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May 8, 2008 7:09 pm US/Eastern
Local Man Organizes Vigil For Cyclone Victims
ALLSTON, Mass. (WBZ) ―
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Locals help an injured person in the Irrawaddy region on May 5, 2008 as the region tries to recover the the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis.
AFP/Getty Images
The first United Nations relief planes have landed in Myanmar where a deadly cyclone has killed at least 20,000 people so far.
But the military leaders there are refusing help from the United States, which is a decision that could cost more lives.
Meanwhile, some local residents in Massachusetts are reaching out to help victims of the devastation.
As the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, formerly Burma, says the death toll from the cyclone could rise to 100,000. A Bedford man is trying to help.
"I think we are trying to raise awareness about what is the reality of the people there in Burma.
Dr. Mar Imsong, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bedford, is not from the region devastated by the cyclone. He is from Nagaland to the north.
An advocate for Burmese people, he is organizing a vigil this Sunday at the International Community Church in Allston.
He says a fellow minister was preaching in the low-lying region affected by the cyclone and is now looking for drinking water.
"I just got an e-mail saying he is safe but he is walking home from the Delta region back to Yangon," Imsong said.
U.N. officials estimate a million people have been left homeless by the devastation as fear of epidemic grows.
U.S. officials were still working Thursday afternoon to get permission to fly aid into the area controlled for fifty years by an iron-fisted military junta.
"Human life is given by god and we have to respect the life of the people, and unfortunately that's not what is happening in Burma," Imsong said.
Imsong says not only are Burmese people who worship at First Baptist directly affected by the enormous loss and misery in their homeland, but because humans, so many of them, are involved everyone, everywhere is directly affected.
The interfaith vigil is set for 4:30 p.m. this Sunday on the lawn of the International Community Church at Beacon and Gordon streets in Allston.
Imsong hopes greater awareness will lead to fundraising for relief.
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