Familiarity breeds disease

Since Cyclone Nargis ravaged Myanmar (otherwise known as Burma) last Friday, thousands have lost their lives and millions more have been displaced as a result of nature's fury at its most destructive.

Yet over a week since the devastation, a multitude of lives remain hanging in the balance as the inevitable threat of disease looms ever closer.

As international aid agencies and the United Nations stand by to deliver relief to the delta regions of Myanmar, an obstacle stands in their way more destructive then the very cyclone itself.

Known as the State Peace and Development Council, or Junta, the military government of Myanmar are the poster boys of an isolationist government so afraid of foreign threats to their leadership that in the midst of the largest natural disaster since the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, have resorted to impounding crucial aid shipments and negating entry of any foreign aid agencies.

This very same government revels in its own riches whilst the overwhelming majority of its citizens live below the poverty line.

Well known for its human rights abuses, swift suppression of any form of political activity (as well documented in the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest) and censorship of any material that may pose a threat to the government, Myanmar continues along the agenda of the Junta despite international outcry because of its powerful allies in China and Russia.

In a country that is known for its wealth of natural resources such as gas, timber and precious gems, Myanmar is again a classic case study of political mismanagement at its best.

Today, in an atmosphere of dire consequences for its very people whereby everyday passes with more government inaction, the death toll will rise in what is quickly becoming a humanitarian nightmare that could very well spiral out of control to a stage whereby even with international assistance (should it even be allowed later on), would prove futile.

What needs to be taken into serious consideration is this: Although the Boxing Day Tsunami resulted in around 250,000 deaths, these deaths occurred in the initial stages of the disaster.

Yet as the countries affected opened their doors to international aid, the threats of disease was quickly stemmed, with a relatively low number of casualties after the initial phase.

Unfortunately, the situation in Myanmar is gravely different given that without a swift and effective clean up of the initial impact of Cyclone Nargis, the threat of disease could very well result in a death toll well into the millions.

At a time whereby such a scene is very much real given the inaction of a government that would rather see more of its people die from a preventable scenario then relinquish is stranglehold, the world holds their breath in anticipation as to the Junta's next response whilst others in the country increasingly breathe their last.