KOKKO, 20 August 2008 (IRIN) - Soe Naing was in the town of Labutta at the far end of Myanmar's Ayeyarwaddy Delta when the cyclone obliterated his village, sweeping away his wife and three daughters.

"I could have saved at least two or three members of my family if I had been at home," the 38-year-old said.

But only his eldest son survived, after a giant wave left him almost dead in a forest - the same forest where many families would later find the broken bodies of many of their loved ones.

Almost four months on, Soe Naing's search for his family continues: "I still can't believe that they are dead. I never found their bodies," he said.

Such tragic stories are not unusual. What is unusual, however, given the sheer scale of the disaster and calls for greater international assistance, is the lack of response in assisting bereaved families.

Despite efforts by the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), and the daily broadcasting of messages and contact numbers on state radio, few families have been reunited, say aid workers who asked not to be identified.

According to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report [see: http://www.asean.org/21765.pdf] released by the Myanmar government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN on 21 July, over 84,000 people lost their lives when Cyclone Nargis struck on 2-3 May, with close to another 54,000 people still missing.

Over 300 people in the village of Kokko, close to the Pya Ma Law river where Soe Naing lived, lost their lives, while scores more went missing.

Messages

Soe Naing has repeatedly tried to get news of his loved ones through the MRCS but has not succeeded so far.

Each day outside the MRCS's office, visitors scan a notice board with the names of survivors, their photos, places of origin, as well as their current whereabouts, in the hope that somehow their loved ones survived.

While Soe Naing has yet to receive any news, about 400 safe and well messages from survivors have been delivered, bringing heartfelt relief to some families.

"I am glad when I see these messages. I can only imagine how their families must feel when they learn that their loved ones are safe," said Kyaw Kyaw Soe, team leader of the Red Cross's restoration of family links unit from Labutta.

However, the numbers remain small compared to the thousands still unaccounted for. Based on the notice board in Labutta only a handful of people from different villages can look forward to being reunited with their families.

Chan Tun in his 50s was just one of seven people awaiting to be reunited with his family in the village of Tae Bin Gine. His younger sister found his name on the notice board after contacting the MRCS, only to learn later that her brother was in a displaced persons camp.

Save the Children, which is currently working on family tracing and child protection issues in 11 affected townships, has registered 92 children separated from their parents in Labutta township, Nang Kham Hom, a child protection office for the non-governmental organisation, told IRIN.

"We mostly lost women and children in the storm"

Kyi Aye, a village elder from Kan Gyi Su - one of a number of small villages near the Ywe river - lost 34 relatives to Nargis.

"If they were still alive, I'm sure they would have come back by now. I'm sure they are dead," he said.

"Even we strong men had difficulty surviving. How could we possibly expect children to survive such a disaster?" he asked.

"Before, we had 12 children [in the community]. Now we only have this one child left, but he lost his mother," he said, pointing to a youngster playing alone nearby. "We mostly lost women and children in the storm," he said.

Of the 11 families in Kan Gyi Su, the storm left behind eight widowers and one widow - another stark reminder that most of the storm's dead were women and children.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), women and children made up more than half of Nargis's victims.

cm/ds/cb

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org

IRIN news