Hurricane Helene has caused severe complexities for people in western North Carolina. It took the lives of many people and the loss of homes. The United States is making efforts to help all those that are affected. Many countries fall victim to a flood. It includes sub-Saharan Africa, central Europe, and Southeast Asia. Back in early September, Typhoon Yagi, a strong storm, hit Southeast Asia, killing many people and leaving millions in need of help in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, southern China, and Myanmar.
Additionally, Myanmar is also badly affected by the heavy storm. It is also suffering from many other complexities, such as political problems, economic struggles, and ongoing fighting. However, leaders across the world do not much focus on Myanmar’s complex issues. In this hard time, it is the responsibility of the US to help the country cope with tough times and overcome disasters. The US should act and provide financial assistance to Myanmar. This is the only way that a nation can recover from this terrible event.
The storm caused much damage and flooding in central and eastern Myanmar. It destroys many villages and also damages important buildings. Due to this storm, many people lost their lives; approximately more than 300 and 100 are still missing. Additionally, more than 1 million people need basic facilities, such as food and clean water. With all of these, access to sanitation and healthcare is also very limited. All communication sources are destroyed, which makes it harder for people to live a healthy life. The floods have also destroyed farming, especially rice farming, which plays an important role in the nation’s economy.
The UN World Food Program says 2.7 million acres of farmland are underwater. This disaster has made a food shortage problem even worse, putting the lives of over 13 million people at risk, many of whom were already hungry before the floods.
Currently, the people of Myanmar are suffering a lot, but international help is very limited. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) is trying to assist, but it has only ¼ of the money it needs. Other nations affected by Yagi have enough resources to tackle the hard situation because they have stable local governments. In Myanmar, the military junta makes it hard for aid groups to provide help. Since the coup in February 2021, when Aung San Suu Kyi was removed, the junta has created many obstacles. There is a lot of violence, including bombings of civilian areas. Despite the fact that the United Nations and other institutions have called for a united global response, the complex political landscape in Myanmar makes it very hard to get assistance.
The lack of strong international leadership could cost many lives. The U.S. should play a bigger role in bringing together support for Myanmar, especially since there were missed chances at recent meetings.
Washington should ensure that national and international groups collaborate to aid the effects regions. Local government has better knowledge about their communities’ needs and can help best and in a quick way. In this way, needy people can access aid within a time frame without being taken by corrupt leaders. Congress also shows alert behavior to overcome the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
The new Congressional Burma Caucus can bring Congress together to support this cause. A group of Senate leaders from both parties can draw attention to the increasing number of deaths and food shortages in the country.
The history of Myanmar shows that ignoring little crises can lead to larger disasters. For example, Cyclone Nargis in 2008 killed over 138,000 people. The ignorance of international leaders and their slow financial aid made things complicated.
Surin Pitsuwan’s leadership was key in organizing aid after the cyclone. We need to address these issues now to save lives. Disasters can lead to opportunities for change. Inadequate response to Cyclone Nargis highlighted the urgent need for better international help in Myanmar. Global support is very limited, leaving Myanmar with economic problems and serious violence. This situation also compel people to get involved in illegal work such as drug trafficking.
The United States should follow Surin’s example and work with other countries to help. Quick action and strong leadership are needed to lessen the effects of Typhoon Yagi and save lives. The U.S. must not ignore the needs of the people in Myanmar.
