Cyclone Nargis: Individual documents

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Description: Go here for the latest from Burma Economic Watch, including: Strange world of post-Nargis numbers revisited: after PONJA...More evidence of the absurdity of 'engagement' with SPDC...Major Aung Linn Htut Open letter to Than Shwe... NOT MUCH BANG FOR THE AID BUCK -- FUND for HIV/AIDS IN MYANMAR (FHAM)...Lagging the pack - the grim realities of Burma's place in the economic firmament...ODA Burma 1988-2005...
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch/Economics Department Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-28
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "A large number of documents marking the anniversary of Cyclone Nargis -- articles, reports etc. from media, international organisations, governments, NGOs and others, published around end April, early May -- can be found on the ReliefWeb site...For other clusters, see the Alternate URLs listed below..."
Source/publisher: ReliefWeb, "The Irrawaddy", "Mizzime News", Google
2009-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-05-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: A useful set of maps, photos and substantial technical material on Burma, prepared in response to Cyclone Nargis. Many useful links (not all public)..... - TEC Products for Burma (CAC Required) What?s This?... - Myanmar (Burma) Water and Hydrology (.pdf) Bibliography... - Burma AMS Topographic Maps..... Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Documents on Burma: - DTIC Burma Bibliography... - Burmese Language Facts... - Country Studies - Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos... - Introduction to Burmese Familiarization Course..... Science Maps of Burma... Travel maps.... NGA Imagery... Other Information and Citations...
Source/publisher: Technical Engineering Center
2008-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-01-26
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: A major collection of maps of Burma/Myanmar, notably agricultural maps... "This web page provides an overview of resources prepared by the Natural Resources Department of FAO about the area, the people, the environment (soils, climate) and the agriculture of Myanmar. Whenever possible, information referring specifically to the area affected by cyclone NARGIS at the beginning of May was included. Since most of the material is not metadata, but actual products, they can be used directly by relief-workers, planners, and those responsible for reconstruction. House of a farmer/fisherman under floods during the monsoon season; Nyaungdone Island, Ayeyarwady Delta, October 1997, © J. Martinez-Beltran, FAO/NRL The information is organised in 5 sections (see box on the left): (1) the current page with some general data, tools, maps, etc.; (2) downloadable digital and printed atlases about the agriculture of Myanmar; (3) maps from the GeoNetwork digital library developed and maintained by FAO. Geonetwork transparently points to external as well as internal data sources; (4) agroclimatic charts and crop calendars and; (5) miscellaneous publications in the technical series of the Organisation, covering all the sectors from fisheries, forestry, food security, crops, livestock, and coast management..."
Source/publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
2008-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-28
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Latest maps: MIMU Myanmar. Cyclone Nargis - Who/What/Where - Counts of Organisations with Projects Under Implementation: Shelter, Protection, Nutrition, Early Recovery, Food, Health, Agriculture, Education, All Clusters, WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene)
Source/publisher: Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
2009-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2009-07-02
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

Description: "BACKGROUND ON ANU 2009 MYANMAR/BURMA UPDATE CONFERENCE: Preparations are under way for the first elections in Myanmar/Burma since 1990, to be held in 2010 as part of the military regime’s “Road Map for Democracy”. The conditions under which the elections will be held are far from favourable, although the laws and procedures under which they will be conducted have not yet been announced. Political controls remain repressive, freedom of expression and assembly does not exist, and international access is restricted by government controls as well as sanctions. Nevertheless, is this a turning point for Myanmar/Burma? Presenters at the Australian National University 2009 Myanmar/Burma Update conference examined these questions and more. Speakers were leading experts from the United States, Japan, France, and Australia, as well as from Myanmar/Burma.....ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We greatly appreciate the ongoing and generous support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), without whose financial support the 2009 Australian National University Myanmar/Burma Update Conference would not have been possible. AusAID’s encouragement has gone much further that just providing financial support, and helped organizers improve the focus and structure on the conference. We are also grateful for the steadfast backing we have always received from the Department of Political and Social Change, in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, especially from the current and former Heads of Department, Paul Hutchcroft and Ed Aspinall, respectively. Finally, we thank the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore, which was once again prepared to publish the conference papers, and copy-editor John Owen for his prompt and fine copy-editing. Last but not least, this publication would not have amounted to anything without the willingness of the contributors to devote time and thought to their chapters, which makes this project worthwhile..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Singapore
2010-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "...Burma serves as a microcosm of the most significant and current global challenges and trends. While it is tempting to attach the label of ‘chaos’ to the context of Burma, David Keen, professor of Complex Emergencies at the London School of Economics, argues that “chaos is really a kind of non-explanation – the label of ‘chaos’ may serve as an effective cover for all kinds of political and economic manipulation” (2008, 13). Studying Burma as a ‘complex emergency‘ offers the opportunity to conduct a more productive analysis of the Burmese context so as to uncover the roots of political manipulation that the label of ‘chaos’ often conceals. The understanding that comes from such a study will influence the way in which the international community engages with Burma’s leaders and people, and will ultimately affect the course of Burma’s future..."
00-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: Executive summary: "Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, making landfall in Ayeyarwady Division, approximately 250 kilometres (km) southwest of Yangon. A category 3 cyclone, Nargis affected more than 50 townships, mainly in Yangon and Ayeyarwady Divisions, including Yangon, the country?s largest city. Strong winds and heavy rain caused the greatest damage in the Ayeyarwady Delta, where a storm surge compounded the impact of the cyclone. Nargis was the worst natural disaster in the history of Myanmar. More than 140,000 people were killed, mainly by the storm surge. Cyclone Nargis caused devastating damage to the environment of the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions, an area where local livelihoods are heavily reliant on the natural resource base. Cyclone Nargis destroyed 38,000 hectares (ha) of natural and replanted mangroves, submerged over 63 percent of paddy fields and damaged 43 percent of freshwater ponds. The cyclone?s impacts were exacerbated by earlier damage to the environment, including deforestation and degradation of mangroves, over-exploitation of natural resources such as fisheries, and soil erosion. For example, the heavy loss of life as a result of the storm surge was primarily due to prior loss of about 75 percent of the original mangrove cover in the Delta, which could have served as a buffer against the storm surge. The deterioration of the natural resource base, in effect, reduced people?s resilience against the impacts of Nargis. The damage caused by the cyclone in the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions poses a major challenge for recovery efforts that are striving to achieve sustainable development in the region. Experiences from Cyclone Nargis clearly demonstrate the vicious circle in which pre-existing environmental degradation increased vulnerability, turning a natural hazard into a major disaster. The disaster resulted in further environmental damage, jeopardizing the sustainability of livelihoods and ecosystem functions. The root cause of environmental degradation in the Ayeyarwady Delta is poverty. Unless remedial action is taken to restore livelihoods, the impacts of Cyclone Nargis will likely increase poverty as communities have little in reserve to cope with the disaster. One key lesson from Nargis is that developing more sustainable livelihoods can not be achieved by focusing solely on natural resource management interventions. Ensuring sustainability will require a coherent and integrated approach across a number of sectors, including livelihoods and food security; shelter; education and training; water, sanitation and hygiene; disaster risk reduction (DRR); and protection of vulnerable groups. At the same time, these sectoral approaches will need to be augmented by capacity-building and institutional strengthening for national and local governments as well as civil society, an enabling framework at the national level to provide laws and policies that support sustainable development, and a reliable information base on the environment."
Source/publisher: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
2009-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-06-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: Introduction: "In May 2008, the international community was frustrated with Myanmar?s1 resistance to humanitarian access after the country was hit by the large-scale cyclone named ?Nargis.? Western nations as well as neighboring countries tried to persuade the military government to open up the country and to let in aid supplies and rescue personnel, however, the junta refused to accept them. Myanmar criticized the humanitarian access, calling it ?humanitarian intervention.? This paper looks further into the Myanmar case, focusing on political negotiations among the international community, regional community and Myanmar. The Myanmar case is the first in which controversy over humanitarian access after a natural disaster occurred, and it involves the principle of the ?Responsibility to Protect? (generally called the ?R2P?)2 vulnerable people from crimes against humanity. In this case, a number of Western nations asked for the invocation of the R2P principle proposing that the UN Security Council should pass a resolution to authorize emergency relief delivery and impose this on Myanmar if the junta was either unwilling or unable to cope, and where significant loss of life had occurred. If a state fails to protect its people does it then become the responsibility of the international community to protect that state?s population? This paper makes a modest attempt to answer that question..."
