Cyclone Giri - Two Years On - Burma Action Ireland

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Cyclone Giri: Two Years On A: The income from the fishing industry is not as good as before, due to diminished catches. There are fewer fishermen because many of the fishermen in this township are not able to replace lost fishing equipment. Most of the fishermen are now working at whatever job they can get. Most of the people in the badly affected villages of Mraybon Township are still facing problems. So most of the affected families are not able to rebuild their broken livelihoods. Q: What about the NGOs or INGOs now A: There are now two NGOs working for the affected community here in the township, but their support is really limited and do not cover all of Mraybon township. So the badly affected community don’t receive enough support to be able to rebuild their broken livelihoods. Q: What about current situation of education in Mraybon Township A: There are many difficulties for the education of the students. One of the present problems is that many students are studying their middle school education in their existing primary schools. But the government won’t allow the 8 th standard students to study in the primary schools, so the 8 th standard students from rural villages are not able to study at all due to expensive tuition fees and cost of stationery in the towns and cities. Many high school students receive no support for their education from their parents, due to the lessened families’ income. In general, most of the affected families are still not able to send their children to schools due to higher expenses with buying school uniforms, tuition fees, stationery, and rain boots. These problems cause hundreds of students to leave or dropout from the schools in order to provide assistance to their families. Q: What about the current situation of general health care in this township A: Public health care is very important for all people. More importantly health care is essential and necessary to those living in the remote areas, which is very much less developed compared to the urban areas. Now the rural folks have to come to towns and cities for their health care, which is really expensive for them: most of the villagers cannot afford both the medical and travel expenses for the treatment. 21. Gender: Female Place of Interview: Prumwun Village, Mraybon Township Age: 30 Date of interview: 2 October 2012 Profession: Fisherwoman Type of interview: Paper Q: Where were you during Cyclone Giri Can you share your experiences during the cyclone A: My family and I were in our village, Prumwun, during the Cyclone Giri. All of my family members and the people next to my house were hiding together in this hill for our safety. Unfortunately all our houses and fishing equipment, including fishing boats and nets, were totally destroyed though we were lucky and survived. We shared insufficient food with many people until two days before the relief groups arrived in our village. We really had a hard time for our survival at that time. Q: What were your family’s livelihoods A: We caught fish in the sea before the Cyclone Giri. But we lost everything during the cyclone. So we are now surviving with whatever work we get. We are not able to buy the fishing equipment of boats and nets, as the family income is still very limited and insufficient for buying that equipment. Q: How many family members do you have A: We have three family members. My only daughter has been to sent to school. But we don’t have enough money to buy stationery. It’s really difficult to get the job that we want. There are also other villagers who live the the same lives as us. That means we are all hand-to-mouth right now. Q: What does your husband do now A: Before the cyclone, he caught fish in the sea, but now we lost everything during the cyclone. He has to work as a woodcutter for the logging business of some rich people for income and he looks for firewood for our family. The daily income of my work and my husband’s doesn’t cover the daily survival 101
Arakan Human Rights and Development Organisation needs of our family, as the rice and other household needs are becoming expensive now. So we are just hand-to-mouth now. Q: What are the current needs for your family A: We are urgently in need of support for buying some sacks of rice, cooking oil, chili, salt, and fish paste before the rainy season, as it’s really difficult to work during the rainy season. We also need some support for the general medical health care of our family, and we want to send our child to school, but I don’t think we are able to do so during this dire situation. ANNEXURE IV: Timeline 19 Oct. Rakhine State put on high alert. 2 2010 21 Oct. Evacuations by MRCS and Government; insufficient preparation by (I)NGOs and UN - no stockpiles review and no Emergency Needs Assessment plan. 3 22 Oct. Cyclone Giri makes landfall on the west coast of Arakan State, with wind speeds of 120-160mph (193-257 km/h); The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) issues a redalert for a high risk of humanitarian impact. 23 Oct. INGOs arriving in Sitetway for emergency relief operations;INGOs present in the area includeMRCS, MSF-Holland, ACF, Malteser, Save the Children, UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR and UNDP; SPDC Ministers Thein Swe (Transport), Maung Maung Swe (Social Welfare, Relief, Resettlement), Phone Swe (HomeAffairs) visit Kyaukphru. 24 Oct. PM Thein Sein attends 65 th UN anniversary and talks of Cyclone Nargis, but fails to mentionCyclone Giri; DMH reports Giri has weakened to a tropical depression; informal cluster system activated. 25 Oct. State media confirm 27 killed in Kyaukphru and Mraybon townships, with a further 15 still missingin Mraybon; rapid assessment teams were dispatched by UN agencies and INGOs; non-state media report of international NGO staff unable to leave Sitetway and access cyclone affected areas as they await the necessary travel permits. 26 Oct. The four most affected areas are Kyaukphru, Mraybon, Marmbra and Pauktaw; US pledges US$100,000 in aid; informal emergency shelter cluster convened. 4 27 Oct. RNDP send official letter calling on the UEC to postpone voting in the November 7 general electionin Mraybon, Kyaukphru and Manaung Townships. 28-29 Oct. A RC/HC, UNHCR, UNDP and OCHA delegation travels to Sitetway to meet UN, (I)NGO representatives and hold discussions with government Ministers in charge of the responseefforts; a UN delegation visitssome affected areas in Pauktaw Township. 29 Oct. Official figures say 45 people confirmed dead, 70,975 have been made homeless; local relief workers say the death toll is actually over 100. 30 Oct. RNDP appeal to international community for assistance to Cyclone Giri survivors. 1 Nov RC/HC requests the Emergency Relief Coordinator to activate the cluster system. 5 3-4 Nov. Thein Sein visits Kyaukphru, Pauktaw, Sitetway, but focuses on his election campaign. 5 Nov Cluster system formerly activated and first inter-cluster meeting held. 6 7 Nov. First election in 20 years sees a national victory for the government-backed USDP. 13 Nov. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi released from house arrest. 15 Nov. 4 assessment teams (GRC, local NGOs, incl. Community Development Association, Ar Yone Oo Relief and Development, and Mercy Corps) visit Kyaukphru, Mraybon, Pauktaw, and Marmbra. 7 16 Nov. Japan has offered US$500,000 for the delivery of food aid through the WFP. 19 Nov. SPDC officials throughout Mon State order households to each donate 1,000 kyat (US$1.00) for survivors in Arakan State. 102
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[ P A R T I ] Arakan Human Rights a
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Arakan Human Righ
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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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