27 June 2008
Burmese-Americans Rely on Human Network to Help Homeland
Many entrusting money to grassroots relief organizations, not Burmese banks
Washington -- In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which killed at least 84,537 people and displaced another 55,900 on May 2, thousands of Burmese immigrants to the United States were anxious to help loved ones in their former homeland.
“The Burmese-American community was waiting for the U.S. government to give them permission to send money home,” said Khin Maung Htay, a Maryland resident and retired chief of the Voice of America Burmese service. “Thankfully, the U.S. Treasury Department has encouraged this.”
To enable Burmese immigrants to speed aid to their families, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control -- in consultation with the Department of State -- lifted long-standing restrictions on personal money transfers to Burma. The May 12 ruling permits U.S. financial institutions to process unlimited funds transfers for non-commercial, personal remittances to and from Burma. Transfers were previously limited to $300 every three months.
“The [lift on sanctions] is great because it allows people to send as much money as they want,” Htay said. “But banks in Burma are run by their government, and the exchange rate is very low. So I don’t think people will take full advantage of that except those who don’t have any other choice.”
THE HUMAN NETWORK
Although the Burmese government has publicized names of banks that can receive cash donations, Htay said many people fear their funds will be confiscated on the receiving end.
“People here are really concerned, not only about the cyclone victims, but also as to how they can be satisfied that whatever they give gets into the right hands,” Htay said. “So we have to go through other channels.”
Tun Myint, a professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, said the best assurance is by trusting “people you know in the human network."
“I’ve sent money through friends traveling to Burma who will be able to deliver it to the people that I want to receive it,” he said.
Likewise, Htay relies on colleagues who act as conduits for care across the Thai-Burmese border.
“Many people I know send money that way,” Htay said.
Laurence Saw, a Burmese refugee and resettlement specialist for Catholic Charities Indianapolis, sends aid to his family via colleagues who have bank accounts in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore. In turn, his contacts make appropriate currency conversions and route the funds directly to Saw’s parents.
“If we send it directly into Burma, their government will take all the money … so we find as many different ways as we can to help our families and those who were affected by the cyclone,” Saw said.
CAVEATS FOR CARE
In addition to allowing unlimited personal money transfers to Burma, the U.S. Treasury has relaxed restrictions on not-for-profit organizations. Until early August, most nonprofits are authorized to send relief money into the country for the endeavor to assist Burma’s 2.4 million survivors spread across 47 townships countrywide.
Under both Treasury Department rulings, money cannot be directed to individuals or entities associated with Burma’s ruling military regime. Myint advises those donating through a nonprofit to take a cautious approach because they may be making blind-faith donations.
“You don’t know if the money you send is being used for building a temple, a school, a water project and what not,” Myint said. “If these projects were to be conducted by the citizens inside Burma without any consultation with the local government officials … they could get into a watch list of the regime.”
Many Americans are entrusting donations to UNICEF, Mercy Corps, World Vision, American Red Cross and smaller grassroots efforts for cyclone relief. But within the Burmese-American community, said Htay, greater trust is given to the Theravada Dhamma Society of America, a nonprofit operating in Austin, Texas.
The society was founded in 1996 by the 70-year-old activist monk Ashin Nyanissara (better known as “Sitagu Sayadaw of Burma”). Donated money is wired to a bank account in Singapore, where intermediaries deliver the funds to Burma. Receipts are provided for tax purposes, and weekly updates on the nonprofit’s Web site include donor names, dollar amounts and details of how the transferred funds are used in the relief effort.
“As one of the eminent monks in Burma, Nyanissara has been personally very active in the process to help the cyclone victims, because he has great influence among the Burmese people,” Htay said. “So that’s why we tell people this is the sure bet that your money will get to the right hands.”
