One day after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook Burma's eastern Shan State, its neighbor Thailand underwent serious flooding in the south. Heavy rain and three-meter-high waves buffeted popular tourist islands in the Thai Gulf causing nine deaths to date.
The Thai government started immediate efforts to rescue both local people and foreign tourists in Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Klaeb islands, as the paradise travel destinations quickly became a nightmare for many.
However, the parallel rescue efforts of these two countries-one democratic and the other autocratic-betray their deeper contrasts. And these lessons can be used to further demonstrate the obvious differences in how their respective citizens are treated.
Although the extent of devastation and loss of human life was demonstrably lower than Burma's March 24 earthquake, the Thai government has extensively used its military resources-including the country's only aircraft carrier, two frigates and other navy boats-to rescue its people and foreign guests. This was essential as stormy conditions around these small islands meant the only available transportation route was by ship.
Moreover, the Thai government has transparently informed its people that the cabinet decided to set aside 20 million baht (more than US $650,000) for its early emergency rescue and relief efforts.
How did the Burmese junta treat the victims of the earthquake in eastern Shan State?
The photographic and video evidence that The Irrawaddy reporters accrued of the situation in Tarlay- one of the hardest-hit towns-revealed the inhumane treatment of the military junta towards its own people during early rescue efforts.
Despite having extensive military resources including cargo planes, helicopters, trucks, plus other machines and vehicles brought in from China, Russia and countries allied with the junta, all these remained grounded in their stations.
Video footage posted by The Irrawaddy on March 27 showed that the bodies of earthquake victims were sadly treated like animal corpses. Some were loaded onto a small vehicle-which is owned by a slaughter house in Tarlay and usually carries pigs to the local market-to be buried elsewhere. This disgusting scene shows that even a dead body is denied humane treatment by the Burmese junta. (See video: http://video.irrawaddy.org/2011/03/earthquake-footage-from-tarlay-shan_27.html )
Contrasting with media reports on the grounds, some international relief agencies based in Rangoon-more than 1,300 km away from the earthquake zone-produced reports praising the junta's rescue efforts, seemingly based on the state media. Could this utter absurdity simply be heavily veiled sarcasm?
One undeniable fact is that reports from Rangoon-based international relief agencies largely relied on the junta's own figures for the death toll and levels of physical devastation, without providing any independent assessments.
Transparency is key for any government to win public support; this commodity is not just to defeat political rivals to gain office. It is more important to show levels of kindness and integrity towards citizens in times of crisis, especially when the country is affected by a serious natural disaster. It is internationally acknowledged that the junta lacks this quality.
What the regime has kept doing through the state-run media is propagating the generals' visits to the earthquake-hit areas. At the same time, for security reasons, they blocked independent local and international reporters from entering the region and see first-hand what was going on there.
Since the day after the earthquake, no updated information on the death toll and names of survivors was provided by the junta. Indeed, no media reports concerning the extent of devastation have emanated at all-yet these initial figures of only 73 dead have been blindly adhered to by relief agencies.
Families, both living in affected areas and outside the country, were unable to find out whether their beloved relatives were living or dead. After the Japan quake of March 10, the government immediately set up a free emergency telephone number for frantic relatives. Such compassion is conspicuously absent in modern day Burma.
To identify true figures for victims of the earthquake, The Irrawaddy has been trying to use all the available means. One unexpected but innovatory source is the local coffin business in Tarlay, which reported selling more than 200 coffins from March 25 to 29.
Because very few people are involved in this kind of trade in Burmese culture-and so there is little market competition-this coffin business is the only one in Tachileik and Tarlay and can be considered a reliable source.
In this deepening humanitarian situation, international relief agencies should stick to their principles and make a concerted effort to identify the real extent of the disaster. This is the only way to honestly inform the Burmese people and international community of the facts, rather than simply dancing to the junta's tune.