Last Sunday, a category three cyclone hit Myanmar’s rural southern coast. Usually when a devastating natural disaster occurs, three things happen. The U.N. and the U.S. send aid, and the injured country’s government begins to clean up debris and then starts the rebuilding process. In Myanmar, this is definitely not the case. The cyclone has shed light upon human rights issues that have been occurring since the early nineties.

To really understand the current situation in Myanmar, one must know the severity of that nation’s internal turmoil. In 1989, the military junta government became one of the leading parties in Parliament. The members began to write a referendum to the constitution, which would grant them supreme power. From the beginning of their leadership, our country has been violently critical of the junta, imposing sanctions and saying that it has been violating human rights.

The military junta has not responded well to these criticisms, and last Friday they halted aid workers from the U.S, U.N. and Red Cross. The government said that it would continue to receive aid for the people affected by the cyclone, but refused to permit any more aid workers from entering the country. The junta believes that as the leaders of the country, they will take care of their citizens. On Monday, they said only 3,939 people had died, even though the U.N. aid workers’ projection was 100,000 deaths. There are still bodies floating around. Only 220,000 people out of the 1.9 million affected by the cyclone have been given aid. Our country, the U.N., and the Red Cross are adamant about helping the people in need, despite the broken relations between the U.S. and Myanmar.

On the rural southern coast of Myanmar, the majority of people are farmers living in bamboo structures. They were in no way prepared for a cyclone. There is only one viable road that leads to Yangon, the largest city. All crops have been destroyed, and the farmers are relying on rotten fruit to survive. The well water is contaminated. The only place these people can receive medical attention is in houses of worship, which are already full of the diseased. Instead of the junta worrying about the problems of their people, they are still trying to hold an election to pass their referendum.

This situation is overwhelming for the people of Myanmar. Meanwhile, we sit back in the comfort of our homes and watch, from thousands of miles away, the hell that these people are going through. We pity them. Instead of pitying them, I believe the citizens of the world should ask, “How can we help?”

Some people say there is nothing we can do. I believe that is a pathetic answer and an excuse for people who do not care. In these situations, it is best to try to place ourselves in the positions of those affected. Imagine if you were a person living on the coast of Myanmar, and the disaster had touched you. If your home were destroyed and many of the people around you were dead or dying, you would look to your government to help you. But what happens when the government does not really care about your welfare? What happens when it is more worried about its own affairs? Well, then, you look towards a higher organization—the U.N. or the Red Cross, perhaps? What if your government has even prevented them from helping you? What do you do then? When all resources are exhausted and you are barely surviving from the lack of food and clean water? You become angry.

I believe that when people are suppressed to an extreme extent, they rebel. It is a part of human nature. I believe that the people of Myanmar will rebel against the military junta because they are experiencing extreme neglect. I believe that the U.S. and U.N. will support the people who are rebelling and that hopefully we will prevail. Then we must worry about helping them in the clean-up and rebuilding process.

The best thing we can do for the victims of the Myanmar cyclone is to donate money to reliable organizations that are sending aid. The groups I have chosen to donate to are Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, and Oxfam. As students, and citizens of the world, we should to help those in Myanmar. Now.