IRIN | Asia | Hear our Voices

Min Min U, Myanmar: "We thought we were all going to die"
		We were terrified. We thought we were all going to die. But all we could do was sit on the remaining shattered pieces of wood in the torrential rain. full testimony
Kyaw Sein: “I don’t know how I will survive”
		Of the 2.4 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis, about 700,000 are over 55, according to HelpAge International. And while most live with their families, many – like 86-year-old Kyaw Sein – do not. full testimony
Saber Ahmed: "I said, 'the island is sinking' but my brother refused to leave"
		In 1991 a cyclone killed 22,000 people on Kutubdia Island in the Bay of Bengal, off the coastal town of Cox's Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh. Saber Ahmed, 45, now lives in a settlement for "environmental refugees" from the island. full testimony
Rohullah, Afghanistan, "I was trained to carry out a suicide attack, but I failed"
		Rohullah, 13, ran away from home in Gardez city in southeastern Afghanistan to Miramshah in neighbouring Pakistan. Unwittingly he was drawn into a suicide-bombers’ cell, and trained to use explosive vests to kill Afghan and US forces. Arrested soon after re-entering Afghanistan, he is now in prison in Khost Province. From his cell Rohullah told IRIN his story: full testimony
Amina Khatoon: "Our village just fell into the river"
		Amina Khatoon, 8, lives in a village on the bank of one of several water channels that feed the Chalan Beel, an oxbow lake in northwestern Bangladesh that lies in a flood-prone region. Bangladesh, which has the largest floodplain in the world, drains the waters of three major river systems originating in the Himalayas — the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna, into the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. full testimony
Aye Yin, Myanmar: “I pray we won’t starve to death”
		Now all we worry about is how we will survive the coming months. Without any paddy fields, we will have nothing to reap during the November and December harvest period and won’t even have rice." full testimony

[

more »]

More voices from Asian countries

[« back]

Back | Home page

Feedback | E-mail Webmaster | Terms & Conditions |

News Feeds | About IRIN | Bookmark IRINnews | Donors

Copyright © IRIN 2008. All rights reserved.
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Republication is subject to terms and conditions as set out in the IRIN copyright page.