Originally Posted by Andrewl

So now that an awful disaster has fallen on the people of Burma what will the neo-liberal policy makers have in store for them.

As i see the news and the west pleading with the Burmese dictators to allow them to help i can't help but wonder what is going on in the background.

Will this help be compassionate, altruistic, and motivated purely by the suffering of the human animal?

Or will the help come with the usual strings attached. I.e., loans via the standard neo-liberal global institutions with the understanding that foreign multinats have easy access to develop Burma's oil, gas, and precious gems? (and wiggle in on China's influence in this country).

As we already know, human rights abuses and the displacement of people from their traditional lands for the purpose of exporting natural resources is already a big problem in Burma. Now that they are in shock from this disaster the standard modus operandi for the west is to use this opportunity to exploit them even further.

All of this will depend on the ruling authorities willingness to open up to the west of course.

So i guess what I'm wondering is will the western authorities help out of a desire to alleviate the suffering, or will they help out of a desire to ultimately profit and make geo-political gains (ultimately causing even more suffering in the end).

Note: Individual citizens the world over will no doubt assist out of a desire to alleviate suffering, not to profit. My question refers to western governmental and non-governmental institutions only.

Andrew