So I get an email on Facebook tonight. It was from a reader, begging me to help raise awareness about a cyclone that recently hit and devastated Myanmar.
The cyclone hit on May 2, devastated much of the area, and the final fatality count is expected to be around 100,000 lives.
You know what, you guys?
I had never even fucking heard of this cyclone.
And I think of how the entire world reached out to us to help after Hurricane Katrina, and I just think about what an awful, stereotypical American I am, and it kind of makes me feel sick.
And I hate to go all Perez Hilton on you guys and be like “Donate to this cause!” but I figured it’s kind of the least I can do to make amends for the fact that I know what happened on 30 Rock last week, because I came home and watched it after getting a pedicure and buying new heels, but I didn’t know that a cyclone killed 100,000 people in Myanmar last week and left an entire region in total devastation.
To read more about Cyclone Nargis and its impact, click here.
To help by supporting Doctors without Borders in Burma, click here or here.
To help by supporting Save the Children Myanmar, click here.
To help by supporting CARE International, click here.
OMG… I love America so much, but I’m sooooo disappointed when I read that no one is speaking about this terrible cyclone. I’m a European girl and I live in Switzerland, and everybody and medias are speaking about it.
So thanks Beet to make people aware of this tragedy!!
Ps: me and my girlfriends lovvvvve you & Leo, even from here!!
Goodness Beet, you’re my girl and all but seriously, this thing has been all over the television and internet.
I still love ya!!!
Did you get french pedicure or color?
Damn it’s amazing. I’m from France and like in Switzerland, everbody is talking about that for the last week.
Just for your info, just try to imagine those people, they can’t even be helped, coz the dictatorship over there refuses international help…. Thousands of people and kids are dying right now
yes,here in Europe we’ve been following the event everyday
there’s a young guy, leading a freedom organization to raise awareness and help the Burmese get rid of dictatorship ,that has being ruining their country’s wealth and people’s quality of life, independently of the enormous tragedy Nargis caused.
Free Burma!
As a Burmese-American, thank you so much, Beet.
I’m from Australia, it’s all over the news, we’ve been trying to send aid and volunteers and the Burmese government won’t green light the visas. Absolutely tragic, cos now even more people are being put in danger
Donating to the cause won’t help much, seeing as how the Burmese government is seizing all the aid that’s coming in and refusing to distribute it to those in need. A crisis like this is good for a dictatorship – people don’t agitate for change when they can’t find food or shelter. So the dictatorship has no interest in letting anyone else help.
no natural disaster news on the gossip feeds i guess.
oh and there was an earthquake in china, so dont freak out.
Actually donating to a local, non governmental aid organization like Metta Development Foundation, http://www.metta-myanmmar.org would help a lot!!
In 2004, Metta was part of the tsunami relief efforts in southern Myanmar and have maintained a presence there that now is being utilized. The organization has over 450 committed staff members and nearly 11 years experience in the field. Their project workers in the cyclone-affected areas were out helping the day after the storm hit and have impacted about 2,100 lives in the past six days. Coordinating with UNWFP, UNICEF, UNDP, ADRA and PACT, Metta is currently distributing food, water, medical supplies and living essentials to the refugee camps in Ayeyarwaddy Division. They are dedicating 100% of funds given to the cyclone victims towards getting to and assisting the affected people (administration and overhead costs will be absorbed by the organization). Please email one of Metta’s founders, Seng Raw, at sraw@metta.com.mm for details on how to transfer funds into their Singapore account which is accessible to them in Myanmar the day after the deposit in Singapore.
I find it funny also how we can be helping other countries out when our own country has many issues itself. And the other countries are never grateful when we give them shit either. They say how they freaking hate our country and here we are handing thema loaf of bread as they flick cameras off and say fuck the usa. So I wouldnt bother with overseas.
Your comment crystal is a shame for you. Try to live in those countries. I’m not even sure they could locate the US on a map. You’re doing like Bush is doing: mixing things and facts with unrelated facts, stories….. like september 11th and Sadam!
Its a shame that more people can’t be saved in Burma and China because of politics. I’m Chinese and it angers me that my motherland is still xenophobic and refuses to accept foreign workers to help speed up the relief efforts and find more survivors. The situation in Burma is even worse since the gov’t is so corrupt and people that could be potentially saved will die because of greed and politics.