Burma: Buddhist relief efforts expand

RFA’s Burmese service had this interview with Thigadu Sayardaw, a senior figure in Burmese Buddhism, whose organisation is helping as much as possible with the relief effort for those made homeless by Tropical Cyclone Nargis:

Interviewer: Could you please tell us the situation of the cyclone victims that the Thidagu group is helping?

Sayadaw (senior monk): We started on May 9. On June 9, our aid work completed one month. So I made the end-of-the-month list. We have been helping Bogalay, Mawlamyaing Gyun, Pyapon, Amah, Kungyan-gon, and Day-da-yeh townships. When we’re done with Day-da-yeh, we will have worked with over one thousand monasteries. Also in the villages that are in the area of the monasteries, we assign one monk and one leader of the village and distribute through the monks for the use of everyone in the village rice, oil, salt, chili peppers, onions, blankets, mosquito nets, and clothing. We are sending these things to all of the villages that are in the area of these monasteries. We have already given these things to approximately over 700 villages that rely on 700 monasteries…We are still providing relief aids.

Interviewer: Yes. We’ve learned that you’ve been going abroad for the refugees as well. Could you please tell us a little about that?

Sayadaw: Yes, I’ve been to Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. I’ve been only to those three countries. Among the donations from Thailand…the highest donation [was] one million baht in cash. Also, what the followers [of one abbot] donated was almost close to one million. The donation received from Thailand, close to two million baht, is still in Thailand. We haven’t used it yet. With this donation from Thailand, I am planning to build schools … in extremely poor villages that lost everything. I also plan to buy zinc sheets for the schools that remain standing. Things in Thailand are brought in by planes. One of the generals is Maharaja Abbot’s followers who brought the things on a plane right up to Rangoon Airport.

Interviewer: Yes, Singapore…[note: overlapped]

Sayadaw: And then I went to Singapore. My followers in Singapore donated about 80,000 Singapore dollars. I added ten thousand. And for about 90 thousand, I have bought hospital equipment, operation room equipment, and examination room equipment. Some have arrived in Rangoon, but some have not left Singapore yet. I am going to donate these things to Amah and Gadon (Gadon Gani, name a small town) hospitals.

Interviewer: Yes.

Sayadaw: From there, I went to Australia. I went only to Perth in Australia and nowhere else. Four groups from Perth donated over 50,000 dollars. I exchanged that money into Burmese currency and sent the money to Burma to buy zinc sheets.

Interviewer: I heard that after quite awhile, the private donors could no longer afford to donate any more, as they were poor to begin with. How is the situation of donations?

Sayadaw: Our Rangoon headquarters, at the Thidagu Thathana Beikman Beikman (Sidagu Sasana Viman) in Rangoon, the donations have not decreased or increased. It’s coming steadily every day. Today …we got 10,000 American dollars.

Interviewer: Yes, and the last time we talked, you talked mainly about the orphans. What have you done about the orphans?

Sayadaw: I haven’t done anything about the orphans yet. I am writing a plan for this. In most big cities, there are orphanages opened by the nuns and the monks. I would like to meet with the abbots and lay down a policy. Since there are orphanages already there, I would like to update their systems. I would like to find orphans and send them to the orphanages that already exist. And I would donate funds for their food and clothing. I have discussed this and got agreement from three monasteries. But I haven’t made the announcement that we have started to accept the orphans.

Interviewer: Would you like to say anything else?

Sayadaw: Yes, I would like to say that people who go on pilgrimages would feed the fish or the pigeons at the temple. They’d throw the food at them and leave. They don’t have a plan to come back again and take care of these fish and pigeons. If they were to raise chickens and ducks in your yard, they’d feed them every day. Taking example from this, we need to draw up a plan for these refugees, to be able to sustain them. When we Buddhist monks preach, there’s something called everlasting merit. We need to think seriously about what to do to make this last. For instance, I mentioned that we would rebuild old schools. If we can collect about 300, 400, or 500 thousand, we can repair the old schools and students can go to school there. The donors can think back in 50 or 60 years from now how they built a school in which village and be pleased about it. I want to urge you to help as much as you can so that there’ll be a legacy that lasts forever.

Interviewer: Yes, thank you.

Ko Htike reports on the alleged diversion of these resources after they were donated to much-needed village health centers:

Amar village in Pyapon District was badly damaged by Cyclone Nargis and “Sitagu Team” (alternate spelling for Thigadu) leading by SITAGU SAYARDAW was in that place for rehabilitation works.

Amar hospital was reconstructed all the way from shambles to workable condition. Sitagu Team provides them with building materials, medical equipments, medicines and medical team. Doctors from Sitagu Sanga Hospital ( Sagaing ) are voluntarily stationed in the hospital and render their utmost medical assistance to desperate and needed people in disastrous area.

But now the latest situation in that hospital was very shameful as Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) members and local authority plus military personnel are taking control the hospital management and whoever seeking medical assistance are to pay and donate for the services. Power generator for hospital donated by Sitagu team was taken away and installed in the home of local USDA leader.

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