On May 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma, leaving thousands dead, missing or destitute.

The Myanmar government has not allowed foreign media or humanitarian relief organizations to enter and operate within the country, though some relief workers were already on the ground before May 3.

Sai Kyaw (pronounced "Cy Jaw"), a refugee and restaurant owner in Boston, has been in touch by phone with his contacts in Burma since Cyclone Nargis struck the country.

Kyaw said he was an organizer of the 1988 pro-democracy student protests in Burma, in which thousands of people died.

After being detained by Myanmar officials, he fled to the jungle at the Thai border. In 1993, he came to America as a refugee.

He talked to EthnicNewz.org by phone on May 15 about the situation in Burma for cyclone survivors, and his life as an anti-government activist in Burma.

Following is the condensed and edited interview.

Scroll down to the bottom to link to BBC News videos of conditions in Burma.

First of all, is it okay to have this interview? Will it put any of your family in Burma in any trouble?

Yeah, yeah. It's okay.

What's the latest news you've heard from your contacts in Burma?

There was another storm yesterday in the lower part of Burma, the Irrawaddy Delta.

It was a small storm with a lot of wind and rain, not a cyclone. Some small villages were wiped out again.

Does your family live in the Irrawaddy Delta region?

My youngest sister, her husband's family lives there. But she and her husband live in Rangoon. They want to travel to the Irrawaddy from Rangoon, but the authorities don't allow them.

The authorities don't allow Rangoon people to go there (to the Irrawaddy Delta region).

How is the food situation in the Irrawaddy Delta area? What have you been hearing?

Some of the local rich people have rice factories. They been providing rice meals for the people.

The local monasteries, the Buddhist monks, have been distributing food, too. The monks get some food from donors in Rangoon.

But the food (supply) is running (low).

What have you heard about what people are doing, now that food is running out?

The survivors, they travel to other cities, do begging. Some have tried to walk to Rangoon and died along the way - many heartbreaking stories.

How do you know that people have tried to walk to Rangoon, and that some have died along the way?

I have a friend outside of Rangoon, close to the beach area, who told me. More than 10,000 people died (in one area), but nobody has noticed them.

They died from the cyclone, and then there was nobody to help them. No water. No food. They were dying again and again. They were starving.

What is the name of this area where 10,000 people died?

Kunchangon. It's about 20 or 30 miles south of Rangoon.

Did the cyclone affect Rangoon (Burma's capital)? Media reports have focused on damage in the immediate Irrawaddy Delta area.

No, no, no! In Rangoon, too. In another area (near) Rangoon, more than 1,000 people died.

Even in Rangoon city, a lot of people died.

Editor's note: The BBC reported on May 18, 2008, that 78,000 were dead as a result of Cyclone Nargis.

People died even in Rangoon city? What was the damage there?

Yeah. A lot of people died from the storm in Rangoon - and 75 percent of the trees fell down. All power is out.

My brother's house is destroyed by the storm. His house is in the Rangoon area but not in the downtown.

So how is your brother doing? What is his situation?

Now they're trying to fix the roof. There's been a lot of rain. They've gone to live with relatives.

Have you heard from other family members in Rangoon? How are they?

My wife's family, their house is flooded. My sisters are all safe.

But the price, everything, they have gone up. But they (my sisters) are doing okay.

Prices of everything have gone up? Prices for what?

Rice, for example. Before the cyclone, 1 kilo [2.2 pounds] of rice was 5,000 kyat; now, it's almost 20,000.

What are the best ways for Americans to help the cyclone survivors?

A few NGOs (non-governmental organizations), like World Vision and Save the Children, are in the Irrawaddy Delta area. Just a few, not many.

Have you been able to do anything to help?

Last weekend, I raised $7,000 in my restaurant (Yoma restaurant [7], in Allston, Boston).

I didn't send money to those (NGO) organizations. I gave $3,000 to an America Burma Buddhist association in New York. The monks there have a lot of local connections (in Burma).

