From my fellow high school alum who is in Yangon right now:
"The rain beating down on the corrugated roofing here is so vigorous it sounds like the white noise of a disconnected television. It's currently the monsoon season, meaning that at least four times daily huge clouds purge themselves of a tremendous amount of rain. Normally, this is a good thing- bringing fresh water to the rice paddies and other crops while washing away the hot season and the red betel nuts stains from the streets. Now, it seems that the thunderclaps bring about anxiousness. For many people memories of the hurricane are still fresh.
As the streets and ditches flood here in the city, I can only hope that the temporary repairs and tarpaulin roofs will keep those in the delta dry, many who recently have had to return home prematurely.There are certainly more relief agencies here than ever before, and it’s the first time I've ever seen so many foreigners (of the professional kind) meandering about Yangon's dilapidated streets (searching for products they are unlikely to find.) Not being able to travel many places without hard to obtain special permission, they are working with local staff and preexisting agencies to get supplies and assistance into the worst hit areas. Organizations have also had to contend with the rain.
I'm told that many roads are nearly impassable in the rural areas, flooded and turned to mud. Combined with the restrictions, that has kept help from reaching all who need it- confining most efforts to the larger towns and cities. Regular citizens, are compassionately filling in the gaps as much as they can, (which is absolutely beautiful.)
One ray of hope, is that one local, having just returned from a marginalized region told me 'they are tough people, if anyone can figure out how to survive, they can. They've been doing it for years...' I hope so, as the current and biggest concern is food. The hurricane not only destroyed many rice paddies and seed stock, but has also saturated much land with sea water, which until pumped out effectively destroys the lands fertility. Not great news for those entirely dependent on crops for food and income- which is most.
I've noticed that troubles aren't just in the South. Prices everywhere have risen. Bus fares have doubled and food costs have risen rather substantially. A 75 pound bag of rice that cost 16,000 kyat before the hurricane is now 25,000 kyat. While certainly a lot of rice, enough for a family of four for a month, many earn as little 30,000 kyat a month and are concerned about the future. In Burmese language, after saying 'hello, how are you?' it is customary to ask 'have you eaten?' pronounced, 'Saw bee pee la?' the normal response is 'Saa Bee'-'I have eaten' Everyone is hoping that, to that definition at least, things will get back to normal."
"The rain beating down on the corrugated roofing here is so vigorous it sounds like the white noise of a disconnected television. It's currently the monsoon season, meaning that at least four times daily huge clouds purge themselves of a tremendous amount of rain. Normally, this is a good thing- bringing fresh water to the rice paddies and other crops while washing away the hot season and the red betel nuts stains from the streets. Now, it seems that the thunderclaps bring about anxiousness. For many people memories of the hurricane are still fresh.
As the streets and ditches flood here in the city, I can only hope that the temporary repairs and tarpaulin roofs will keep those in the delta dry, many who recently have had to return home prematurely.There are certainly more relief agencies here than ever before, and it’s the first time I've ever seen so many foreigners (of the professional kind) meandering about Yangon's dilapidated streets (searching for products they are unlikely to find.) Not being able to travel many places without hard to obtain special permission, they are working with local staff and preexisting agencies to get supplies and assistance into the worst hit areas. Organizations have also had to contend with the rain.
I'm told that many roads are nearly impassable in the rural areas, flooded and turned to mud. Combined with the restrictions, that has kept help from reaching all who need it- confining most efforts to the larger towns and cities. Regular citizens, are compassionately filling in the gaps as much as they can, (which is absolutely beautiful.)
One ray of hope, is that one local, having just returned from a marginalized region told me 'they are tough people, if anyone can figure out how to survive, they can. They've been doing it for years...' I hope so, as the current and biggest concern is food. The hurricane not only destroyed many rice paddies and seed stock, but has also saturated much land with sea water, which until pumped out effectively destroys the lands fertility. Not great news for those entirely dependent on crops for food and income- which is most.
I've noticed that troubles aren't just in the South. Prices everywhere have risen. Bus fares have doubled and food costs have risen rather substantially. A 75 pound bag of rice that cost 16,000 kyat before the hurricane is now 25,000 kyat. While certainly a lot of rice, enough for a family of four for a month, many earn as little 30,000 kyat a month and are concerned about the future. In Burmese language, after saying 'hello, how are you?' it is customary to ask 'have you eaten?' pronounced, 'Saw bee pee la?' the normal response is 'Saa Bee'-'I have eaten' Everyone is hoping that, to that definition at least, things will get back to normal."
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