Correction; MSF not MDM sorry!

[dawnstar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Dawn Star wrote:
> 
> Dawn Star wrote:
> >
> > Medecins du monde were kicked out of Burma a few years ago, they work
> > now in Thailand, 18% of their billion franc annual budget goes there.
> > Ask them why they dont give medicine to the Burmese inside Burma...ds
> >
> > Heiko Schaefer wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Okkar,
> > >
> > > please ask Khin Nyunt why I get no visa. I applied three times the
> > > answer was ignorance. Illegal entrance would make a lawbreaker.
> > >
> > > Burma was once the richest country of Asia. In one point I agree with
> > > you, that is that there is more than enough food in the country. This is
> > > true.
> > > But who can buy it? Farmers are forced to fulfill a quota, which set at
> > > an astronmical high amount. Moreover your govt force the lowland farmers
> > > to crop twice a year. This is not always possible, but they have to do.
> > >
> > > Now lets do some economic calculation. I suppose the price for a basket
> > > (ca. 21 kg) at market rate as 500 kyats. The government pays 300 kyats.
> > > Our virtual farmer has 10 acres of land which produce 10 baskets per
> > > acre. The government puts the quota on 15 baskets per acre.
> > >
> > > The farmer harvests now a total of 100 baskets of paddy. But the quota
> > > want 150 baskets from him. This means he need to buy 50 baskets from the
> > > free market to fulfill his quota at 500 kyats per basket. This is
> > > 250,000 kyats. For his own crop he already got 300,000 kyats from the
> > > government. He will get 150,000 kyats from the government.
> > >
> > >    OWN CROP                     100 BASKETS  =  300,000 K
> > >  - PADDY FOR QUOTA-FULFILL       50 BASKETS  =  250,000 K
> > >    ======================================================
> > >    GAIN TOTAL                                    50,000 K
> > >
> > >  + RE-PAYMENT FOR QUOTA-FULFILL  50 BASKETS  =  150,000 K
> > >    ======================================================
> > >    FINAL GAIN                                   200,000 K
> > >
> > > This is 100,000 kyat less than he would get from the government under
> > > "normal" conditions. In real values this would mean, the government paid
> > > him per basket an amount of 200 kyat. This is also in real values 2.5
> > > times less than the market value.
> > > Further, he need to by seeds for the next crop, which mean around 50,000
> > > kyats for his 10 acres. Left is then 150,000 kyats for living.
> > >
> > > The result is, that there is a food scarcity in Burma, not because of
> > > the lack of food, but because of high prices. Imported food is also not
> > > cheaper!
> > >
> > > Of course, the tourist who is able to spend a hundred time of money than
> > > an ordinary Burmese will never face a problem in Burma. So the question
> > > is not how much food "I" can eat in Burma, but how much food the Burmese
> > > can eat in Burma.
> > > But the Burmese government is a government for the tourists and the
> > > business people, but not for the Burmese people.
> > >
> > > If I would send you 1000 packings of Paracetamol, what would happen with
> > > them? Only if I could see with my own eyes, that the people who need it
> > > will get it, I would give. But they get stored in the cellar of military
> > > hospitals in Rangoon until they get needed by some of the Generals and
> > > their families.
> > >
> > > If I as tourist come with some packings to give the people under my
> > > eyes, they would get seized at airport with the comment: "That's law and
> > > I didn't make the law, so don't blame me."
> > >
> > > So, why to give medicine to Burma? The sanctions are not to terrorize
> > > the people. The truth is that with or without sanctions there would be
> > > no difference for trhe ordinary people, but for the SPDC. And this is
> > > the aim of the sanctions.
> > > See, before 1988 your country got development aid and the BSPP didn't
> > > complained about it. It was good.
> > > Now the question: why got Burma development aid and why was it stopped
> > > at August 1988? Please explain me.
> > >
> > > Regards
> > > Heiko
> > >
> > > OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Dear Heiko,
> > > >
> > > >     Have you ever been to our country? Pls ask Wah Wah Min how our blessed
> > > > land has plenty of food. There is a saying in our country that says, "There
> > > > is nobody died of starvation in Burma". In Burmese "Bamar pyi hmar ngat thay
> > > > deht mathar ma shi bar bu". If you don't believe me pls ask you wife Wah Wah
> > > > Min whether that saying is exist or not.
> > > >
> > > >     There was not  food problem in our  country even when our country
> > > > practised self-post isolation for 26 years. Now most of the food stuff come
> > > > in from China, not from Thailand. You have no reason not to believe it, I
> > > > hope because even in the US the departmental stores are filled with Chinese
> > > > goods.
> > > >
> > > >     The only problem is our citizens inside our country can not access the
> > > > powerful western medicines in the hospitals because of your sanctions. If the
> > > > sanctions are lifted your accusations of the shortage of medicines in the
> > > > hospitals will be finished.
> > > >
> > > > ok
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > In a message dated 10/16/99 12:28:47 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> > > > heiko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> > > >
> > > > << Hi,
> > > >
> > > >  there is already a catastrophal situation in Burma at all concerning to
> > > >  food. This closure of the border mostly harms the Burmese which already
> > > >  have a food scarcety. How long wants the world to watch what happens in
> > > >  Burma, without interfering?
> > > >  In Burma there are even no more the right on food.
> > > >  Sometimes I think, Burma is a case study for the international
> > > >  community, where they want to learn what happens, if a government rules,
> > > >  which disables ALL laws and human rights and which is not interested in
> > > >  every duty to its citizens.
> > > >
> > > >  Metta
> > > >  Heiko >>
> > >
> > > --
> > > +================== Burma Group Tuebingen ==================+
> > > | Heiko Schaefer                  | heiko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx     |
> > > | Beim Herbstenhof 42             |                         |
> > > | 72076 Tuebingen, Germany        | Tel: ++49 7071 55 25 54 |
> > > +-----------------------------------------------------------+
> > > |              http://www.burmagroup.de/                    |
> > > +===========================================================+
> > >             -- PGP-Key on request available! --
> > >
> > >     ---------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >                               Name: heiko.vcf
> > >              Part 1.2         Type: text/x-vcard
> > >                           Encoding: 7bit
> > >                        Description: Card for Heiko Schaefer
> >
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