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Expats collect donations for cyclone-hit Myanmar victims

DUBAI — Burmese expatriates in the UAE, concerned over the havoc caused by Cyclone Nargis, yesterday started raising money to provide some relief to their countrymen, five days after disaster struck the South East Asian state of Myanmar.

Determined to help their fellowmen, the expatriates, working mostly in the hospitality sector, have taken the initiative to raise and donate as much as possible.

Aye Win Ko, who works at a hotel in the emirate, is spearheading the initiative and has already managed to collect over Dh2,500 in the past 24 hours. He and his other 25-odd Burmese colleagues are keen to provide as much relief as possible.

“I want to help my countrymen at this time of crisis. After we decided to raise money, many colleagues from our hotel, irrespective of their nationalities, have expressed their desire to help. Once we have a fairly good amount, we will send the money to Yangon. We hope we can raise at least Dh10,000,” said Ko.

“I will send the money to an NGO run by my friend and his wife,” said Ko, who is determined about helping people in certain areas of Yangon, who are extremely poor and impoverished. They have also appealed for help to other Burmese nationals and other residents in the UAE.

Ohnmar Nyunt Htwe, an accountant with the Concept group, also plans to donate money to aid nationals.

“This is the first disaster of such magnitude in my lifetime. I was frantically trying to reach my mother and my entire family based in Yangon as I was really worried about their safety. There was no news from them and that got me worked up. The connection is so bad, but thankfully, I managed to talk to them yesterday, ” she said.

“ As soon as I heard of the cyclone, I rang my family up. However, no one was picking up the telephone at home and I was so upset. I just couldn’t think or move. Then my sister managed to contact me and we chatted last week through the internet as the telephone lines are down. It was after they assured me they were safe, I was relieved,” said Youpa, a Burmese national whose wife, son and parents reside in the capital.