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BANGKOK: Many Myanmar immigrants are trying desperately to reach their friends and family members back home, following the massive cyclone that killed at least 23,000.
As the death toll from Cyclone Nargis rises, they wait anxiously for news of their loved ones in Myanmar.
Fast Facts
With communication lines still out, even in much of the main city of Yangon, many have had no word from their loved ones at all.
Aye Aye, who asked that her full identity not be revealed, lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Her father and brothers do not have a phone in their house in Yangon and she has not heard anything from them since the storm.
Born in Myanmar, Aye Aye left the country in 1998 and now holds a US passport.
After securing a visa in Colombo, she has stopped in Bangkok to pick up food and medicine supplies for the cyclone victims before heading to Myanmar.
"I also know there are a lot of big organisations who can do better than me. I don't have a car, I don't have a phone, I don't have the basic things that you need to move around. So my first focus will be just my town and I'll see if there are people who need help," she said.
Before leaving Colombo, Aye Aye had asked her friends for contributions to help the victims of the cyclone.
"I think it's a lot of money, it's US$12,000. I am not planning to spend all of it right away, without knowing what is needed and how you are going to spend... I don't want to do too many things in one shot, I'd rather go and see what is needed first," Aye Aye said.
Now her priorities are to secure food and basic medicines as well as tablets to purify water. These are scarce, even in Yangon.
Aye Aye has her visa, a plane ticket and relief supplies, but many international aid workers congregating in Bangkok are still without visas needed to go into Myanmar.
Gregory Beck, regional director for International Rescue Committee, said:
"Right now, we are poised to gain access to Myanmar. We've assembled our emergency response team in Bangkok, we have members that are currently waiting to receive their visas. We have currently one member in Yangon who is assembling the team on that side."
The Myanmar embassy in Thailand is scheduled to close on Friday for a public holiday, meaning those visas will have to wait until Monday, and the disaster victims will have to wait too. - CNA/ir
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