The death toll in Burma from Cyclone Nargis continues to grow at a staggering rate, and as of tonight has reached 22,000, with over 40,000 people still missing.
According to dictionary.com, the top definition of “toll” is “a payment or fee exacted by the state”, followed by a second definition as “the extent of loss, damage, suffering, etc. resulting from some action or calamity”. As the devastation mounts, I wonder whether in this case the phrase “death toll” more properly falls under the first definition rather than the second.
The economist Amartya Sen observed that “no famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy”. This observation was just a small part of his overall argument that economic development and freedom go hand-in-hand, rather than working at cross-purposes. Democracies, he argued, are simply best suited to meet societal needs and promote economic development.
Tragically, the government of Burma is among the most vicious, depraved, and oppressive regimes in the world today. What better proof do you need of Sen’s thesis, when you consider how much more the government could have done to save its people if less time and energy had been spent suppressing political opposition, or fewer resources had been squandered on building an entirely new national capital in the mountains designed to insulate the government from internal and external threats to its control?
Indeed, while the disaster is in its early stages, there are many signs that the regime remains more concerned with preserving its oppressive ways than saving lives:
- initial government estimates claimed only 351 dead;
- at first, the regime wanted to continue with its sham constitutional referendum despite the disaster, and it took days for the military to be mobilized for disaster assistance (the most devastated region is also the center of opposition to the government);
- the government continues to delay granting entry visas to relief workers;
- Despite the regime's assertion that they will not "hide anything", there is a ban on “unofficial news” about the disaster.
The people of Burma are paying a death toll -- to their own government.
Please consider donating to the relief efforts. Your choices include UNICEF and Direct Relief .