Creator/author: Miki HONDA
Source/publisher: Waseda University
2009-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ISSN: 1868-4882 (online), ISSN: 1868-1034 (print).... Abstract: "Cyclone Nargis was one of the most powerful disasters to hit Myanmar and Southeast Asia. Myanmar was criticized internationally for its allegedly slow effort in allowing international aid to enter into the country. This paper examines the criticism levelled against the ASEAN for its slow response in providing aid to the beleaguered in Myanmar and relates that criticism to ASEAN?s disaster management policy. It focuses on ASEAN?s engagement with Myanmar in order to allow humanitarian aid to flow into the country. The paper suggests that in time ASEAN will have to move from its doctrine of non-intervention in the affairs of a sovereign state to one of non-indifference if it wishes to remain relevant. Ultimately, ASEAN will have to re-evaluate its own goals in order to be a more successful apparatus for interstate and regional affairs, especially with respect to humanitarian crises brought about by natural disasters.".....Keywords: Myanmar, Burma, ASEAN, humanitarian intervention, Nargis, regional organization
Creator/author: Amador III, Julio Santiago
Source/publisher: Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 28, 4, 3-22.
2009-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2011-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The cyclone that ravaged Myanmar?s Irrawaddy Delta five months ago has led to an unexpectedly robust influx of foreign money and relief workers, showering aid on a small part of Myanmar?s population but leaving other, equally desperate parts of the country to fend for themselves.
Source/publisher: "New York Times"
2008-10-20
Date of entry/update: 2011-03-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: An independent, community-based assessment of health and human rights in the Cyclone Nargis response...DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: "To date, this report is the only community-based independent assessment of the Nargis response conducted by relief workers operating free of SPDC control. Using participatory methods and operating without the knowledge or consent of the Burmese junta or its affiliated institutions, this report brings forward the voices of those working ?on the ground” and of survivors in the Cyclone Nargis-affected areas of Burma. The data reveal systematic obstruction of relief aid, willful acts of theft and sale of relief supplies, forced relocation, and the use of forced labor for reconstruction projects, including forced child labor. The slow distribution of aid, the push to hold the referendum vote, and the early refusal to accept foreign assistance are evidence of the junta?s primary concerns for regime survival and political control over the well-being of the Burmese people. These EAT findings are evidence of multiple human rights violations and the abrogation of international humanitarian relief norms and international legal frameworks for disaster relief. They may constitute crimes against humanity, violating in particular article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and a referral for investigation by the International Criminal Court should be made by the United Nations Security Council".
Creator/author: Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Mahn Mahn, Cynthia Maung, Brock Daniels, Noriyuki Murakami, Andrea Wirtz, Chris Beyrer
Source/publisher: Emergency Assistance Team (EAT BURMA), Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2009-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Mission Highlights: • During the 2008 monsoon season, agricultural production suffered a significant decline in areas severely affected by Cyclone Nargis, as a result of poor quality seeds, salinity and iron toxicity, lack of agricultural labour and draught animals. Compared to the previous year, average paddy production is estimated to have decreased by 32 percent in 7 affected townships in the Ayeyarwady Division and by 35 percent in 3 affected townships of Yangon Division. At the divisional level, 2008 monsoon paddy output was down by 13 percent in Ayeyarwady, and 9 percent in Yangon. • Overall, aggretate food production in Myanmar is satisfactory, with positive outputs expected in most states/divisions, reflecting favourable weather and increasing use of F1 and HYV rice seeds. The Mission forecasts a 2008/09 (2008 monsoon and 2009 summer) cereal output of 21 million tonnes (rice at 19.8 million tonnes, maize at 1.11 million tonnes, and wheat at 0.147 million tonnes), 3.2 percent below the previous year, but approximately 10 percent above the five-year average. Cereal exports are expected to be high, with estimated rice exports of 477 000 tonnes and maize exports of 159 000 tonnes conversely, up to 64 000 tonnes of wheat are expected to be imported. • The cyclone-related damage to the livestock and fishing sectors in the Ayeyarwady Delta will continue to affect food supply and income generation in 2008/09. • Rats have damaged 685 hectares of rice and 400 hectares of maize in 121 villages of Chin State;localized food insecurity in these villages is expected. • Despite the increase in international rice prices, paddy prices in Myanmar remained low in 2008 due to domestic market and trade barriers. These low prices, combined with the rising cost of fertilizer and other major inputs, have significantly reduced farmers? incentives profits, and may have negatively impacted agricultural productivity and the country?s agricultural exports. • The Mission received reports of high levels of malnutrition in northern Rakhine State and recommends that a joint UNICEF and WFP food security and nutrition survey be conducted to verify these reports and to plan appropriate interventions, if needed. • In areas with high percentages of food insecure and vulnerable populations, defined as people living below the food poverty line, baseline surveys are required to measure food security, vulnerability, and nutrition, and plan appropriate interventions. Chin and Rakhine States are of the highest priority for baseline surveys. • There are more than 5 million people below the food poverty line in Myanmar. States/divisions which the Mission found to be a priority for emergency food assistance are: cyclone-affected areas of Ayeyarwady Division (85 000 tonnes); Chin State (23 000 tonnes), particularly those areas affected by the rat infestation; Rakhine State (15 000 tonnes), particularly the north of the State; Kachin State (8 300 tonnes); north Shan State (20 200 tonnes); east Shan State (7 000 tonnes); and Magwe Division (27 500 tonnes). Most of the food commodities can be procured locally, with only a limited requirement for imported food aid. • The Mission recommends the following agricultural assistance in cyclone-affected Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions: distribution of seeds for the coming summer and next monsoon planting seasons; distribution of draught animals adapted to local climatic conditions; distribution of other livestock for increased meat availability; distribution of hand tractors with training on their usage and maintenance; distribution of fishing equipment; re-establishment of ice production plants; and training in boat-building, net-making and on drafting of fishery laws. • The Mission recommends the following actions in regard to national food policies: set up a market information and food security warning system; develop balanced food production and trade policies for both producers and consumers; remove domestic market/trade barriers; and improve market integration.
Creator/author: Cheng Fang, Maung Mar, Aye Mon, Thanda Kyi, Bernard Cartella, Jan Delbaere, Michael Sheinkman, Nang Seng Aye, Aaron Charlop-Powers, Siddharth Krishnaswamy, Raul Varela
Source/publisher: FAO, WFP
2009-01-22
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The June 12 panel--?Cyclone Nargis: Whose Responsibility to Protect?”--produced sharp disagreement not only about whether the Burmese regime?s dilatory response to the cyclone constituted a potential ?R2P situation,” but also more broadly about the role of this new doctrine in the aftermath of natural disasters. While none of the panelists or audience members found much to praise in the junta?s humanitarian response, some sought to understand the ?paranoia” that the country?s leaders bore to the outside world. They concluded that outsiders eager to help victims of the cyclone would have to either work around the barriers erected by the fearful and suspicious generals, or look for those in the regime more open to engagement with outsiders. The regime, one participant noted, was far less monolithic than it appeared from the outside. Others felt that the regime?s state of mind mattered far less than the effect of its behavior on its own beleaguered citizens. One participant catalogued the lethal diseases, including HIV and malaria, which had proliferated in Burma owing to a moribund public health system—at a time when the sale of natural resources was enriching members of the regime. The unnecessary death of perhaps 100,000 citizens made the regime criminal even before the cyclone struck, which meant that Burma had arguably been an R2P situation for years. This participant and others nevertheless did not view the regime?s neglect of its citizens in the aftermath of the cyclone as meriting the application of the 2 responsibility to protect. Another participant, however, said that the very real possibility of mass death from neglect meant that the Security Council should have taken up the issue and noted that the council had even rebuffed a proposed briefing by UN humanitarian coordinator John Holmes..."
Source/publisher: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
2008-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: An American journalist recaptures the turmoil in the Irrawaddy delta following Cyclone Nargis... "All too often, fact in Burma is stranger than fiction. Everything is Broken: A Tale of Catastrophe in Burma, by Emma Larkin. Penguin Press, 2010. P 288. Emma Larkin, a pseudonym for an American journalist based in Bangkok, knows this all too well. Her first book, ?Finding George Orwell in Burma,? compares modern Burmese political history to Orwell?s dystopian novels. Burma?s rulers consistently outperformed Orwell?s fictional characters in terms of sheer brutality and oppression. However, not even Orwell could have envisioned the incompetence and callousness of the Burmese military government?s initial response to Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. While Burmese villagers struggled to survive, the military blocked foreign aid and held a constitutional referendum. For her new book, ?Everything is Broken: A Tale of Catastrophe in Burma,? Larkin relies upon interviews and field research in order to narrate the story of Burma?s worst natural disaster...The second part of the book summarizes recent Burmese history, from the governmental move to Naypyidaw to the Saffron Revolution. Burma watchers can probably skim over this section..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 5
2010-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...Three months after Cyclone Nargis, the world has an outdated image of the situation inside Burma. Although aid agencies delivered assistance within days after the storm and continue to do so, the story of a recalcitrant government that rejects aid from the generous nations of the world has not been updated. Aid agencies today report an unprecedented level of access and mobility in the Ayeyarwady Delta, which is a tribute to the successful fight by the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and the United States for humanitarian access. But the gains in delivering relief supplies, gathering information about needs and supporting local communities are at risk without continued commitment to food security, livelihood and early recovery activities. .."
