Stories tagged with aid
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Aid workers stranded in Bangkok
Following the intense disaster in Burma caused by Cyclone Nargis, thousands of aid workers have made it as far as the Thai capital of Bangkok, only to find that their entry visas for Myanmar aren’t coming as easily as they should be, especially in light of these extreme circumstances.
One aid worker, Pierre Fouillant, a veteran of over 10 disaster aid missions, is calling the Myanmar government’s slow issue of a business visa a crime against humanity. Myanmar’s ruling military junta will issue no such thing as an emergency visa, so he like countless others, is waiting in Bangkok for a business visa. The shocking fact that the embassy remained closed this pat Friday due to a Thai holiday has left Fouillant shocked and disgusted. He says, "I've never seen delays like this, never. It’s a crime against humanity. It should be against the law. It's like they are taking a gun and shooting their own people."
As of now, aid workers applying through the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok for visas are still waiting.
Posted by: DaveB on 13 May 2008, 17:10