Officials in Myanmar — it used to be called Burma — now say that the death toll from Cyclone Nargis has risen above 22,000.

That would make it a humanitarian crisis unmatched since a tsunami inundated Sri Lanka, India, and other parts of Southeast Asia three years ago.

The news will likely get worse. There are still thousands of people missing and, as Myanmar is ruled by a military junta, there is little way of getting help to many of the people who are still alive, but in desperate need.

This is one of the ways that totalitarianism crushes a people. A few years ago a famine in North Korea killed thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, however, there was no way to help those people. North Korean leaders would not even admit that it was happening, must less ask for help.

In cases such as this, the people themselves are blameless and powerless. It is true that huge mistakes can happen in a democracy that hurt people — that happened right here with the way the government handled Hurricane Katrina relief — but the people then have a recourse.

In Myanmar there will be no recourse for the people.

The best we can hope for is that Myanmar officials will agree to let the United States and others lend a hand during the crisis. Certainly, that country cannot do it all on its own.

However, there is another problem to consider. The United States should not simply give money to that nation. That would not necessarily do the people any good and might do them harm. If we are to give aid, let us find a way to distribute it directly to those who need it. That way we know it is not going into the wrong hands.

Unfortunately, we don't expect the government of Myanmar to agree to the help. This is partly because they don't care much about the people, but mostly because they fear that where the United States goes, the germ of democracy almost always is planted. Nothing could frighten the Myanmar junta more.

The United States should press its offers of help, with guarantees that it comes with no strings attached. The people don't support that government, but they have to live with it or, as the sad case may be, die with it.