Creator/author: Dawn Calabia, Megan Fowler
Source/publisher: Refugees International
2008-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 109.89 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: "Cyclone Nargis is believed to be the worst recorded natural disaster in Myanmar?s history. It swept through the South Eastern region of Myanmar in early May 2008. It caused widespread destruction and devastation. This book contains a collection of narratives obtained through interviews with key actors involved in the cyclone relief effort. We primarily interviewed members of local organisations but have also included a number of alternate perspectives from external actors who work closely with the Myanmar context. The following summary reflects the main points gained from this project: * On the one hand, Cyclone Nargis brought so much destruction. At the same time, it brought people together and provided the opportunity for people in civil society to take action and mount a response to the disaster. This is of particular significance in the Myanmar context where civil society is struggling with the impact of decades of civil war and division amongst identity groups such as clan, ethnicity, religion, or geographic/regional affiliation, or a mixture of these. * As these narratives outline, the response to Cyclone Nargis was massive, immediate and greatly increased people?s capacities in building relationships, working with communities outside traditional target areas, integrating existing programs and working with the authorities. Those providing the response comprised NGOs, business entities, religious institutions, government authorities, and community organisations both highly organised and loosely organised. * Cyclone Nargis provided a number of opportunities for collaboration amongst actors who had previously been looking to work together for some time. It created the conditions for alliances to be forged and many organisations set out strategically to build their networks and integrate existing programs such as environmental awareness, participatory community organising, peacebuilding, etc. have had a much greater destructive impact. A great deal of international assistance was prevented from reaching affected populations due to Government restrictions on entering Myanmar. This situation provided the opportunity for local and international organisations, including the UN, to build their connections and develop strong relationships for their field operations during the relief effort. * Capacity building work carried out by NGOs prior to Cyclone Nargis was able to be capitalised upon in the wake of the disaster. Networks already existed so organisations were able to quickly mobilise community organisers, trauma healers and, in some instances, disaster response teams. Despite this however, capacity building was highlighted by the organisations we interviewed as a significant need of organisations in Myanmar and an area where external organisations can greatly assist. * Through Cyclone Nargis, young people were able to gain volunteer experience and employment as a result of the expansion in NGO activities in responding to the disaster. The focus on building the younger generation is particularly important in the Myanmar context as decades of civil war has led to a decline in education standards and employment opportunities for young people. Building a sense of community by engaging young people in community work and exposing them to different contexts can inspire and encourage young people to become socially active. * External organisations in Myanmar need to understand the local context and the conflict dynamics. This understanding is critical if the assistance provided by external organisations is going to have any resonance. Moreover, without understanding the context and conflict dynamics, local organisations will be unnecessarily burdened by the expectations of outside entities and can potentially be put at risk. * Isolationist policies adopted by the international community towards Myanmar need to be reconsidered. These policies further polarise issues resulting in the Government becoming more entrenched in their position. The majority of civil society groups we interviewed for this project were balancing working with the Government with their commitment to communities. * In carrying out emergency response work for Cyclone Nargis, organisations became aware of the interdisciplinary nature of relief work and the need to work holistically in responding to the context. This necessitated being flexible and creative. * An acceptance that organisations can develop a working relationship with Government and benefit from it, was a key learning expressed by many of the organisations we interviewed. This learning reinforces the importance of networking and building relationships. * A number of organisations interviewed expressed that external organisation should trust the local people to do the work and also support and strengthen local mechanisms in program cycle management. This includes building skills in reporting, monitoring and evaluation. A strong recommendation emerged that participation in developing frameworks and co-operation between external and local organisations and community people, is required."
Source/publisher: Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS)
2009-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2010-07-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 810.49 KB
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Description: Cyclone Nargis struck southern Burma on May 2-3, 2008, killing at least 140,000 people and bringing devastation to an estimated 2.4 million people in the Irrawaddy Delta and the former capital, Rangoon. The Burmese military government?s initial reaction to the cyclone shocked the world: instead of immediately allowing international humanitarian assistance to be delivered to survivors, as did countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) prevented both foreign disaster relief workers and urgently needed relief supplies from entering the delta during the crucial first weeks after the cyclone. The military government blocked large-scale international relief efforts by delaying the issuance of visas to aid workers, prohibiting foreign helicopters and boats from making deliveries to support the relief operation, obstructing travel by aid agencies to affected areas, and preventing local and international media from freely reporting from the disaster area. Rather than prioritizing the lives and well-being of the affected population, the military government?s actions were dictated by hostility to the international community, participation in the diversion of aid, and an obsession with holding a manipulated referendum on a longdelayed constitution. ?I Want to Help My Own People? 8 In the face of the government?s callous response, Burmese civil society groups and individuals raised money, collected supplies and traveled to the badly affected parts of the Irrawaddy Delta and around Rangoon to help survivors in shattered villages. Many efforts were spontaneous, but as the relief and recovery efforts gained pace, dozens of communitybased organizations and civil society groups organized themselves and gained unprecedented experience in providing humanitarian relief and initiating projects. Access for United Nations agencies and international humanitarian organizations improved starting in late May 2008 after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the delta, and the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) brokered a deal with the Burmese government. They established the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), which became the central vehicle for coordinating aid, improving access for humanitarian organizations to the delta, and carrying out the ensuing recovery efforts. The two years since Cyclone Nargis have seen an unprecedented influx of humanitarian assistance to the delta, with a visible presence of local and international aid workers and improved access to provide humanitarian relief. While this opening has been rightly welcomed, it has not been the unmitigated success that many Burma analysts have portrayed it to be. Humanitarian access to the delta improved significantly by Burma standards following the establishment of the TCG mechanism, but it has remained far short of international standards. And partly because of the access restrictions imposed by the SPDC, humanitarian funding has not been sufficient to meet the needs of people in the cyclone-affected zones. As a result, two years after the cyclone, the recovery of many communities in the delta remains limited, particularly communities far from the towns where most relief efforts were organized. Such communities face continuing hardships and difficulties obtaining clean water and adequate sanitation, health resources, needed agricultural support, and recovery of livelihoods. Had the SPDC not continued to place unnecessary restrictions on the humanitarian relief effort in the delta, the cyclone-affected population would be much farther down the road to recovery. The Burmese government has failed to adequately support reconstruction efforts that benefit the population, contributing only paltry levels of aid despite having vast sums at its disposal from lucrative natural gas sales. Although the government has not announced total figures dedicated for cyclone relief and reconstruction, it allocated a mere 5 million kyat (US$50,000) for an emergency fund immediately after the storm. It is clear that its subsequent spending has also not been commensurate with available resources. Burma?s government is estimated to have more than US$5 billion in foreign reserves and receives an 9 Human Rights Watch │April 2010 estimated US$150 million in monthly gas export revenues. The Burmese government channels the limited assistance it does provide through its surrogates and contracts awarded to politically connected companies, in an effort to maintain social control. In addition, the government?s distribution of aid has been marred by serious allegations of favoritism. In most areas of Burma outside of the cyclone-affected areas, international humanitarian access is much more limited than in the delta, despite significant levels of preventable disease, malnutrition, and inadequate water and sanitation, particularly in the central dry zone and the ethnic minority areas of the border states. All of the UN staff, Burmese aid providers, and international humanitarian organization representatives Human Rights Watch spoke with in Burma in early 2010 praised the humanitarian opening in the delta, but then added that humanitarian space in the rest of Burma remains a major challenge. As one senior aid official told us: ?We were all hoping that the Nargis experience would be the wedge to open a lot of things, but this hasn?t happened.? The statistics speak for themselves: approximately one-third of Burmese citizens live below the poverty line. Most live on one to three US dollars a day, and suffer from inadequate food security. Maternal mortality is the worst in the Asian region after Afghanistan. While the economies of many of its neighbors rapidly develop, the people of Burma continue to suffer. The SPDC fails to invest its own available resources to address urgent social and economic needs and blocks the humanitarian community from doing all it can to help meet those needs in other parts of the country. A number of humanitarian aid experts we spoke with were hopeful that after national elections scheduled for the end of 2010 are completed, they will then be able to build on what was achieved in cyclone-affected areas, and expand the delivery of humanitarian aid to other areas in Burma where it is desperately needed. While the record of the Burmese government to date suggests this will be an uphill battle at best, the UN, ASEAN, and other influential international actors in Burma should make it a priority to continue to press for such expanded access. Natural disasters can sometimes work as a catalyst for peace-building and reform in conflict wracked societies, as occurred in Aceh, Indonesia, following the 2004 tsunami. In Burma, the military government is stronger and more confident two years after the cyclone, but it is no more accountable or respectful of basic rights...Finally, this reports details an under-appreciated positive legacy of the cyclone response: the development of a group of new, truly independent and experienced civil society organizations in Burma, which now seek to use their skills to address other humanitarian and development challenges in the country..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2010-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2010-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.73 MB
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Description: "As the world was holding its breath in anticipation of the upcoming national referendum on the draft constitution in Myanmar (scheduled on May 10, 2008), a powerful tropical storm by the name of Nargis swept across the southern part of the country, submerging much of the Ayeyarwardy Delta and ravaging coastal Yangon. The force of nature not only devastated the lives of many people as a vast expanse of farmland became inundated and millions of houses were flattened, but the cyclone also produced in its aftermath fresh ripples in international relations. As the death toll climbed and the scale of devastation continued to unfold, international media attention quickly focused on humanitarian aid to the country. Speculation arose about whether the military government would accept international relief, and whether the referendum would be put on hold in the wake of the natural disaster..."
