Some 1,000 people, both Buddhists and ethnic Indian Hindus, have made a makeshift camp in the grounds of a monastery across the river from Myanmar's main city Yangon.

But now the military government has launched a campaign to clear out monasteries across the disaster zone, and with their homes in ruins after the May 3 cyclone that ravaged the country's south, they have no idea where to go.

As she sits with the other women on the balcony of a double-storey building where they have packed themselves in, cooking rice over a wood fire and chopping up chicken and fish, Gangamani and the other residents are desperate.

It is not clear why the order has been given, but monasteries were at the centre of protests against Myanmar's military government last year, and the ruling generals fear the influence they have over the people.

Rajan, a 30-year-old labourer, says they sought sanctuary with the Buddhist monks immediately after the catastrophe which has robbed them of their homes, belongings and livelihoods.

"A lot of people here are sick. Some of them have diarrhoea, stomach pains and fever," he said as small children scampered around.

"We have little aid from the government. The government has come to give us assistance just twice, and that was just poor-quality rice and stale biscuits," he said.

"After eating it, myself and my children got diarrhoea."

Life here is unbearably tough. But for Mogan, a 39-year-old labourer with a wife and five children to support, the alternative is much worse.

"If we are chased out of this monastery, we have to go out to our old place next to the river," he said.

"We have been given one tarpaulin which can accommodate five people. But we all have to be in a sitting position to fit under it."

It will cost 200 dollars to rebuild his home -- an impossible sum to find at any time, let alone now, when the aid effort in the impoverished country is faltering badly and the country faces a hard road to recovery.

Cyclone Nargis left at least 66,000 dead or missing by the official count, and the United Nations estimates that up to two million are in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.

The regime has infuriated the international community by limiting the assistance it will accept, insisting it can handle the crisis itself despite all evidence to the contrary.

Myanmar's ethnic Indians, descendants of workers brought from southern India during the British colonial era, say they face continuing discrimination and are being pushed to the back of the line for assistance.

"We are being discriminated against in the aid given by the government," said Mogan.

"The Burmese are given food first, and the Indians are last, he said.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes