Cyclone Giri - Two Years On - Burma Action Ireland

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Cyclone Giri: Two Years On Q: Did you get any assistance from the government or INGOs A: Yes, we were fine when some relief groups, mostly local ones, arrived in our village to provide some relief supplies. But these groups didn’t give support for long and the relief supplies were not fairly or equally distributed, which was mainly done by the USPD which only gave support to those who supported them in the elections. So the villages were exploited and cheated with some relief supplies. I think it’s not fair, as we all were affected by the cyclone. Q: What are the current livelihoods of your villagers A: Most of the villages are facing much difficulty with working the farms that were submerged with salt water during the cyclone. That damage still affects the production of rice. Compared to the past few years before the cyclone, the rice production is not good now; the production has decreased as much as one third compared to the past years. We have to store this rice mainly as food, which seriously affects other sectors of the family such as education, health care, and social life. Having enough rice and other basic needs such as cooking oil, chili, and fish paste fis really important for the farmers during harvest time and the rainy season. But most of the farmers do not have adequate rations for basic needs of food due to poverty. Q: Which is the current situation of education for your children A: We are not able to support the education needs of our children, including school uniforms and stationery. There are not enough teachers or learning materials in the schools, especially in the rural villages. Q: What is the current situation of health care in your village A: In my village, there is no problem for general health care. But there is a huge problem for serious and infectious diseases such as diarrhea. As there is no clinic in my village, the villagers with serious and infectious diseases have to go to the town and city for the treatment, which is really costly and expensive. Q: What do you want to say to the government and international community A: Both our government and the international community should support the affected community with their serious needs and rebuilding efforts. Without any support or capital investment from the government or INGOs, I’m sure we are not able to rebuild our broken livelihoods to normal. 16. Gender: Male Place of Interview: Ngaree Chai Village, Pauktaw Township Age: 56 Date of interview: 21 September 2012 Profession: Farmer Type of interview: Paper Q: Could you please share your experiences during Cyclone Giri and current situation of your village A: I helped working for the relief groups who came to my village with some relief supplies for distribution. Yes I would share you with what I had experienced during the cyclone. On this island of Ingrachai, the villages of Bryai Thait, Kyauk Maung, Ngaree Chai, Thay Khway and Ngamay Brum were severely affected by the cyclone. Almost all the houses, almost cultivated paddy fields, plantation gardens, fishing equipment were severely damaged in those villages. Worse the people from those villages had to face much hunger and famine for days until the relief groups arrived in those villages. The people from those villages are still suffering the serious affect of the cyclone and still have difficulties with rebuilding their broken livelihoods to normal. Q: Could you tell what kinds of consequences you have had so far A: Actually the people from the villages of Ingrachai Island were not much better before the cyclone. But the situation of hundreds of family livelihoods has become worse after the cyclone, as all the primary businesses of fishing, farming, gardening disappeared during the cyclone. Most of the damaged houses are not still yet fully repaired or rebuilt, as the people of many villages in this island are still struggling with their daily survival, mainly for food. 97
Arakan Human Rights and Development Organisation Q: Was there any support from the government, NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in those villages A: Yes, there were some organisations who gave some emergency support to the affected communities, but the assistance provided was very limited and not equally distributed. Most of the people from this island were exploited by the USDP in exchange of food supplies and votes in the general elections; the local people are not educated or knowledgeable. No big support of capital investment was provided by the government or INGOs. So the people from this island have still been facing much difficulty with their rebuilding efforts. Q: What is the current situation for the education of children on this island A: Every village on this island has a primary school, but there are not enough teachers or teaching materials. After their primary education, most of the children are not able to continue their middle or high school education, as they have to help their families. High school and university students are rarely found in the villages. Q: What is the current situation of health care in those villages A: There are some medics and nurses on the island, but they don’t permanently live on the island due to family difficulties, so there is no adequate treatment for even general health care. Even if there were few nurses and medics on the island, there is not enough medicine to treat serious or infectious diseases. Q: Do you have anything to say to the government or international community A: In my opinion, both the government and INGOs should give some humanitarian aid to those of us who were badly affected by the cyclone. I think it’s not possible to rebuild our broken livelihoods without any big long term assistance of capital investment for the badly affected communities, who are mainly rural folks. 17. Gender: Male Place of Interview: Prai Daung Village, Pauktaw Township Age: 45 Date of interview: 7 September 2012 Profession: Fisherman and relief worker Type of interview: Paper Q: Could you share your experience with helping the distribution of relief amongst the villages in your village tract, and describe the current situation of those villages A: As the Prai Daung Village Tract is situated on the western bank of Pharongar Island, in the Bay of Bengal, the people were severely affected by the Cyclone Giri, and almost all the houses, fishing equipment, agricultural farmlands and plantation gardens were also badly damaged. During the three month emergency relief phase, the people from our village tract received some relief supplies, so there was very little famine in our village tract. Q: What are the jobs of the villagers in your village tract A: The main livelihoods in our village tract are fishing and selling firewood. Q: Did you get any support during and after the cyclone A: Yes, we got some support from some NGOs. It’s really a shame that the government provided very little support to the affected communities. The USDP gave more support to the villagers who voted for them, which created a lot of problems among the villagers. I heard that most of other villages in our township faced similar situations and problems. It was not a fair distribution to the victims of the cyclone. Q: What are the current situations of livelihoods in your village’s tract in term of business, food, etc. 98
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PRELIMINARY REMARKS Arakan Human Ri
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Giri affected futureless children A
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Cyclone Giri - Two Years On - Burma Action Ireland

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