The United Nations in Myanmar

“The U.N. has a big bureaucracy, so it takes a long time to get assistance to the IDPs. We do not blame the U.N. We really want their help because they have huge amounts of funding, but the problem is in the timing. This is not a normal situation, it is an emergency! A disaster! So we need an emergency—not a bureaucratic—response.”

The devastating critique that came from May, an activist in Magway, who describes her desperation with the glacial pace of UN action as vulnerable members of her community continue to suffer, and die, while her group continues to press unsuccessfully for aid and support. Because the larger organizations have ultimately been seen to fail the Burmese people, aid has had to have been carried out through alternative means. This includes smaller groups of individuals in Myanmar who have risked their own lives in service of others, as the military continually confiscates donation items and arrests those attempting to distribute the aid to those communities who need it. Additionally, and significantly, such projects have also been carried out by individual donors outside of Myanmar who have given generously, and nonprofits who have found a way to get funds into the country.

In fact, May's very group in Magway has benefited tremendously from listeners and readers of this platform! So as she continues to work forward with larger UN grants that have not yet materialized, organizations like Better Burma, thanks to donations we've received from around the world, are able to look after their welfare, if even in a small way.