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Foreign donors give freely
09/05/2008 20:00 - (SA)
Bangkok - The Myanmar junta's stubborn refusal to let in foreign aid worker has not stopped donors - from billionaire Bill Gates to a little-known British travel company - from opening their wallets.
The aid includes a luxury river cruise liner loaned by the travel company to a charity for transporting relief material, and 25 000 shoes sent by a US-based group for the survivors of Saturday's devastating cyclone that left more than 60 000 people dead or missing.
The Gates Foundation donated $3m for emergency relief efforts in Myanmar, and will provide software to help reunite family members separated in the cyclone, Gates, the Microsoft chairperson, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The funds were transferred to the aid agencies Mercy Corps, Worldvision and Care "so they can go in there and help as quickly as possible," Gates said.
Relief totals $25m from 28 nations
Gates' donation is about as much as the total money pledged by the US government - $3.25m. But Myanmar's military government has refused to allow US relief planes to fly in. It also refuses to give visas to UN experts who want to assess the damage and manage logistics.
As of Thursday, the UN had recorded donations to Myanmar relief totalling $25m from 28 nations, the EU and charities. Donors have pledged an additional $25m.
The figure jumped on Friday with the Gates Foundation's pledge and another $10m that Japan promised to give through international organisations such as the UN Children's Fund, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme.
Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, a British company that operates river cruises on the Irrawaddy river in Myanmar, said it was handing over one of its luxury liners to British charity Merlin.
"I think we all feel that this is a country that has touched us in some way," said Paul Strachan, the owner of the ship. "Now we can repay the (Myanmar people) for all the warm hospitality and enriching experiences we have in the past enjoyed there."
25 000 pairs of shoes
The company said the large dining room of Pandaw IV will be converted to a clinic and existing cabins used to accommodate the relief team. A number of Myanmar doctors have volunteered to help out on the ship.
Meanwhile, Soles4Souls, an international charity based in Nashville, Tennessee, announced it had sent 25 000 pairs of shoes to the cyclone victims, but the shipment was stopped pending approval by Myanmar authorities.
Taiwanese Buddhist leader, Master Hsin Tao, defended the junta's refusal to let foreigners in, saying Myanmar soldiers and civilians have been already mobilised to transport aid material by ships and helicopters.
"They rejected international aid workers out of distrust of the foreigners," he said. "They try to handle the relief work by themselves as much as possible because they don't have the time to deal with external criticism."
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