Desperation grows as food runs out

The rows of beggars on either side of the road stretched for miles, twin columns of human misery left by the winds and waves of Cyclone Nargis.

Without clothes or shoes, the thousands of men, women and children made destitute by the storm could only stand in the latest downpour, their hands clasped in supplication at the occasional passing aid vehicle. Any car that did stop was mobbed by children, their hands reaching through a window in search of bread or a T-shirt.

Aid volunteers were shocked by the scenes, which suggest conditions in the delta are deteriorating rapidly, with what little food that could be salvaged from the ruins of villages running out. "The situation has worsened in just two days," one relief volunteer said.

In the storm-struck town of Kungyangon, about 60 miles south-west of the former capital, Rangoon, the situation was little better, even though Burma's military rulers have started distributing small amounts of emergency food there.

"I am one of the few survivors," said a woman in her 60s, who did not want to be named. "I came here to ask for some rice." Her clothes - a grubby grey top and faded black longgyi, or sarong - are her only possessions. "I survived by climbing a tree," she said.

The countryside remains a tangle of trees, snapped electricity pylons and the skeletal remains of houses. Villagers say they are slowly burying the bloated corpses of friends and relatives that have littered the rice fields since the storm struck on May 2. But the stench of death remains.

Frustrated by the speed of the official response, people were taking matters into their own hands, sending vehicles into the delta with clothes, biscuits and rice provided by private companies and individuals. "How on earth can the government act as if nothing has happened here?" said one volunteer.

Some said pro-regime thugs were harassing volunteers in the western suburbs of Rangoon. Soldiers at military checkpoints were seizing cameras from volunteers to try to stop news leaking to the outside world, others said.

With almost total distrust of the government, the distribution of private aid is being left in the care of Buddhist monasteries, whose moral authority makes it the only institution capable of standing up to the military.

Going through the roll call of the needy is a grim task. "We need to give aid to this family," said a monk, pointing to a list on the wall of a temple. "No," another monk interjected. "They're all dead."