Sheena's International Development assistance challenge or failure due to exclusion.
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma (Myanmar) on 2nd of May 2008. Recorded as the worst disaster in the history of Burma, it caused a death toll of at least 23,000 people and 1,000 people missing. The damage done by the cyclone was intensified. Adding onto the mortality rate, the other major damages caused includes ‘95% of the houses and other buildings in seven townships were destroyed’ (Fox News, 2008, para. 9) and ‘rice yields are down by about 40 percent as compared to pre-Nargis levels’ (Thomson Reuters Foundation, 2010, para. 7) due to the flooded rice fields on the outskirts of Yangoon, Myanmar. Without proper shelter and agricultural activities, which would equate to a source of food destroyed, their livelihoods are greatly affected.
Broken homes and flooded rice fields on the outskirts of Myanmar.
In an attempt to provide aid to the people affected in Myanmar, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was fast to provide a total of $251,000 worth of emergency food, water and sanitation, and shelter assistance. Also, four ships filled with aid from the USAID, nine helicopters filled with aid from the United Nations’ World Food Program was prepared to reach the survivors in remote areas which were inaccessible to roads. However, all these forms of aid never managed to reach the cyclone survivors.
Challenges:
The Myanmese government refused to accept the aid provided of any sort. The four ships which were filled with aid supplies, were ‘anchored off the coast of Burma for a month’ and were forced to sail off due to the ‘repeated rejection of help from the military junta’. (Times Online, 2008, para. 1)) Adding on, out of the nine helicopters that were prepared to take off any moment, only one was allowed entry into Myanmar, after being prepared for eight days. ‘The humanitarian agencies cannot go in without the permission of the government’ (Linn. Z, 2008, para.1).With all the strict requirements and minimal aid that the Myanmar government has established, it is a challenge for organizations to ensure that the aid reaches the cyclone survivors. The uncooperative military government of Myanmar, has imposed a form of exclusion on itself. This posed as one of the greatest challenges, hindering international organizations from stepping in to provide aid to the many cyclone survivors in the most effective and efficient manner.
Reason: Myanmese Government, the Junta
Myanmar has been ruled by the military government, the junta since 1962 and they have had a hold over their citizens ever since. Governing the country with fear, freedom of movement is very much restricted and limited. The Myanmese are ‘forced to register under ‘immigration officials’ when they travel from one town to another and ‘everybody in Myanmar is under arrest, although some are under more arrest than others’. (Reuters, 2007, para. 17)
With a stronghold on its people, The Myanmar government is very adamant about preventing any anti-government sentiments and has thus rejected foreign aid. The government’s reluctance to allow international aid into their nation is in an attempt to form the minimal or zilch amount of contact that the Myanmese have with the outside world. It is feared that the military government’s powers of influence over its people would decrease, and its ways will be forced to change when outsiders step into Myanmar. Thus , the Myanmese Government is ‘more concerned with control and maintaining omniscience in front of their people than saving lives.’ (Jenkins. G & Berger. S, 2008, para. 19)
Recommendations:
With the Myanmese government valuing their power and authority over their people, I feel that USAID and other international organizations that are really sincere in providing aid to the cyclone survivors should adjust the way they provide aid. USAID can choose the option of providing tied aid to Myanmar. On one hand, Myanmar will promise to increase trade with the United States of America. On the other hand, while USAID provides supplies of any form of aid, it is allowed to go through the hands of the Junta, before reaching the cyclone survivors Through this, the Junta will be seen as the government that cares for its people, shedding some positive light on the government.
However, two crucial procedures should be implemented if this form of recommendation is to be used. Firstly, USAID should request a list of the breakdown of the supplies that managed to reach the cyclone survivors. Also, as the aid supplies are going through the hands of the junta, it is feared that the time delay would cause the aid supplies to be inefficient by the time it reached the cyclone survivor as certain forms of aid are only efficient within a certain time span. (Example: Food that have a limited shelf life and is crucial for the survivors for the cyclone victims from the 1st to 3rd day of the aftermath) Thus, there should be a time quota in which the aid supplies have to reach the cyclone survivors latest by.
References:
Fox News. (2008). Cyclone Nargis had all the makings of a ‘perfect storm’. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354670,00.html
Thomson Reuters Foundation. (2010). Myanmar Cyclone. In Asis, Crisis Briefing. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/MM_STO.htm
Times Online. (2008). Rejected by junta, US aid ships sail from Burma. Retrieved May 31, 2010 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4064609.ece
Linn. Z. (2008). Burma’s Military Too Slow to React to International Aid after Cyclone Nargis. Retrieved June 01, 2010 from http://www.asiantribune.com/node/10953
Reuters. (2007). Burmese junta keep Myanmar’s Shan in state of fear. Retrieved June 01, 2010 from http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKBKK7619320070828
Jenkins,G and Berger. S. (2008) UN launches appela as Burma refuses aid. Retrieved June 01, 2010 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/1942422/Myanmar-cyclone-UN-launches-appeal-as-Burma-refuses-aid.html
We Loved12:05 AM
April 2008