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Concert for Nargis victim in Thailand |
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by Phanida
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Monday, 19 May 2008 21:07 |
Chiang Mai - Burma's famous singer Song Thin Par will join a charity concert in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai town, and raise funds, which organizers said will go to cyclone victims in Burma's Irrawaddy delta.
The concert called 'Fundraiser for Nargis victims' will be organised by Burmese ethnic youth in Thailand and will be held on May 24, organizers said.
Dee Ram, an ethnic Kachin youth and one of the key organisers said the concert is mainly to raise funds that will be donated to the millions of people suffering in Burma's Irrawaddy delta, which was one of the hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis.
"We want to help our people in Burma, who are facing extreme difficulties because of the devastating cyclone," Dee Ram said.
Song Thin Par, one of the most prominent modern Burmese singers, will arrive in Chiang Mai later this week before the concert begins on Saturday. She earlier visited Chiang Mai in December at the invitation of a church and performed along with the church youth.
Organizers said the programme will be over two sessions – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. – and tickets are being sold at the rate of 50 baht.
"We believe this will provide some relief to the people who are suffering," Ko Bawi, an ethnic Chin who is one of the organizers, said.
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2 and 3, devastating much of the Irrawaddy delta and parts of Rangoon division. The government put the death toll at over 70,000 but experts said it could be up to 100,000 or more with 2.5 million people rendered homeless.
Though international aid has been trickling in to Burma in the last week, given the restrictions imposed by the Burmese regime and control over the re-distributing process, the UN said only less than 25 percent of the affected people have received initial aid.
"We want to extend our helping hands to our fellow Burmese people in their time of crisis. Even if it is a small amount of money, we want to show that we care," Dee Ram said.
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Concert for Nargis victim in Thailand
"When we look at the next 20 years, I do not see this military mechanism having a smooth transition. But it is not to be discouraged but to understand the reality as it is," 
