A view from our Window
I should say we saw it coming. There had been warnings, there were signs, but no one imagined it would be that strong.
I was sitting at an Internet Café around 10 pm on Friday. The news of a cyclone was everywhere and yet people at the café were very lighthearted, - "Oh, cyclone, right, sounds scary". Little did they know...
I was writing one of my friends and asked them to pray for us; the cyclone was heading for Yangon. I'd never been in a hurricane or a cyclone before. I remember a typhoon some 28 years ago in my home town of Khabarovsk, Russia. I was a child then and it seemed exciting. Now with children of my own, going through a cyclone wasn't something I was looking forward to.
The wind picked up around midnight. Being on an eighth floor of a condo it sounded scary. Electricity in the city was turned off, which was probably a wise move, although it made things look "darker", naturally. We prayed for safety, and read a few Psalms from the Bible. Masha (our two-year old daughter) was already sleeping and our two-week old son was resting peacefully in Lily's arms, both oblivious to the storm outside. It reminded me of the "Peace in the midst of the storm" poster. We prayed for Jesus to keep His hand around our building, and ... went to sleep.
It was difficult to sleep with all the noise outside. At some point during the night we heard a very loud metallic thud and then a sound of broken glass. We prayed that our windows would hold up; so far they were doing well, although on the verge.
I woke up again at 5:30am with a strange feeling that the whole building is slowly rocking back and forth. I thought it was a dream but no. The building was swinging, - time for more desperate prayers.
I prepared a bag to carry our documents, funds, and computer hard drives. Lily put in a few things for the children. That was about all we could think of then... never mind the rest of the equipment. It's an interesting feeling, -having to evaluate what you really need to take with you if you were to leave at a moment's notice.
Our daughter Masha and No No (a Myanmar national living with us) woke up about 6:30AM when the water started coming in through the window of their room. We quickly put the children in the only room that wasn't facing the wind at this time. No No and I started clearing the water from the three rooms facing the wind and rain. We were fighting a battle that didn't seem to have an end. As soon as we were in control of one room, the other required urgent attention. We were thankful the windows were still holding up. At around 11am the winds started to give up and by about 12 everything was back to normal. Or was it?
I went to see our neighbors. Most apartments were flooded; some lucky ones barely got any water in. They were on the side which was not facing the direction of the wind. I went downstairs. Sheets of corrugated metal were still flying around like paper airplanes. Huge 100-year old trees were strewn around - some blocking the roads, the others landed on the roofs of houses. Yangon had a lot of trees. It was just about the greenest city I've ever been to. We loved those trees. Now it was the trees that caused most of the damage in the city - breaking houses, power and communication lines, and just about everything in their way. To our surprise we realized that the only trees still standing were the coconut trees. They knew how to bend with the wind!
The storm was over but not the story, for indeed it was only the beginning. The immediate challenge was finding drinking water. We had two and a half 20 liter bottles but those wouldn't last long. There was no running water - the pipes were broken.
We started getting news that the delta area was very badly hit. The official toll at the time was 350 dead. We knew the figures would start growing with every hour. The official toll today is 78,000 and about 58,000 missing. There are estimates that the real figures are around 128,000 or more. About two and a half million are either homeless or are in need of temporary shelter having lost most of what little they had.
Someone got to the delta area before the army and filmed the situation there. These videos are being sold on the streets now; I can't even start to describe the degree of destruction and death.
We realized that we'd witnessed a miracle of protection, - we were alive! We started praying for water and electricity to be restored speedily. Amazingly the water problem was sorted out in a couple of days and electricity was next in line a day after! It was incredible. We told our neighbors about these amazing answers to prayers, they asked us to keep on praying.
We went around the city a few days later. It was almost like we moved into a WWII situation; it wasn't the city we knew.
It was now time to start reaching out to help others. We were fine for the most part but millions of others were not. Our friend No No got the news that 27 of her relatives died during the cyclone. She is from a town very close to the most badly affected area and many of her relatives lived in those villages that were totally destroyed. At the moment No No's home town hosts about 50,000 to 100,000 refugees from villages that were flooded and / or demolished. Her father is playing an instrumental role in the relief efforts in the area. I'm not talking about governmental efforts. Those are well documented on national TV and in local newspapers, and I must say they do have their place. He's concentrating on those who are left out without any help, any shelter, food, and no clothing.
You probably heard in the news that help to the major disaster areas has been restricted. Well, the reality of the situation is that the whole area has been restricted and only residents are allowed to go in. There are roadblocks, checkpoints and anyone who is carrying any aid is presented with the choice of either passing it on to the soldiers or turning back.
When we sent No No to the disaster area last Friday we passed on a few things disguised as her personal belongings and cash to buy things there. When No No phoned in she informed us that you can actually buy a lot of things there, the only problem is the prices and lack of enough money. So it seems to us that at this point the best course of action is to pass on cash and buy necessary things there. With this trip No No managed to buy 350 kg of rice, 80 kg of beans, 100kg of vermicelli, 90 packs of noodles, 100 pieces of clothing, 200 packs of soap, some slippers, and straw mats for people to sleep on among other things.
We are planning to arrange regular trips to the area as we get the support.
| Item | Amount Needed | Price per unit (USD) | Total Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosquito nets | 1000, one per family | 15 | 15,000 |
| Blankets | 1000 | 3 | 3,000 |
| Mats | 1000 | 3 | 3,000 |
| Soap | 3000 | 0.3 | 900 |
| Mosquito Coil | 1000 | 0.3 | 300 |
| Slippers | 1000 | 1.5 | 1,500 |
| Longi (clothes) | 1000 | 2.5 | 2,500 |
| Toothbrush/paste Pack | 3000 | 0.5 | 1,500 |
As you can see we need about 27,700 USD and this list is by no means comprehensive. These are the items people quite urgently need and something we can get directly to them pretty much as soon as we have the funds.
No foreign aid has reached many of these places so far. There's talk now that some Asian foreign aid workers will finally be allowed. We pray that this will indeed become a reality. The need is truly great.
Please do continue to pray with us that the ones who need help will receive it soon, that we'll be able to help as many as possible, against snake bites (a number of people have already died from those), against disease, that the whole ordeal will help open the doors of the country, and that there will be a greater spiritual hunger and openness.
We love you and appreciate your support and prayers,Please read also Steven and Lily's June 15th update!