It’s Getting Hot In Here

As the estimated death toll in Burma rises to 100,000, it’s hard not to reflect on the incredible injustice of the situation. Cyclone Nargis, considered a once-in-500-year storm, struck the Irrawaddy Delta this past Saturday, pushing a wall of water through a largely deforested mangrove swamp and inundating some of the most densely populated parts of the low-lying country.

Initially, experts estimated the death toll to be in the tens of thousands, but revised the number as it became clear that despite international aid efforts, families were starving and that many had perished in the surging waters. In addition, recent reports show the ruling military Junta, which a few months ago brutally cracked down on peaceful opposition demonstrations led by Buddhist monks, seized recent UN and international aid shipments intended for those affected by the storm and subsequent floods. In response, the UN has temporarily suspended direct aid to Burma, citing corruption and theft of donated food and supplies.

The first strike was the storm itself; Though we can’t make a direct link between climate change and specific extreme weather events, we know that cyclones, floods, droughts, fires and hurricanes will be more frequent and intense. We will see more storms like Cyclone Nargis this century — climate refugees will become ubiquitous.

The second strike was the military Junta that governs Burma with an iron fist. On Friday the United Nations discontinued aid shipments to Burma. “All the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated,” said Paul Risley, World Food Program in Bangkok. For more than 24 hours, food, blankets, clean water and medicine were withheld from those affected by the floods. Aid shipments resumed only a few hours ago, albeit in a reduced capacity.

If this is any indication of the nexus of climate-related events and politics worldwide, the next decades will cost us dearly in human lives. This is ground zero, where climate justice becomes more than a campaign slogan, but a basic human right. It’s as much our responsibility in the global north to ensure that those people affected by climate-related events receive the resources and materials they need. It’s up to us, the youth, to make these connections worldwide, and to highlight how fragile these communities on the margins really are.

And finally, it’s our duty to make sure we hold our leaders accountable, and stand in solidarity with those citizens elsewhere, like the Buddhist monks in Burma, who are standing up for freedom against ignorance and violence.