Creator/author: Xiaolin Guo
Source/publisher: Institute for Security and Development Policy (Sweden)
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "On 2 May 2008 the lower western regions of Burma were hit by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. The scale of the cyclone and the devastation it left in its wake made the task of identifying victims and those affected very difficult to accurately gauge. Estimates vary in range, however, most sources agree that around 140,000 people may have lost their lives, and around 2.4 million people were directly affected by the event. The actual story of the cyclone and its effects have been covered extensively by the international and exile media as well as those groups operating on relief and reconstruction efforts in the Irrawaddy and Rangoon Divisions, which bore the brunt of the cyclone?s impact. Therefore, it shall not be necessary to herein repeat the details of the event. This chapter will look at how the disaster may have served to facilitate human rights violations in the early phases of the relief effort, including those abuses that were directly related to the cyclone, but not necessarily perpetrated in the delta regions, where most examinations of the human rights element to the relief operations have been focused..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
2009-11-23
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.2 MB
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Description: "Although the majority of the households in Cyclone Nargis-affected areas have returned to their pre-cyclone situation, immediate efforts are still required to address needs in shelter and livelihoods one year after the cyclone, despite progress being made in all sectors. That is the key message of the Periodic Review II launched by the Tripartite Core Group in Yangon today. Building on the Periodic Review I (PR I), the Periodic Review II report is an analysis of data collected between 7 May 2009 and 2 June 2009 from 2,931 households in 105 communities in the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions. "The findings are presented in three interlinked chapters ? Healthy Lives, Productive Lives and Protected Lives ? which are in line with the PONREPP(1). They cover eight sectors: Livelihoods, Shelter, Education, Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Disaster Risk Management, Environment, and Protection and Vulnerable Groups. The Periodic Review II once again proves that the aid reaching the cyclone-affected people have helped them build back their lives. However, more efforts are needed in order to ?build back better?, especially in the shelter and livelihoods sectors. Although 87% of households reported returning to their pre-cyclone compounds, 74% of all respondents still considered adequate shelter as one of their most pressing needs. Ninety per cent of the households do not consider their shelter safe from another cyclone. Data from the livelihoods sector show a high unemployment rate among casual labourers of which 90% could be in the agriculture sector. There is also a concern that casual labourers would find fewer jobs with farming families due to the scarcity of capital and farming input in this sector..."
Source/publisher: Tripartite Core Group (SPDC, ASEAN, UN+humanitarian agencies)
2009-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2009-08-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 91.64 MB
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Description: "One year after Cyclone Nargis, doubts about the Burmese regime?s role in the relief effort continue to slow the recovery of the Irrawaddy delta..."
Creator/author: Htet Aung
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 3
2009-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-06-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "One year after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta, there?s a sense of accomplishment, but also a realization that recovery remains a distant goal for those without homes, land and livelihoods..."
Creator/author: Yeni
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 3
2009-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-06-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "A year after Cyclone Nargis devastated a wide swathe of the Irrawaddy delta, many survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives. One of the greatest obstacles to a return to normalcy has been the reluctance of international donors to fund projects that depend on the cooperation of the Burmese junta. Among humanitarian relief agencies, a debate is raging about how to respond to the needs of the people of the delta, while addressing concerns that aid could be misused by the regime. Here is a selection of comments from people engaged in this ongoing discussion, which could have long-term implications for Burma?s social, political and economic development..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 3
2009-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-06-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "ONE year after Cyclone Nargis, the heads of international nongovern-mental organisations and United Nations agencies working in the Ayeyarwady delta are calling for continued government cooperation and donor support for humanitarian efforts in Myanmar. At a press conference held at the UN?s main office in Yangon on April 30, the UN?s resident and humanitarian coordinator Mr Bishow Parajuli said that ?continued support and engagement by the international community must be ensured for years to come, so the 2.4 million cyclone-affected people can fully recover and regain economic and social stability”...." [mainly quotes from a 30 April UN press conference]
Creator/author: Stuart Deed, Becky Palmstrom
Source/publisher: "The Myanmar Times" (Myanmar Consolidated Media Co. Ltd)
2009-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2009-05-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "...People of good intent can and likely will differ regarding situations as complex and challenging as the response to Cyclone Nargis. The letter released on April 8th, 2009, by a joint group of international relief agencies working on the ground inside Burma should be taken in this light. We recognize that international organizations working under Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling military junta in Burma, both operate in a constrained environment and are motivated by real concern for the welfare of the peoples of the country. We understand why it would be difficult for these agencies and their thousands of local staff to report in an uncensored manner on cyclone relief aid problems, as well as issues of forced labor and other human rights violations. We suspect that many of these agencies would join us in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of humanitarian relief workers and those reporting on the situation now imprisoned by the SPDC, including the four sentenced in March of 2009, but understand why they cannot. We also recognize their inability to investigate and report incidences of human rights violations such as forced labor..."
Source/publisher: Emergency Assistance Team (EAT) - Burma; Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights
2009-04-20
Date of entry/update: 2009-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 50.93 KB
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Description: Mercy Corps, Merlin, Norwegian Peoples Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council, Pact, Population Services International, Relief International, Save the Children, Welthungerhilfe (German Agro‐Action), World Vision....."... "In conclusion, we?d like to highlight the following: • Dozens of international and local relief agencies along with foreign embassies are continually examining humanitarian aid delivery from inside Burma. They are able to do so independently and firsthand. 4 • The international humanitarian assistance delivered to date has been life‐saving and life sustaining for millions of cyclone survivors. It has reached them without significant interference. • INGOs in Myanmar work within constraints and continuously seek to address and put into place mechanisms that improve accountability, transparency and protection issues in a responsible manner . (A special working group, a Protection cluster, has been set up under the Inter Agency Standing Committee which seeks to address protection‐related issues.) • The effect of broadly misrepresenting the situation on the ground in the Delta after Cyclone Nargis through the EAT‐Johns Hopkins report can be to undermine the case for further aid to the survivors. Far from improving the situation, it will lead to significant further suffering for hundreds of thousands of people. Recovery from this massive disaster is still very tenuous. It is clear that aid needs to be ramped up to support the two million cyclone survivors who continue to struggle under grim conditions today. • The news release dated 27 February 2009 from EAT‐Johns Hopkins called for a review ?before further assistance is delivered.” None of the "voices" quoted in the EAT‐Johns Hopkins report, and none of the survivors that relief agencies have spoken to, are calling for such a pause in aid. To the contrary, the consistent "voice" of all the people in the Delta, in direct contradiction to the report, is "Please, don't abandon us". This strongest of voices is completely absent from the report. We owe it to the courageous survivors of Cyclone Nargis to collectively engage in helping them rebuild their lives. In the spirit of research and learning, we would welcome an opportunity to meet with the authors of the report to discuss their findings and concerns. In particular, we invite representatives from EAT and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to visit the Delta together to meet directly with cyclone survivors to hear their views on continued assistance. We believe our common efforts at reflection, debate and mutual accountability can ultimately serve to improve the lives of survivors in Myanmar during this most critical juncture..."
Source/publisher: 21 international NGOs working in Burma/Myanmar
2009-04-08
Date of entry/update: 2009-04-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 149.33 KB
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Description: In the past year, humanitarian assistance to Burma has been primarily focused on victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the Irrawaddy delta on May 2, 2008. Though the initial delivery of assistance was hampered by government obstruction, the aid programs that have since developed in the delta have benefited from an ease of operations unseen in other parts of the country. Relief work in the delta is progressing smoothly, but attempts to expand access to the rest of the country are struggling. Nonetheless, to capitalize on the existing gains, the U.S. should provide significant funding for programs throughout the country....Policy Recocommendations: "...The United States should join other donor nations in making a significant appropriation for humanitarian aid in Burma. It should allocate $30 million for FY10, with plans to increase its contribution to $45 million in FY11 and $60 million in FY12. * The United Nations should strengthen its support for the Burma Country team by hiring a Senior Humanitarian Advisor to work with the RC/HC and ensure that teams in Bangkok and New York are providing adequate guidance and support. *ASEAN should look to apply the Tri-Partite Core Group model for use in the discussion of other issues of concern with Burma, such as the Rohingya. In the past year, humanitarian assistance to Burma has been primarily focused on victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the Irrawaddy delta on May 2, 2008. Though the initial delivery of assistance was hampered by government obstruction, the aid programs that have since developed in the delta have benefited from an ease of operations unseen in other parts of the country. Relief work in the delta is progressing smoothly, but attempts to expand access to the rest of the country are struggling. Nonetheless, to capitalize on the existing gains, the U.S. should provide significant funding for programs throughout the country..."
Source/publisher: Refugees International
2009-03-18
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "YANGON, 19 March 2009 (IRIN) - The positive aspects of the Cyclone Nargis response in the Ayeyarwady Delta have yet to translate into better access or more funds for aid operations in the rest of Myanmar, where needs are great and often unmet, according to aid workers..."
Source/publisher: IrinNews (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)
2009-03-19
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "On February 9, 2009, the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) released its latest report on reconstruction efforts in Burma in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. The TCG, which is comprised of representatives of the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN, was established in May 2008 as the body to coordinate relief efforts. In July 2008 it produced the ‘Post-Nargis Joint Assessment? (PONJA) report into the damage wrought by the cyclone, and subsequent periodic reviews. PONREPP is meant to be the capstone of these efforts, and the TCG?s vision – not just of post-Nargis reconstruction – but of Burma?s medium term economic development. Seen in the light of these ambitions, it is unfortunate that PONREPP is a deeply disappointing document. Written as if the advances made in the last four decades as to ‘what works and what does not? in terms of economic development had not occurred, it is a throwback to the top-down, state-driven, planning mindset that, in the 1950s and 60s, condemned countless developing countries to stagnation and retreat. In PONREPP the private sector is notable largely by its absence – this primary driver of economic development subsumed by local authorities of dubious standing, the ministrations of local and international NGOs and, above all, by the state and its agencies. In short, the recommendations set out in PONREPP would condemn Burma, in the view of BEW, to a continuation of the policies and programmes that have impoverished this once prosperous and hopeful country. We will review PONREPP in detail in a future document but, briefly stated, our conclusions above are informed by some of the following:..."
Creator/author: Sean Turnell, Wylie Bradford, Alison Vicary
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch
2009-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 90.9 KB
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Description: When Tropical Cyclone Nargis cut a swathe through Lower Burma last week, it left more than death and destruction in its wake. The military government?s slow response to the disaster, including its reluctance to accept international assistance, has further blackened its name. Yet it can be argued that the international community has also failed fully to appreciate the dire situation in Burma, and has unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved in the current circumstances.
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter" - weblog of the Lowy Institute for International Policy
2008-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2009-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ABSTRACT: A bibliography on Burma prepared by the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) to assist with humanitarian efforts offered by the US Government after the devastating Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2, 2008. As such, this bibliography covers items of interest to disaster engineers and emergency planners, including citations on topography, transportation, water, medical concerns, and security.
Creator/author: R. Lee Hadden
Source/publisher: Topographic Engineering Center, US Army Corps of Engineers
2008-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The Cyclone Nargis response in Myanmar:- Negotiating humanitarian access to cyclone-affected areas of Myanmar: a review (Julie Belanger mand Richard Horsey)... ASEAN?s role in the Cyclone Nargis response: implications, lessons and opportunities Yves-Kim Creac?h and Lilianne Fan)... The Village Tract Assessment in Myanmar, July 2008: lessons and implications (Richard Blewitt, Yves-Kim Creac?h, Adelina Kamal, Puji Pujiono and Yohannah Wegerdt)... Nargis and beyond: a choice between sensationalism and politicised inaction? (Phillip Humphris, MSF Switzerland)... Responding to Cyclone Nargis: key lessons from Merlin?s experience (Fiona Campbell, Muhammad Shafique and Paula Sansom, Merlin)... HAP and Sphere focal points in Myanmar: early lessons (Erik Johnson, DanChurchAid)... Support to local initiatives in the Nargis response: a fringe versus mainstream approach (Kerren Hedlund and Daw Myint Su)... Helping the heroes: practical lessons from an attempt to support a civil society emergency response after Nargis (ATP staff)... HIV programming in Myanmar (Population Services International Myanmar, Save the Children and the UN Joint Team on AIDS in Myanmar)... Protracted crisis in eastern Burma (Thailand Burma Border Consortium)... Anti-personnel landmines in Myanmar: a cause of displacement and an obstacle to return (Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, International Campaign to Ban Landmines)...... Practice and policy notes: 35 Targeting humanitarian assistance in DRC 39 Does humanitarian space exist in Chad? 41 Aravanis: voiceless victims of the tsunami 43 Including chronic disease care in emergency responses 46 MSF and accountability: from global buzzwords to specific solutions 49 In praise of dependency
Source/publisher: Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN)
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-01-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Ashin Nyanissara, Zarganar,Zaw Thet Htwe, Ohn Kyaing, Aye Kyu, Free Funeral Services Society.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 12
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-12-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: When Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Myanmar in May 2008, an estimated 140,000 lives were lost. Similar to other recent natural disasters, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, the sheer scale of this disaster requires ongoing relief and recovery assistance for the affected population. Half a year after the disaster and the provision of aid and assistance, the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) commenced a series of periodic reviews to assess the needs of people and communities, and progress towards recovery. This is the first report of this effort. Over the next nine months, the Periodic Review process will seek to inform humanitarian assistance strategies and programme change to benefit the people affected by Cyclone Nargis. By providing relevant data on the situation and needs of the affected people, coordination may be strengthened across sectors and between international and domestic actors. The comprehensive geographic and multi-sectoral coverage of the Review pioneers a new approach to post-disaster needs assessment and monitoring. This report does not seek to evaluate in detail the success of the assistance provided or to make policy recommendations. Instead, it presents findings from analysis of data collected from 2,376 households in 108 communities spread across the area of Myanmar worst affected by Cyclone Nargis. The findings of the first round of the Periodic Review process are presented here by sector and take into account cross-cutting issues. They provide a snapshot of the situation for communities living in the Cyclone-affected areas. It is important to note that the areas covered by the survey were affected to different degrees and that the situation of the surveyed communities was not homogenous prior to the Cyclone. Subsequently, it is not possible to attribute all of the results presented in this report directly or exclusively to the Cyclone, or to subsequent relief efforts. Indicators for the health sector reveal good results for access to health care and outreach into communities. However, the findings raise concerns around the functioning of the health system as only one third of households reported that medicine was available at local clinics all or most of the time. In addition, the prevalence of fever and diarrhoea in communities suggests problems with infectious disease in the centre and west of the Delta and north of Yangon. Findings for nutrition and food security are interlinked with health outcomes, as nutrition reflects the health status and food availability for a population. The proportion of children suffering undernurtition is highest around Yangon (over 15 per cent) and may represent a chronic problem, rather than being directly related to the impact of Cyclone Nargis. By contrast, inappropriate treatment of diarrhoea is most common in the Delta. Food aid had reached every surveyed community along the path of the Cyclone. However, food insecurity persists in the southwest and around Yangon and food consumption is poor across the west. Again, this may reflect chronic problems as well as the impact of Cyclone Nargis. Across the survey area, the majority of households are either using an improved (safe) water source, or treating their water effectively, with the exception of a small area south of Yangon. The percentage of households using chlorine tablets is low, less than three per cent. With the end of the