals, but many are filled with bloated bodies of the dead and decomposing. Reports indicate the heat is filling the air with a terrible smell.

U Pandita, 24, a Buddhist monk told Reuters that he saw more than 600 dead bodies. All the villages near his home have been wiped out. He lost 21 family members.

Cyclone Nargis did extensive damage with more than 65,000 dead or missing. With the government blocking foreign aid, that number could climb higher.

Reports indicate the ruling party in Myanmar is putting its own government name of foreign aid food packs in an effort to make the locals think they are helping.