Cyclone Giri - Two Years On - Burma Action Ireland

Cyclone Giri: Two Years On
checkpoints on the rivers and many civilian-owned boats have been destroyed at these points for failing
to pay the “tax”. 57 The prevalence of military extortion means that many civilian landowners, even those
possessing hundreds of acres, live in poverty.
Many multi-million “development” projects initiated by the junta have inflicted unprecedented suffering
on civilians in recent years. These projects include the Sitetway-Rangoon Highway, 58 the Sitetway-Ann-
Minbu Railway, 59 the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Facility, 60 the Shwe Gas Project, 61 and
numerous hydropower dams. 62 Amnesty International has reported that such projects create a long list
of problems including, but not limited to, forced or unpaid labour and forced relocation 63 . These projects
destroy both the natural environment and damage the integrity of archaeological and historically cultural
sites. 64 Even though there is gas, oil and hydropower in Arakan, local residents only have four hours of
electricity per day, and then only in the towns 65 ; this is Burma’s area with the least access to electricity
(see Table 2.1) with most of the resources being redistributed or sold abroad.
2.4 Healthcare and Education
“The humanitarian needs of Burma’s people for food, clean water, and basic health care are immense
because the military government has for so long mismanaged the economy and put stringent conditions
on aid.[...] The good news is that after Nargis, the capabilities of Burmese relief workers have grown to
help fill this gap. The bad news is that gains in the cyclone affected area have not been matched in the
rest of the country, where millions of Burmese are living in unnecessary poverty fueled by systematic
corruption and repression.”
“Burma after cyclone repression impedes civil society and aid”, Human Rights Watch 66
The healthcare system in Arakan State and throughout Burma is very underdeveloped. As expected, the
health of people in rural areas of Arakan State is also poor. Medicine is difficult to access, many villagers
die of treatable diseases, and the people suffer the highest rates of malnutrition in Burma (see Table 2.2).
“Although healthcare is nominally free, in reality patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even
in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment.” 67 In
general, the healthcare infrastructure outside of Rangoon and Mandalay is extremely poor, but is worse
in remote areas like Arakan State, where there are only 41 hospital beds for every 100,000 people, which
ranks as the fourth lowest in the country and compares poorly to the national average of 67. 68
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