Monsoon season, households are using less rainwater (down from 30 per cent reported in the Village Tract Assessment (VTA) in June to around 20 per cent) and more surface water, from ponds for example. There is concern that increased dependence on surface water and the salination of ponds caused by the storm surge may result in water shortages as the dry season continues. By contrast, the use of unsanitary practices almost halved since the VTA. High proportions of households remain in inadequate shelters that are often overcrowded and offer little protection from the heat and rain. In only around 10 per cent of communities surveyed did every household report adequate living conditions, the same or better than before the Cyclone. Of particular concern is the very high proportion of households using plastic or canvas for their roofs or walls in the area of the southern delta where the storm surge struck. These are temporary repairs, not rebuilding, and occur in around 30 per cent of villages surveyed. Post-Nargis Periodic Review I 2 Education is widely available and the main barrier to school attendance are the costs associated, such as for the school uniform. For older children, needing to work, either to earn income or as a carer in the home, is also an important factor. There is good awareness of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), which were mobilised to assist with reconstruction of schools, and areas of low PTA participation are correlated with areas where school attendance rates are lower. Livelihoods have been disrupted across the affected area as fishing, livestock rearing and agriculture all suffered heavy losses. Along the path of the Cyclone, communities are a long way from fully recovering these losses, for example in poultry stocks, arable land, buffalo for ploughing, fishing nets and boats. Recovery will take several years both because of the types of loss suffered (salinated land and fallen trees) and the breadth of need (the very large numbers of livestock and fishing equipment that need to be replaced). Social structures around employment and access to credit have been disrupted with both lack of access and more unfavourable terms observed. People also lost assets and savings, which has reduced their capacity for self recovery and increased indebtedness. While the assistance that has been delivered is making an impact, the depth and geographic coverage is not yet sufficient to meet all needs. In particular, assistance is not reaching the western delta and some of the larger towns and periurban areas as effectively as the eastern delta. The persistence of need, even in areas that received substantial aid, means that the depth of that assistance is not yet sufficient and greater efforts are required if these needs are to be met. Many of the issues facing the Cyclone-affected communities are interlinked and cut across sectors. These include: the interaction of the health system, nutrition, food, shelter and sanitation for improved health outcomes; and the need for recovery in livelihoods to improve food security. Others, such as increasing concerns over water availability through the dry season, will have knock on effects in other sectors. The needs of people vary between and within communities according to the nature and extent of the damage caused by the Cyclone and the vulnerability of members of communities. Meeting the needs of those traditionally considered most vulnerable in a sustainable way requires rehabilitating the communities in which they live. In order to effectively address the complexity in interdependence of issues identified in this report, greater coordination and horizontal integration of programming may be required. As peoples? immediate needs are met, and the shift from relief to recovery begins, it is important that assistance to communities addresses the diversity of needs in the community and works with existing social and economic structures. The diversity of needs between and within communities means that ongoing relief as well as recovery assistance is required. Review and reform of programme modalities may be required to meet these evolving needs. Some people remain dependent on emergency assistance to meet their daily needs. While for others, what is required is an opportunity to re-establish and secure their livelihoods.
Source/publisher: Tripartite Core Group (SPDC, ASEAN, UN+humanitarian agencies)
2008-12-19
Date of entry/update: 2008-12-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 10.4 MB
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Description: Wylie Bradford The debate over how to help Burma's people after cyclone Nargis must take account of the character of the country's military regime, says Wylie
Creator/author: Wylie Bradford.
Source/publisher: Open Democracy via Burma Economic Watch blog
2008-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: In a previous post we highlighted the extremely odd nature of the loss and damage estimates from cyclone Nargis paraded before the world by the SPDC in Rangoon on 25 May. The UN and ASEAN have now been able to carry out the so-called Post Nargis Joint Assessment exercise and report on the results.
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch blog
2008-08-13
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Broken but not beaten—the victims of Cyclone Nargis... "Four months after Cyclone Nargis, large areas of the Irrawaddy delta are still a devastated wasteland. The fierce storm unleashed the greatest natural catastrophe ever to hit Burma, and it was clear from the start that it would take years rather than months for the worst affected areas to recover. Multimedia (View) At least 140,000 people died or are still missing. Families were ripped apart, villages decimated, livelihoods and local economies destroyed. Almost 500,000 homes were flattened by the winds or carried away by the flood waters..."
Creator/author: Charles Metzger
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 9
2008-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Statistics pile up, painting a grim picture of the depth of the loss among the struggling survivors in the Irrawaddy delta... "LAPUTTA, Burma — FIFTY-year-old Ko Thein stands on the embankment of a paddy plot studying his rice fields near the Laputta River. A light rain falls, and the wind begins to blow. His soiled T-shirt and longyi are wet, but he?s too worried to feel the damp weather. He is tired, and his eyes show his dismay. Ko Thein, a farmer in Yway village in Laputta Township, is depressed because he sees that the rice seeds he planted in his paddies, which were contaminated by salt water in the tidal surge from Cyclone Nargis, show no sign of growth..."
Creator/author: Aung Thet Wine
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 8
2008-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma... May 21 - June 16, 2008... Retaliation Attack Killed Two Mon Guerrillas... Truth in Storm Rumors... Durae Stream... Deep South Referendum Bombing Suspects Resurface... More Nargis? Survivors Flee to Southern Burma... STATEMENT: 251st Anniversary of the Falling Day of Mon Kingdom Hongsawatoi... There's a Little Bit of the Burmese General in All of us... A Black Tuesday for a Fallen Kingdom... More Requisitions for Transportation of Military Regime... Overseas Mon Urge International Community to Intervene Under 'Responsibility to Protect' Principle... Readers Front.
Source/publisher: Kao Wao News Group
2008-06-16
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 65.32 KB
Local URL:
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Description: Newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma... June 19 - July 16, 2008..... Readers' Front... Mon Refugees Face Food Shortage... FEATURE: Drug Addiction in Mon Migrant Communities... Nargis ‘Donations? Collected From Schools... Ceasefire Agreement Day between NMSP and SPDC... Monks Forced Home from Rangoon... Villagers Angry as Forced Cyclone Donations Disappear... Five People Sentenced to Death for Abbot Assassination... Returned Nargis Volunteer Tells of Continued Crisis... Refugees from Myanmar find a home in Bangkok... Feature: The Plight of Nargis' Victims.
Source/publisher: Kao Wao News Group
2008-07-16
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 53.26 KB
Local URL:
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Description: I. INTRODUCTION: "After the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon met with General Than Shwe, the government officially announced that the country would open its door to any relief support for Cyclone Nargis victims. Since then, there is a daily announcement in the government newspaper ?New Light of Myanmar,” saying that ?any donor from any area may go down to any storm-hit areas of their choice, and can provide any assistance to any person in any area”. However in reality, 60 days after the Cyclone Nargis hit, the government has still failed to provide assistance to most of the villages in Irrawaddy delta. There are also a lot of limitations on the UN agencies, international agencies, local NGOs and social groups who are providing relief in the storm-hit areas. Almost everyday at Rangoon International Airport you can see planes landing and bringing relief supplies to the Nargis victims. And, everyday on the government's pro MRTV 4, announces that they have provided food and other necessities to the victims and have announced that the relief phase is over and that it is now time for recovery and reconstruction. However, questions have to be asked: how is the support provided and who actually receives the support? and why has the affected population in further delta areas not been given enough support to meet their basic needs? This report aims to answer these questions based on research in Ngeputaw and Laputta townships in June 2008, and also outlines the major problems that need to be addressed such as access to land and ownership issues, health care, water, sanitation, education, orphans, and other social problems..."
Creator/author: Ko Shwe
Source/publisher: Ko Shwe
2008-07-23
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 273.12 KB
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Description: BURMESE entertainers are taking a leading role in efforts to help fellow citizens who lost family members, homes and livelihoods in the Cyclone Nargis disaster... Defying government attempts to block unsanctioned aid to cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta, some of Burma?s biggest celebrities have toured the devastated region to bring food, clothing and other basic necessities to those who need them.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "WHEN Cyclone Nargis struck Burma?s Irrawaddy delta—a heavily populated and largely agricultural area that feeds much of this impoverished country—it was immediately obvious that a massive response would be required to avert a major humanitarian crisis. But a month later, and after some of the most high-powered intercession from regional and world leaders that has ever been seen in the aftermath of a natural disaster, Burma?s military leaders continued to insist they have the situation under control. For the regime, the crisis passed almost as soon as it happened: The dead were already dead, and the dying might as well be. Time to move on to more important things—like ratifying a constitution designed to make the generals as politically secure from the threat of genuine democracy as they were from Cyclone Nargis in their fortress-like capital of Naypyidaw..."
