May 27, 2008 (DVB), Cyclone refugees from villages between Kunchangone in Rangoon division and Irrawaddy’s Dadaye township are keeping a daily roadside vigil in the hope of receiving aid, according to a volunteer relief worker.
Zaw Thet Htway, who is working with a team of volunteers in the disaster area, said villagers were coming to the main highways because aid workers had not been able to access the more remote villages.
"There are some small villages in the area which are far away from the road and you can only get there on foot along small gravel paths," he said.
"Families who live there are out of the reach of aid workers and so they are waiting every day on the roadsides, where aid can get to, for their daily food."
Zaw Thet Htway said that some villages in Dadaye township such as Kyauksayit and Asaelay seemed completely deserted as almost all the residents had gone across the local creek to wait by the roads.
"The villagers go back to their villages in boats at the end of the day after they have received food for their family from the aid workers," Zaw Thet Htway said.
"It’s not a long-term solution for all these villagers to be waiting for help in a large crowd at the sides of the road."
Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew
