Hey everyone,

I wanted to get in touch with everyone about the cyclone in Burma. A number of you have called or emailed me to ask what you can do to help. I have been reading reports from inside Burma constantly over the past few days and I have been in touch with aid workers. There is a lot the popular press has not picked up on yet. I am going to give you all a quick news update and then let you know what you can do to help.

First of all, the scope of the disaster is horrific. The latest report I read is that the death toll will be over 100,000. Over at least a million people are homeless and 24 million people (nearly half of Burma’s population is estimated to be affected). The disaster is certainly on par with the Tsunami of 2004 and the wreckage is likely worse than after Katrina. The reason you are not seeing the scope of the wreckage is because the junta is not allowing journalists into the country.

The junta’s response has been absurd: they have only accepted aid so far from their “friends” and they are preventing UN team members from entering the country by refusing to give visas to aid workers. Aid from the U.S. and Britain is sitting off the coast of Burma, but the generals have refused it. It is only in Burma that the military government would prevent aid workers from cleaning up the worst storm in Asia since 1991.

Furthermore, people I know from inside Burma said that the government did not warn the people about the cyclone, even though Indian government meteorologists told the junta about the storm two days prior to its arrival. And the junta is still planning on having their “referendum” this weekend to put a stamp on military rule. Imagine New Orleans having mayoral elections a week after Katrina. Ridiculous.

But there are some things that you can do to help. The most important thing on the ground is the need for clean drinking water. There is an excellent organization that is on the ground providing water tablets and purifiers called Thirst Aid. I can personally verify that this is an excellent organization and all donations will go directly to people on the ground. The organization is run by two awesome Americans that have full access to Burma (they already have visas). They have worked inside Burma for a number of years and they have a well-established network to get out fresh drinking water. Here is a link to their donation page (click on the “donation” tag in the top left corner): http://ttocirrod-foundation.org/Thanks.html

All donations go to their bank account in the US and are accessible in Bangkok, where they withdraw the money and take it to Burma. I strongly urge you to make a donation. There are going to be over 20 million people without access to clean drinking water and people need help NOW. There are already alarming reports about diseases and water shortages (the price of water has quadrupled over the past few days and many cannot get any clean water).

Secondly, we are making an effort at US Campaign for Burma to force the Burmese junta to allow aid into the country without conditions. We are setting up an email campaign to put pressure on Ban Ki-Moon to take action at the UN. To send him an email, please click on the following link: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1189/t/5102/c...

It would be great if you all could take make a donation and send an email. It would mean a lot to me. It is the little we can do for a people whose government refuses to provide them with aid.

If you would like to figure out other ways to take action, you can sign up for the US Campaign for Burma alerts at: http://uscampaignforburma.org/

I cannot explain how frustrated I am personally. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who are running out of water, food, and medicine and the junta will not allow the international community to help. I appreciate all of your support and please keep the people of Burma in your hearts and minds.

— Nickie Sekera Northeast Regional Coordinator US Campaign for Burma www.uscampaignforburma.org