Burmese students in Turaaa fear for their families A group of Burmese students who traveled to Turaaa with their teachers a few days before a devastating cyclone struck Myanmar at the weekend have expressed concern over their families as most have not managed to establish contact with them since the cyclone hit the Southeast Asian country.

Burmese students on a visit to Turaaa are worried about their families after last weeks devastating cyclone in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar.



Seven Burmese high school students attending a Turkish school in their country arrived in Turaaa last week to participate in the 6th International Turkish Language Olympics scheduled for May 22-June 2 in İstanbul. The Burmese students -- Hung Myo Hein (17) Su Latt Htun (15) Heain Soe (15) Sandy Tun (15) Htay Htay Aung (16) Pyae Won Naing (16) and Myatt Hwin Oo (16) -- have been worried about their families as only a few of them have managed to get in contact with their family members since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar over the weekend.
The International Turkish Olympics are held toward the end of May each year in İstanbul under the sponsorship of the International Language Education Association. The event hosts hundreds of Turkish-speaking students from all across the world who compete in several areas including poetry singing story-writing presentations and a basic knowledge of Turkish.
"We are very anxious about our families. We cannot establish contact with them. We want to return to our country to see whether our families and relatives are okay" said one of the students.
Myanmars military government on Tuesday raised its death toll from Cyclone Nargis to nearly 22500 with a further 41000 missing nearly all of them from a massive storm surge that swept into the Irrawaddy delta. Of the dead only 671 were in the former capital Yangon and its outlying districts state radio said confirming that Nargis was the most devastating cyclone to hit Asia since 1991 when 143000 people died in Bangladesh.

The disaster drew a rare acceptance of outside help from the diplomatically isolated generals who spurned such approaches in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Bernard Delpuech a European Union aid official in Yangon said the junta had sent three ships carrying food to the delta region. Nearly half the country’s 53 million people live in the five disaster-hit states.
Principal Serkan Akar of the Yangon Turkish School who traveled to Turaaa last week with his students said the seven Burmese students want to return home to see whether their parents siblings and relatives are still alive.
“My students would represent their country at the 6th International Turkish Olympics but they have been very worried about their families after the cyclone struck Myanmar. A few of them succeeded in getting in touch with their parents over the Internet. The others are still trying to establish contact with their families” he noted.
Myo Hein who managed to talk to his mother over an Internet chat program three days after the cyclone said it is an indescribable feeling to know that his family is OK.
“I cried for days out of the fear that my family could have been hurt in the cyclone. I was so anxious. Thank God I could talk to my mom. I was so relieved to learn that they were doing well. I will feel better if I learn that the families of my friends are also in good condition” noted Hein.
Tun said she feels grateful to her teachers who helped her at such a difficult time. “When I first heard about the cyclone I wanted to return to my country. My teachers helped so much in making me feel better. What I would like to hear most now is a couple of words from my parents” she remarked.
Won Naing’s eyes fill with tears each time she hears the word “mother.” “I am so worried about my family and relatives. I will dedicate the poem I will recite during the olympics to my mother whom I love more than myself” she said.
Akar who never leaves his students alone noted that the Turkish nation should stand by Myanmar during this difficult time.
“As the Yangon Turkish School administration we have shared good days with the Burmese. We know that we need to be there for them during their bad days as well. I am sorry that I cannot be with my friends in Myanmar at such a difficult time” he said.
He also stressed that there was not anything to be worried about regarding the Yangon Turkish School. “The most important problem of our friends there is that they cannot find potable water. Our nation should lend a helping hand to their brothers in cyclone-hit countries” added Akar.
‘Serving in Myanmar above everything’
A teacher at the Yangon Turkish School who wishes to remain anonymous said the pleasure of serving in Myanmar is indescribable. “My parents objected to my decision when I told them that I would continue serving as a teacher in Myanmar. They still ask me to return to Turaaa each time I talk to them. I have been living in Myanmar for five years and I miss my parents so much. But serving in Myanmar is above everything” he noted.