I also gave money to the Boston Burmese Christian Fellowship here in Allston (in Boston), which has an organization in the Irrawaddy Delta area.

I sent money to my people who are at the Burmese-Thai border. I used to live at the border for four years, fighting for freedom.

I also donated money to a Harvard (University) Burma action movement group.

How are the people at the Thai border able to help the cyclone survivors?

They pack medicines (and other items) into their back packs and travel to the Irrawaddy area. It's very easy for them.

Isn't it difficult, under the Myanmar government, to enter and exit the Irrawaddy Delta area, even for them?

Oh-ho-ho! With the government, it's not easy. But for them, it's easy to travel. They don't do it often, and they go underground, unofficially, in a secret route.

Oh, so maybe you'd prefer that this secret route not be mentioned in this interview?

No, it's okay. I want the world to know.

What about the Thai border, was that area affected by the cyclone?

No, no, it's far away (from where Cyclone Nargis struck).

You said earlier that you were at the Thai border for four years, fighting for freedom? Were you in some kind of trouble in Burma?

Ohhh, I have a long history!

I was in an anti-government student group in 1988 (in that year, thousands of Burmese students protested for democracy, and many died).

I was a student at Rangoon University, in my final year. I was a student organizer in the democracy movement.

What kind of danger were you in as a student organizer during the 1988 student protests?

I was in a lot of danger. The government tried to arrest me many, many times.

One time they caught me, and they put me in interrogation.

When they interrogated you, what did they do?

Ohhh! They put me in a small cell. They wanted to get a lot of answers from me. At 1 or 2 in the morning, they put ice on me, on my face. They kicked me.

How many days were you jailed?

Almost two weeks.

Why did they decide to release you--

No, no. It's not that they decided that.

I had a friend; his brother was in the military. He was able to get me out. If you don't have a military connection, you stay in jail for (a long time), without a lawyer.

So you got out of jail after two weeks. Then what happened?

I organized again an underground movement. Later, I fled Burma for the Thai border, but on the Burma side.

So you were with the Karen (ethnic group of Burma, known for resisting the Myanmar government)?

Yes. I was there in the jungle for years. I got wounded there; I got shot in the back. I got malaria. Almost died, too many times.

I lived in Bangkok afterwards for about one year. Then, I came to the United States as a refugee, to Austin, Texas.

How long have you been in the United States?

Since 1993. I was in Austin for one year. Then, I lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for 10 years.

I just wanted to do my own business. I moved to Kansas City, Missouri.

I moved to Boston one year ago. I opened a restaurant here - and, you know, Boston needs to have a Burmese restaurant!

The Fort Wayne, Indiana, area supposedly has the country's biggest Burmese population. Do you miss being there?

In 1993, Fort Wayne didn't have many Burmese. Now, more than 5,000 live there. But the factory that I was working for in Fort Wayne closed down.

Do you think you'll ever go back to Burma?

Ohhh! When the government changes to democracy and freedom, I will go back.

If you go back to Burma now, what will happen?

Oh, they will put me in jail, and they will beat me up.

Is there anything else you'd like to tell EthnicNewz.org readers?

I just want to tell the Boston people, their kindness, their caring, they've helped us a lot - (during) the September 2007 movement in Burma, too, when a lot of monks got killed (during the Myanmar government's crackdown on monks).

They (the people in the Boston area) stand together with us (Burmese). Now again, a tragedy has happened, this natural disaster.

On behalf of our people, I just want to say thank you to the Boston-area people for their concern and help and money. Thank you. God bless them.

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WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION IN BURMA?
IF YOU HAVE FAMILY OR CONTACTS THERE, WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THEM?

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source: EthnicNewz.org

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VIDEO LINKS:

BBC News video:  Monks reportedly on secret aid mission in the region of Bogalay
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7418315.stm [8]

BBC News video: Inside a cyclone camp in Labutta, Burma
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7417784.stm [9]