IHT: Burmese villagers had little, and lost it all

IHT: Burmese villagers had little, and lost it all

Since Cyclone Nargis devastated the area May 3, this isolated village in the Irrawaddy Delta has been all but ignored by the junta. As of this past weekend, it had yet to be reached by international relief workers.

Then Khin lost 15 family members when Nargis swept through. For those in the family who survived, life is a litany of woes and the recovery has only just begun.

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For people like Then Khin's family, for those who live in the isolated, outlying hamlets of the delta, putting their lives back together after Nargis has been a sad affair - and a struggle that international aid workers have largely been unable to help ease. The Myanmar government, critics say, is distrustful of outsiders and does not want the villagers to meet foreigners. Meanwhile, the ruling junta is unable or unwilling to provide adequate help on its own.

"I don't expect anything from the government. I never have and I don't now," Then Khin said. "I heard on the radio about foreign help on its way, but I haven't seen any in the past 20 days. It's the same as before, nothing changed."