Creator/author: Editorial
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No.6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "AMERICAN movie stars are digging deep into their pockets to raise money for humanitarian relief in cyclone-ravaged Burma. The aid organization Not on Our Watch, founded by George Clooney and other stars of the movie ?Oceans Thirteen,? has donated US $250,000 and says it will participate in a scheme to raise a similar amount of money for the charity Save the Children..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The Irrawaddy delta once made Burma the largest rice exporter in the world. After Cyclone Nargis, some experts warn Burma will need international food aid to survive... "?REGIME-friendly companies are starting to scramble for a slice of the Irrawaddy delta rebuilding pie in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, as hundreds of thousands of survivors still face a daily struggle for a simple bowl of rice. The people living in the one-time ?rice bowl? of Asia could suffer the same fate as post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, living on international food handouts, some experts warn..."
Creator/author: William Boot
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: International and exiled Burmese media have played a vital role in uncovering the story behind Cyclone Nargis. But so far, no one has found a silver lining - "BURMA?s ruling junta has a long history of concealing disasters, both natural and man-made, so it came as no surprise when the country?s state-run media treated the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis as little more than another opportunity for the generals to show that they were firmly in control of the situation..."
Creator/author: Yeni
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Was Snr-Gen Than Shwe really ignorant of the scale of the cyclone disaster? Or was he nursing old grudges against Karen guerillas in the delta?
Creator/author: Aung Zaw
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Bloodied, traumatized and heartbroken, the survivors of Cyclone Nargis are now victimized and treated with contempt by the military authorities
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 6
2008-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: News: (1) Mon Civil War Continues in Southern Ye; (2) Junta Extends Weather Warning Sites in Mon state; (3) Food Crisis Looms in Refugee Camp on Thai-Burma Border; (4) Sea Fish Avoided, Pork Price Soars; (5) Rangoon Residents Pay for Repairing Power Infrastructure; (6) Burma Tops List In Deforestation... Opinion: (1) UN and international community need to prioritize issues in Burma... Commentary: SPDC?s Failure in Cyclone Mission... Report: Trouble Brewing; Before, During and After Cyclone Nargis: The Lead-up; May 2nd, 2008; The ‘Clean-up?; International Community vs General Than Shwe; Now.
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
2008-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
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Description: News: (1) Border town malaria rates rise; (2) A Mon migrant worker shot in southern Thailand... Commentary: Urgent and more assistance to Cyclone victims - Hope... Report: Suppressed: Freedom of Press in Burma: History of Restriction against Freedom of Speech; Media in Exile; Journalists Inside; Internet Use in Burma; Media Inside; Foreign Media and Nargis; Restrictions on Comedy and Music; Moving Forward?... Special Report: Isolated Islands and Assistance Needs for Nargis Victims: Cyclone Nargis and Delay and Lack of Relief Responses; Isolated Cyclone Nargis Affected Islands in Bassein District; Information Restriction in Hein-gyi Island; Self-Help in the Aftermath of Cyclone; Order to Reconstruct the Devastated Communities; Situation Update and Needs in Pyin-kha-yaing Island: Foods, Water, Sheltering, and Relocation Food: Access to Food: Sheltering: Relocation: Water and Sanitation:; Availability of Foods; Needs Assessment of Victims; Food Assessment; Sheltering Assessment: School Building Assessment: Health Care Assessment: Children Education?s Assessment: Livelihood Assessment.
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
2008-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 345.64 KB
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Description: Farmers in the Irrawaddy delta urgently need arable land, machinery, buffaloes, rice seeds, fertilizer and more. It all costs money and forces many farmers deeper into debt... PYAPON, Burma — "?THE thought of crop failure worries me so much,? said Win Tun, an elderly farmer, squatting on a bank in his unplowed field under the scorching sun. ?I?m afraid the next cyclone that hits us will be the spiral of debt.? Win Tun is not alone. There are thousands of farmers in the Irrawaddy delta whose land has been inundated with seawater and who have lost their traditional ?machinery?—cattle and buffaloes—in the cyclone that struck on May 2-3. An estimated 780,000 hectares (almost 2 million acres) of agrarian land was ruined and more than 200,000 cattle and buffaloes died in the cyclone. Normally, a farmer?s greatest fear is that a crop fails or yields a poor harvest. Missing a season is unthinkable. A farmer would have to work for nothing and buy everything on credit. Private donors and organizations have supplied mechanical tillers, plows and tractors to many needy farmers as part of the humanitarian relief effort. Money was also allocated for vital supplies, such as seeds, fuel and fertilizer. For their part, the military authorities arranged for the purchase and transfer of buffaloes to the delta. However, reports suggest that only a small minority of farmers received the supplies free of charge. Most had to apply through official channels for support and agree to pay back loans in installments, with annual interest rates running at about 17 percent..."
Creator/author: Min Khet Maung
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 7
2008-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: There may be a global food crisis, but few countries are feeling the pinch like Burma. And for thousands of people in the Irrawaddy delta, desperate times lie ahead... RANGOON — "MA Thein is a senior clerk at the Ministry of Industry in Rangoon. Her husband sells medical supplies, and her son works in a noodle factory. They all work full-time. Despite the family?s combined earnings of 140,000 kyat (US $117) per month, she still can?t afford to put one balanced meal on the table each day. In June, the United Nations met in Rome to discuss the global food crisis. Prices of staple foods were going through the roof and food riots had broken out across the world, from Egypt to Indonesia to Peru. But Ma Thein didn?t have to watch the news on TV to know there was a food crisis, nor did anyone else in Burma. The unstable economy, international sanctions, corruption, bird flu epidemics and a poor annual rice harvest had already pushed food prices higher this year. Then, on May 2-3, Cyclone Nargis ravaged the Irrawaddy delta, the source of 90 percent of Burma?s rice and the majority of its agricultural produce. Overnight, 2.5 million acres (more than 1 million hectares) of rice paddies were inundated with seawater and an estimated 150,000 livestock were killed. The Irrawaddy delta—the so-called ?rice bowl? of Burma—was devastated..."
Creator/author: Kyi Wai
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 7
2008-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Do Burmese people really understand the meaning of compassion? Not according to a prominent Buddhist monk who has taken a leading role in Cyclone Nargis relief efforts... MAE SOT, Thailand — "?HOW did you feel when you heard that people were homeless, that monks had lost their monasteries and had nowhere to stay? Over 130,000 people were killed and 2.4 million suffered badly. How did you feel?? The monk who asked these questions paused and looked at his audience of around 3,000 people at the Tawya Burmese monastery in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, opposite Myawaddy. A patient is comforted by Sitagu Sayadaw in a clinic in the Irrawaddy delta. He continued: ?If you felt concerned and afraid for them, that?s good. It means you have compassion.? But before anyone could take too much satisfaction in that thought, he added: ?That?s good, but it?s not good enough.? The speaker was Dr Ashin Nyanissara—better known as Sitagu Sayadaw [abbot]—one of Burma?s most respected monks. He was in Mae Sot in late June to give a dhamma talk on compassion—and to ask the local Burmese community, estimated to be tens of thousands strong, to support relief efforts in the Irrawaddy delta, where millions still struggle in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Since the cyclone struck on May 2-3, Sitagu Sayadaw has been rallying his followers to come to the assistance of their compatriots in the delta and the former capital, Rangoon, which also suffered substantial damage. His message was simple: Compassion is important, but it doesn?t amount to much unless it is accompanied by action. ?If you lack compassion, you will be an irresponsible person,? the 71-year-old abbot told his attentive audience, who were seated both inside the monastery?s main building and outside on the ground. ?But compassion in mind and in words alone won?t help the refugees in the cyclone-affected area,? he added. ?Such compassion won?t bring food to people in need.?..."
Creator/author: Lyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 7
2008-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: One area of the economy where Cyclone Nargis caused prices to drop... RANGOON — "THEY?re known fancifully as nya-hmwe-pan, or ?fragrant flowers of the night,? although the reality of after-dark life for Rangoon?s increasing number of prostitutes isn?t so romantic. The number of ?fragrant flowers? walking the streets and working the bars of Burma?s major city has reportedly soared since Cyclone Nargis ripped into the Irrawaddy delta and tore families apart. The arrival of desperate young women ready to trade their bodies for the equivalent of two or three dollars has depressed Rangoon prices still further, and the new girls on the block face not only police harassment but the hostility of the ?old timers.? One afternoon in central Rangoon, I went hunting for an interview subject in one of the city?s main thoroughfares, Bogyoke Aung San Street. I didn?t have far to look..."
