Word: junta
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...reach affected areas we have to use the river. And most of the boats in the area were destroyed by the cyclone." One area in Laputta district called Pyin Sa Lu was hit badly by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which destroyed houses and almost certainly lives (the junta released no data), then struck again by Cyclone Nargis. This time, more than 10,000 people died...
...night, they will be shot. "Basic needs are not being met, particularly in remote areas, which are difficult to access without boats," says a Western aid worker who asked not to be named. But these logistical problems could be overcome "without much difficulty if it weren't for the [junta's] restrictions...
...junta excels at fear. Twenty minutes before meeting San San Khing, I was stopped at one of several checkpoints that have been set up in disaster-struck areas to keep foreign journalists and aid workers without the proper government permits out. A polite immigration officer took down my passport details, as well as the name and address of my local driver. His colleague told me that the cyclone had blown down his house. They didn't say it, but their demeanor was apologetic - a slight sense of embarrassment that their orders were to keep their wounded country closed...
...walked up to me and said hello. He was the local teacher and could speak a little English. He showed me the rubble of his destroyed schoolhouse. Only two things had been salvaged from the building: a small, waterlogged globe used for geography lessons and a framed photograph of junta leader Than Shwe that normally hung at the front of the classroom. Asked if Than Shwe was a good person, the teacher laughed. "No, very bad." Asked why he had salvaged the picture the teacher struggled for the right English word and said, "scared." Then he brought his wrists together...
...week after the cyclone, no government officials have come to the teacher's village to assess the damage. But fear of the junta pervades. So just to be safe, the picture of General Than Shwe is propped up against one of the schoolhouse's few remaining pillars. As I walk back to my boat, the teacher asks where I come from. I tell him. He asks me whether in my country people can "say government bad." I say, yes, we can. He looks at me and shakes his head. Then the teacher makes another gesture. He points at the waterlogged...