On May 2, 2008, an enormous tropical cyclone made landfall in Burma, wreaking untold havoc, and leaving the official toll of 138,000 dead and missing. In the days that followed , the sheer scale of the disaster became apparent as information began to seep out of the hard-hit delta area. But the Burmese regime, in an unfathomable decision of near-genocidal proportions, provided little relief and blocked international aid from coming into the country. Hundreds of Burmese citizens lacked food, drinking water and basic shelter, but the xenophobic generals who ruled the country refused emergency help.
In the book, Everything is Broken, A Tale of Catastrophe in Burma, by Emma Larkin who had been traveling to and secretly reporting on Burma for years, managed to arrange a tourist visa in those frenzied days and arrived hoping to help. What she discovered during her time there is chronicled in this book. It is sad and tragic to learn of the international aid that was launched by so many countries willing to help and sadly turned away by the government of Burma. Meanwhile people went hungry, and bodies lay decomposing in the water ways, while the survivors scrambled for any available help from the kindness of strangers and people working together to survive.
This book was an eye opening account of just how strict some countries can be and how the military runs the country and does what is best for them instead of helping the people. Bribes were common and while the death count continued to rise daily, the government staged theatrical performances for the local news and media to report that things in Burma were not as severe as previously thought. It is a sad reminder that unlike the United States, the basic human rights are still being overlooked.
I would highly recommend this book as a true account of what happened to a little known country that was devastated by a natural disaster. While the world intervenes in some countries we did little to help the people of Burma in the wake of being at war in Iraq.
I was provided with this book compliments of TLC Book Tours and once again would recommend it to anyone looking for true stories of our earth’s history. I can only hope that as more people become aware of these situations like Burma, North Korea and even China, that basic human rights can not continue to be overlooked.
For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy for yourself, please click on the link below:
http://tlcbooktours.com/2010/04/emma-larkin-author-of-everything-is-broken-on-tour-june-2010/
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