Too Myaung village is near the town of Pyapon in the Irrawady delta and on the banks of the Too Myaung creek, one of the numerous small creeks that bisect their area. It is also very near to the Gulf of Moattama(Martaban). This village was once a happy village of more than 300 households but now despair blankets the whole area after it was devastated by the cyclone Nargis which struck on May 2, 2008.All the villagers here are either farmers or fishermen. They till the land for rice and go out to sea to catch fish which are then taken to Pyapon, the nearest town, to be exchanged for essential goods. Pyapon is just one hour by motorized canoe but even then many of them had never been to see the delights of the town, contented with their lives. But all this tranquility was to be shattered with the monstrous cyclone and the huge storm surge that accompanied the shrieking winds. Their small, bamboo and thatch huts were no match for the 120 mph winds. Branches from huge tamarind and rain trees broke off like match sticks. The big mango trees and the palm trees were being uprooted by the gale force winds as the rains pelted down on the hapless villagers. Then the big wave came. Towering above them at 10 to 12 feet high people and animals were being carried away, babies were torn from the clutches of their parents. Even able-bodied men were crying out for help. Maybe this is hell as written in the Buddhist holy books. Fortunately many were able to reach the village monastery, the traditional refuge for all in this Buddhist land. The monastery where the village monks dwell is the only strong building in the village and the only one situated on high ground. The presiding monk of the village and other monks welcomed the refugees although they were fellow sufferers. Even here the howling winds and the raging waters would not give up. The winds tore up the zinc roofing off the monastery and the nearby primary school but fortunately for the grace of God it was unable to do more harm.

Morning came and all around was utter devastation. Everything they had possessed had disappeared. Their once fertile fields covered in salt water and the small boats they use for going fishing were smashed into splinters. The village monk volunteered to go to town and report the situation to the authorities and ask for help. When he came back the news he brought was not good. The Abbot said Pyapon itself was devastated. Less than 10% of the houses were intact. Help was not expected to come from that quarter for a long time. Every survivor here has lost someone or other to the terrible disaster and now they find solace in front of the huge Buddha statute inside the monastery. They find solace for their plight in the teachings of the Dhamma (Buddhist sermons) and are content to place the blame for their misfortune on karma ( the wheel of life as taught by Lord Buddha).

Suddenly the children came running and shouting into the monastery. "A boat. a boat" they screamed. The boat was coming from Pyapon and it carried relief supplies from a travel company from Yangon. All the villagers came running out and help unload the boat. It carried tins of drinking water, food stuff, medicine and clothing. Under the supervision of the village Abbot the relief items were distributed among the villagers. Many old women came with tears in their eyes. Mothers hug their babies and received the rice packets with the traditional shikho gesture(clasped hands).

"We have come to donate relief supplies to you. These supplies were bought with donations we received from our friends in faraway lands, from foreigners who had visited our beautiful country and loved the people of Myanmar. Please accept our donations as we come with true compassion. Also this will not be the first time. We will look into what you need and make plans to help you get re-started with your shattered lives. We shall come again. Please pray for all who had suffered in this terrible tragedy" said the leader of the PHI-AID team. According to the villagers the PHI-AID team was the first relief team they had seen after the terrible night of May 2.

It was already sunset when we left the village. Everybody came down to the shore to bid us goodbye and some even called us to come back again. We were overwhelmed with mixed feelings; sad and happy. Sad for the people who had gone through such devastation and happy that we were able to contribute whatever we can and lift their spirits.

It was midnight and pitch dark when we arrive back to Yangon but after the dark of night there is always the dawn. May all the victims of the Nargis cyclone see the new dawn in their lives soon.

Acknowledgement: Hpone Thant wishes to thanks all the donors from abroad who had contributed to the storm relief fund set up by Peace House International and to the PHT team for their assistance in distributing the relief supplies and also made it possible for him to experience the plight of the survivors. Hpone Thant is a regular contributor for many international and local journals and writes mainly on the country's nature, culture and traditions. He can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it