It is a month since the face of Myanmar has changed. Nearly 150,000 of our country men and women are no more with us. On that fateful night, the deadly cyclone Nargis changed the map of Myanmar in Yangon and Ayeyawaddy Delta. Satellite images graphically registered the 'before and after pictures', portraying a destruction of large tracts of land. What any satellite could not register was the mutilation of soul of our graceful and long suffering people.
We are a nation in mourning. 2.3 million of our people have a new name: refugees and homeless. At this very moment, when you are reading this report, thousands who survived nature's gory violence, will be lining up in some remote villages, waiting for food and aid. The dead are also waiting for a decent burial – Yes! On the top of the trees, floating in waters and in the bushes and roadside, the spirit of our people is waiting for eternal rest.
With grateful heart, I thank you all, the world, the leaders and ordinary people who rushed with great compassion. The Church as a compassionate mother reaches out to every human tragedy. You have known our pain for too long, but when nature colluded in increasing the pain, you rose as a one family. A big THANKS to you all.
Doing good is a Herculean challenge in our nation. We are a church challenged from all directions. In those affected areas, all our churches, convents, clergy houses, orphanages lie in ruins. Yet from the day one, we have been going in search of survivors, many times being the first outsiders to reach them. A dedicated team of Karuna (Caritas) staff, church personnel and volunteers have been working day and night in the most affected areas. We are saving lives, we are bringing hope. With the arrival of the Emergency Response Support Team, we feel encouraged, guided and accompanied in our endeavor to reach out. Thousands receive life-saving assistance, shelter and other basic needs.
Nature, in anguish and fury, uncovered the permanent disasters of a long suffering people. China's earthquake response exposed painful contrasts. The world needs to journey with the people of Myanmar for long time. Media's attention to human tragedy is swift - but also passing. Humanitarian response cannot follow the media. Myanmar needs longer accompaniment, a sustained attention of the world community. This report, I hope, will facilitate that long march with our people.
There could be only one message, coming out of the tragedy of Nargis: "Myanmar cannot be forgotten once again."
Charles Bo
