Cyclone Giri - Two Years On - Burma Action Ireland

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Cyclone Giri: Two Years On ANNEXURE III: Interviews in 2012 Current situation on the Giri affected areas: Two Years On…. Almost all of local and international NGOs had left the communities affected by cyclone Giri after the three months, or when the first phase of the emergency relief was completed. Generally the victims received little or no support for rebuilding income, from the government or international NGOs. The relief supplies were not equally or fairly distributed among the victims, as most of the relief items from INGOs were gone/ distributed through the government authorities and USDP. This fact created a lot of problems among the villagers. One or two days after the cyclone, the authorities assigned soldiers from a local artillery corps, from No. 9 Regional Central Training School, to wards and villages of the most affected townships. They inspected strangers and relief donors and also demanded to deliver assistance through their units. Some of the relief items, particularly rice from local Arakanese community, had to be shared with the army troops or navy bases that served as check points along the waterways. Local donors who did not provide relief items to the soldiers were intimidated and threatened. Victims in the affected community were also intimidated and threatened by the USDP, if they refused to vote for the government party in the elections. Many cyclone victims were angry with the authorities including USDP members who created news stories for propaganda purposes, by pretending to deliver assistance to the victims. The authorities videotaped and photographed their organized events where they delivered assistance, and later confiscated those items when the cameras were off. Most of the Giri affected people still live hand to mouth, as they cannot rebuild their broken livelihoods. They would require a certain amount of capital investment to buy fishing boats, nets, agricultural equipment, and the like. This means that it is difficult to rehabilitate their livelihoods without support from the government or (I)NGOs. This has caused a lot of youth from the affected areas to increasingly migrate to Rangoon, Kachin State and Thailand where they believe they may find job opportunities in gold mines, construction sites, garment factories or fishing industries. The fighting between government and Kachin troops has severely affect these youths who now live in Kachin state. There are hundreds of young migrants in Rangoon, Kachin State and Thailand now. Two years after Cyclone Giri, schools that were partially or fully damaged have not been renovated or rebuilt yet, due to inadequate support from the government or (I)NGOs. There are not enough teachers and learning materials for these rural primary schools. Most of the families in the affected areas are still unable to send their children to school because those children work to support their parents. There are very few, even a total lack of, clinics that are able to provide medical support to the affected villagers, especially in the rural areas. 1. Gender: Male Place of Interview: Sitetway Age: 30 Date of interview: October 1, 2012 Profession: Relief worker Type of interview: Written Q: Could you explain your experiences on the trip you went on to the most affected areas after the cyclone Giri.05 A: We went to the Ingrachai Island including Ngarachai Village in Pauktaw Township for some relief distribution two days after Cyclone Giri. When we arrived there, we saw an Arakanse group from Pauktaw Town, who were distributing some relief supplies mainly rice. And we were the only group from Sitetway for some relief distribution. We stayed 3 days in the island, and there was no (I)NGO or Government support there during that time. So I can say that we were the only local groups, from 83
Arakan Human Rights and Development Organisation Pauktaw and Sitetway who arrived there one and two days after the cyclone Giri. Unfortunately we were not able to provide enough relief supplies to the victims due to limited relief supplies we had. Q: On the way to the affected villages, did you have any security problems A: We didn’t have any security problems. But we later realized that a lot of troops were deployed in the most affected villages, where the relief items could be easily transported and communication could be managed. Then the army troops ordered that all the relief items from any relief groups need to be distributed through them. This means that at least some of the relief items needed to be shared with the soldiers for army rations. Q: Could you tell the current situation in those areas where you went to for relief distribution in 2010 A: The situation has been still worse, as the affected communities are not able to rebuild their broken livelihoods to normal. Since the local and international NGOs left, after the first phase of emergency relief, there has been no big support to rebuilding the destroyed livelihoods of affected community. So there are still in needs of support for the communities most affected by Giri in their damaged livelihoods of agriculture and fishing. The partially or fully damaged schools in the affected villages have not been repaired or rebuilt yet, as little or no support from NGOs or the government is provided. The rice production in the Giri affected townships is too low, as most of the agricultural lands in those areas had been submerged with sea water during the cyclone Giri. The situation has been still worse in most Giri affected areas. So there has increased a huge youth migration to Kachin State, Rangoon and Thailand particularly from the most affected townships, including Mraybon, Pauktaw. 2. Gender: Male Place of Interview: Mae Sot, Thailand Age: 35 Date of interview: September 25, 2012 Profession: Fisherman Type of interview: Written Q: Was your family affected by Cyclone Giri A: Yes of course, our house and fishing equipment were all damaged by the cyclone. Q: Did you get any support for your family A: Yes, we did receive some support especially rice for a few weeks and some roofing materials, but we didn’t get any support for damage to our fishing equipment. Q: Why did you leave the country A: We have had a lot of difficulties rebuilding our family livelihoods, as we lost everything during the cyclone. There are no permanent job opportunities for me and for my family in Kyaukphru. So I left my country to seek better job opportunities in Thailand. I had many challenges along the way to Thailand, as I didn’t have enough money to arrive in Mae Sot, Thailand. Like me, there are many youth who left their native villages to find better job opportunities in Burma proper and Thailand. Q: Could you explain current situation of Giri affected areas in your township A: Most of the people from the Giri affected areas especially in the rural villages live hand-to-mouth, since they didn’t receive enough support for rebuilding their livelihoods. Compared to the rural people, the people from Kyaukphru City who were affected by Giri received more support for rebuilding their livelihoods, but the assistance given is still very limited. Q: Did you see or hear anything or any news of support for the schools and monasteries damaged by the cyclone A: Yes I heard that some assistance was given to rebuild the damaged schools and monasteries, but the support given is very limited. So, repairs for most of the schools and monasteries are not finished yet. That affects the education of the children who don’t have proper schooling now. In some villages, rebuilding the schools and monasteries were done by the support of Arakanese community, but not from the support from the government or (I)NGOs. 84
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Cyclone Giri - Two Years On - Burma Action Ireland

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