MANDALAY: RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000467 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND IO; PACOM FOR FPA DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID BANGKOK FOR USAID/OFDA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2018 TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: MANDALAY: RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE Classified By: Conoff Sarah Schmidt for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The people of Mandalay have responded to the crisis in the Irrawaddy Delta by sending relief into the affected areas. While the Government was slow to respond, and even slower to allow foreigners into the Delta assist, the people of Burma are focused in their efforts. Traditional Burmese social organizations have dedicated themselves to relief efforts. Monks have spearheaded efforts and continue to organize fund-raising "Paya Pwe" and assistance convoys to the Delta. Rather than sitting back and waiting for someone else to come and save their people, the people of Mandalay have taken responsibility for their fellow citizens. End Summary. ¶2. (C) During a field investigation trip to Mandalay, Conoff and LES spoke with Kyaw Yin Myint, a local journalist who has been leading a private "social team" contributing to relief efforts in the Irrawaddy Delta. He recently returned from a trip to Pya Pon. Kyaw Yin Myint said that after the storm, Mandalay Regional Commander Tin Wei called on the citizens of Mandalay to donate for the relief effort via the regime's mass member organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). Instead, the citizens of Mandalay chose to channel their donations through monasteries and private social organizations. Tin Wei later announced that he was not concerned with who received the donations, as long as the necessary items got to the affected areas. Kyaw Yin Myint characterized the Mandalay Regional Commander as flexible. ¶3. (C) During a May 15-22 visit to the Delta to deliver assistance, Kyaw Yin Myint observed no evidence of international aid supplies or foreign aid workers in the areas he visited. All supplies he saw were locally produced and, he suspected, from private Burmese donors. He believed that only private Burmese donors and monks were successfully assisting those in need at that time. In Mandalay, he noted, local mosques were asking for donations during the calls to prayer, Christians were asking for donations in church, and monks were holding "Paya Pwe," or fund-raising drives, in a continuous effort to raise money for the cyclone victims. In addition to supplies and money, Kyaw Yin Myint's organization sent a busload of doctors to the Delta to work at mobile clinics. ¶4. (SBU) The convoys from Mandalay originally headed into Bogale, where local commander Thein Aung told the Mandalay volunteers they were welcome to leave their donated goods with the local USDA, but not to assist. The convoy moved on to Pya Pon, where local commander Soe Thein said they were welcome to assist in any way they wished. Since then, Kyaw Yin Myint's social organization has focused on assisting in Pya Pon and set up a headquarters office there. ¶5. (C) The chief health concerns in the Delta region, according to Kyaw Yin Myint, are depression, infected lacerations, and the proliferation of giant flies. He mentioned that the doctors were worried about the rapidly increasing number of these giant flies as a possible vector for bacteria. He and his group have also noted bodies that appeared recently deceased arriving in towns via the rivers and streams. He hypothesized that these were people who were initially internally displaced by the storm winds and high waves and survived for a while before succumbing to exposure. ¶6. (SBU) Kyaw Yaw Myint's social organization and others in the area, along with local workers from World Food Program (WFP) and Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) and the local monks, now meet nightly in Pya Pon to assess the situation. They have spoken to farmers in the area who claim it will cost approximately 200,000 kyat per acre to plant rice this season. They are no longer worried about finding saline RANGOON 00000467 002 OF 003 resistant seed because the rains have diluted the water to the point where a seed known as Pe Cha can be used, he said. A larger obstacle is the continued absence of water buffalo and other draft animals, leaving no easy way to plow the fields. ¶7. (C) Kyaw Yin Myint has written several articles about the relief effort for local media. In one published article, the censor board objected to his draft's assertion that if the people in the affected regions do not receive aid in time, they will perish. The article was published after the assertion was removed. Another article he wrote is currently under review by the censor board. It advocates that banks sell bonds to support the farmers in the Delta. ¶8. (C) NLD leaders in Mandalay also outlined relief efforts headed by local monks and monasteries. One monk joined forces with the government to send two train cars with donations into Rangoon every other day, which are then transported into the delta via trucks. Other monks have organized convoys of seven to twelve trucks with relief supplies. The monks holding Paya Pwe events reported that some women are giving up their jewels to support the effort. The convoys' trucks and fuel have all been donated from private donors. According to the NLD leaders, the NLD is also receiving donations for cyclone relief from party members in Kachin State. ¶9. (SBU) Over 200 monks from Mandalay's Ma Soe Yein Monastery have traveled to the Delta to support and encourage the efforts. Another three monks from the same monastery went down expressly to receive orphans, over 60 of which have now arrived in Mandalay. There is room at the monastery's orphanage for about 100 orphans. The monks plan to continue to travel to the Delta to accept the children and bring them to Mandalay. ¶10. (C) The NLD leadership and Kyaw Yin Myint both expressed a lack of confidence in ASEAN. They all said that no one has seen or heard of ASEAN coordinated relief efforts. The local NLD leaders asked Conoff what it would take for the rest of the world to take action. They believed ASEAN's own efforts would be meaningless. ¶11. (C) Conoff heard allegations that some relief supplies were available on the black market in Mandalay. Kyaw Yin Mying said that although the supplies were not being sold in the open market, if one asked, they would be made available. An NLD member brought conoff the wrapper from a WFP energy biscuit, which he claimed to have purchased for 1500 kyat in the market. He also said that a stall on Mandalay Hill was selling bags made of Cyclone Nargis aid material for 12,000 kyat each. Conoff visited bag stalls in Mandalay Hill markets, but was unable to find such a bag. ¶12. (C) Comment: The Burmese people do not expect any assistance from the ruling military and are committed to taking care of their own. The NLD has followed the lead of the monks, who, along with the other social organizations, have spearheaded efforts to get aid into the regions most affected by Cyclone Nargis. Monks are organizing all aspects of relief missions, despite feeling the pinch of increasing scarcity themselves. While there is widespread dissatisfaction with the government's slow and inept response to Cyclone Nargis, the public retains confidence in the ability of Burmese religious and civil society groups to respond effectively. These same groups hold Burma's fragile social order together, and also provide vital education and health care the regime does not. Burmese civil society does exist, despite efforts to displace it with an organization (USDA) no one trusts. The genuine Burmese civil society has revealed itself through their relief efforts. These are the groups we should be working with to promote a democratic RANGOON 00000467 003 OF 003 transition. End Comment. VILLAROSA