"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Cyclone plunges Myanmar into primitive existence

YANGON, Myanmar - Residents of Myanmar's largest city were plunged into a primitive existence Monday, using candles instead of electricity, lining up to buy shrinking supplies of water and hacking their way through streets blocked by trees felled in a cyclone that killed more than 350.Neighboring Thailand announced it would fly in the first planeload of emergency assistance Tuesday requested by the Myanmar government, easing fears that the ruling junta would reject international aid.Older citizens said they had never seen Yangon, a city of some 6.5 million, so devastated in their lifetimes.With the city's already unstable electricity supply virtually nonfunctional, citizens lined up to buy candles, which doubled in price, and water since lack of electricity-driven pumps left most households dry. Some walked to the city's lakes to wash.Hotels and richer families were using private generators but only sparingly, given the soaring price of fuel.Public transportation was at a near standstill and vehicles had to cope with navigating without traffic lights. Many stayed away from their jobs, either because they could not find transportation or because they had to seek food and shelter for their families."Without my daily earning, just survival has become a big problem for us," said Tin Hla, who normally repairs umbrellas at a roadside stand.With his shanty town house destroyed by the storm, Tin Hla said he has had to place his family of five into one of the monasteries that have offered temporary shelter to the many homeless.Despite the havoc wreaked by tropical cyclone Nargis across wide swaths of the Southeast Asian country, the government indicated that a referendum on the country's draft constitution would proceed as planned on May 10."It's only a few days left before the coming referendum and people are eager to cast their vote," the state-owned newspaper Myanma Ahlin said Monday.Pro-democracy groups in the country and many international critics have branded the constitution as merely a tool for the military's continued grip on power.Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box.Thai government spokesman Wichianchote Sukchotrat said the ruling junta had asked for food, medical supplies and construction equipment.The Foreign Ministry in Yangon called resident ambassadors to a meeting Monday and some diplomats said they expected the government to request emergency assistance from other countries.Some in Yangon complained the 400,000-strong military was doing little to help victims after Saturday's storm, only clearing streets where the ruling elite resided but leaving residents to cope on their own in most other areas.Residents, as well as Buddhist monks from the city's many monasteries, banded together, wielding axes and knives to clear roads of tree trunks and branches torn off by the cyclones 120 mph winds.Several residents said the streets were like forests, scattered as they were with trees and debris.Many stayed away from their jobs, either because they could not find transport or because they had to seek food and shelter for their families."Without my daily earning, just survival has become a big problem for us," said Tin Hla, who normally repairs umbrellas at a roadside stand. With his shanty town house destroyed by the storm, Tin Hla said he has had to place his family of five into one of the monasteries which have offered temporary shelter to many homeless.Most telephone landlines, mobile phones and Internet connections were down. But airlines announced Yangon's international airport had reopened.The city was plunged into almost total darkness overnight, security concerns mounted, with reports of robberies in some working class suburbs circulating. Many shops sold their goods through partially opened doors or iron grills. Looting was reported at several fresh food markets, where thieves took vegetables and other items....

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