Creator/author: Aung Thet Wine
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 7
2008-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The death and destruction in Burma as a result of Cyclone Nargis may yet come close to the Asian Tsunami in impact: some 120,000 dead and 2.5 million needing help now, compared to 190,000 deaths and three million displaced in 2004. The level of devastation might have been less in Burma, but for the government?s decision to control the international response. The impact of this on the global policy community, and the country?s fractured opposition, has been extensive."
Creator/author: Ashley South
Source/publisher: Chatham House
2008-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-06-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 134.49 KB
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Description: KEY STORY: 1 Cyclone Nargis hits 2 SPDC downplays death toll 3 Situation "normal" 3 SPDC blocks, steals, sells aid 5 Monks shelter, SPDC evicts 5 Aid trickles in 6 Help us help you 7 ASEAN to the rescue 7 Ban breaks through 8 Food security 8 Children at risk... INSIDE BURMA: 8 Referendum in the rubble 9 Democracy forces reject results 10 Orchestrating a farce 11 Arrests of "No" supporters 11 Daw Suu's detention extended 12 NLD arrests... HUMAN RIGHTS: 12 Custodial deaths 13 Forced labor... DISPLACEMENT: 13 Refugees struggle to survive... ECONOMY: 14 Business as usual... 14 OTHER BURMA NEWS... 15 REPORTS.
Source/publisher: ALTSEAN-Burma
2008-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2008-06-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Restoring natural habitats in Myanmar a reconstruction priority, says IUCN: "Gland, Switzerland, May 23, 2008 (IUCN) ? IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) offers to share its broad environmental experience to help with the reconstruction efforts in Myanmar. A vital long-term environmental need is to restore coastal ecosystems, following the catastrophic damage caused by the recent cyclone. ?While we, like the rest of the world, are worried about the pace of the relief effort, we also believe we have to take a longer view as the planning for reconstruction starts.” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN. ?We believe that restoring healthy ecosystems, particularly mangroves, should be on top of the reconstruction priority list.” Flooding in open Delta flood plains is inevitable, but the buffering effect of healthy ecosystems disappears when natural barriers such as mangroves, lagoons, coral reefs, beaches and strand forests are destroyed or degraded. In order to avoid further problems later on, special attention should also be paid to environmental issues in the immediate relief phase, as disposal of debris and waste resulting from infrastructure reconstruction efforts can lead to more difficult and costly longer term environmental restoration. By approaching the reconstruction with due consideration for the natural environment, disasters such as this can be better mitigated in the future. IUCN strongly believes that restoring mangroves and other coastal ecosystems is an important investment to make for the future."
Source/publisher: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
2008-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 26.12 KB
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Description: Trafficking Narcotic Smuggling on Thai-Burma Border Towns; British Minister Says Aid Plan for Myanmar Must Work Quickly; Statement on SPDC's Handling of the Nargis Cyclone Disaster in Burma; Cyclone Nargis; News from Inside; UN Must Take Decision Action To Protect the Dying; Southern Ye Voting Centers Threatened; Referendum Unchanged; Survey on the Burmese Referendum; Villagers Forced to Guard Pipeline as Referendum Approaches; Three Pagoda Pass: Rice Prices Rise 25%; Mon Woman, Working in Samut Sakorn, Raped by Six Men; Amphetamine Assaults in Sanghklaburi.
Source/publisher: Kao Wao News Group
2008-05-19
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 59.09 KB
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Description: "SPDC turns disaster into catastrophe" describes how Burma's military regime inflicted more injury on its own people in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis. Burma's people suffered needlessly as the SPDC obstructed aid and disaster relief teams from entering the country. Much of the aid that did arrive, was appropriated by the junta for its own use or sold to desperate survivors. As before, the SPDC continues with the second phase of its constitutional referendum while people are evicted from the only shelter they have so that polling places can be readied. This briefer is a follow-up to "DISASTER" (BN 2008/1042) available at http://www.altsean.org/Reports/Disaster.php ..... The $11.7 billion question 2 SPDC downplays death toll 3 Aid workers blocked 4 Help us help you 6 Aid trickles in 6 Logistical nightmare 6 SPDC steals aid 8 Propaganda machine 9 Damaged infrastructure 9 Food shortages 10 Children 11 Monks shelter survivors 12 Public health catastrophe 13 SPDC says, UN says 15 Aid pledged.....� Senior General Than Shweâ�â�¢s surprise concession to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon that all aid workers would be allowed into Burma meets with skepticism, owing to the regimeâ�â�¢s continuous obstruction of aid efforts that went on right up to the meeting between the two leaders on 23 May.� To prove that this not another empty promise, aid supplies and workers already in Rangoon must be immediately allowed into cyclone-stricken areas. � The ASEAN-led â�Å"Coalition of Mercy� must specify terms and conditions for aid to be delivered, and insist on the involvement of local civil society organizations. � UN figures put the death toll of cyclone Nargis between 63,290 - 101,682, with 220,000 missing and 2.4 million affected. SPDC says that 77,738 persons have died, 55,917 are missing, 19,359 injured. � The SPDC continues to thwart humanitarian efforts, refusing visas to foreign staff and blocking aid workers from entering worst-hit areas. � The SPDC appropriates aid supplies, and forces survivors to work, vote â�Å"Yes�, and pay for donated items. � The SPDC prevents overseas agencies from importing key items, including food and communications. It sells the items to aid agencies, including donated mobile phones for $1,500 each. � After tough negotiations and multiple concessions to the junta, humanitarian aid is now reaching about one fifth of the estimated 2.4 million needy survivors. � SPDC-controlled media only show the militaryâ�â�¢s relief operations and block out details of other local and international relief efforts, including those led by monks. Information on the extent of damage and suffering is suppressed. The regime bars foreign media from entering Burma and limit access of local media to affected areas. SPDC issues restrictive guidelines for media coverage of relief operations. � Monks play a key role in recovery operations, including providing accommodation for 70% of homeless survivors. � An estimated 1.6 million hectares of Burmaâ�â�¢s most productive rice producing land has been destroyed. � Survivors are suffering facing outbreaks of cholera and malaria while malnourished and exposed to monsoon weather.
Source/publisher: ALTSEAN-Burma
2008-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Meldungen: Zyklon Nargis und Spenden Militär hält an Verfassungsreferendum fest Interview zur Lage in Burma in Readers Edition Veranstaltung am 14.6. in Berlin; cyclone Nargis and donations; Referendum 2008; Interview with Ulrike Bey in Readers Edition;
Source/publisher: Asienhaus
2008-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: Hunderttausende Menschen in Burma leiden - doch die Militärjunta verkündet Erfolgsmeldungen: Den Generälen zufolge wurde die neue Verfassung mit über 92 Prozent Zustimmung angenommen. Ausländische Hilfe lassen die Machthaber weiter nur eingeschränkt zu - die Uno ist frustriert; referendum 2008; cyclone Nargis; UN aid programmes;
Source/publisher: Spiegel Online
2008-05-15
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: " On 3 May 2008, cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawaddy delta and wiped out entire villages as it left a path of destruction across five regions. Over seven million people were affected by the storm, with estimates of dead ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 and up to a million homeless. The international community pledged tens of millions of dollars in monetary and material assistance while the SPDC dragged its heels and stymied international aid efforts. By preventing critical and timely humanitarian aid from reaching survivors, the SPDC has put hundreds of thousands of risk of disease and death. Despite UN appeals and the ongoing ?major catastrophe”, the junta is poised to push ahead with the 10 May referendum on its sham constitution in areas unaffected by Nargis. From the failure to warn and evacuate people to a slow and inadequate response, Nargis has obliterated the facade of competence the SPDC is still desperate to project.".... 2 Cyclone Nargis hits; 2 Rising death toll; 3 SPDC ignored warnings 3 A major catastrophe: UN; 3 Situation ?normal”?; 5 The sham must go on; 5 SPDC blocks aid workers; 6 Aid trickles in; 6 Aid restrictions in Burma; 7 Natural disasters in Burma.
Source/publisher: ALTSEAN-Burma
2008-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008 with winds up to 200 kph, sweeping through the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta region and the country?s main city and former capital, Yangon (Rangoon). The authorities initially declared five states and divisions (Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Bago, Mon and Kayin) to be disaster areas, but on 6 May revised this to the Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions only. Damage was most severe in the delta region, where the effects of extreme winds were compounded by a sizable storm surge that destroyed an estimated 95% of housing. Yangon sustained a direct hit, which downed power and communications lines, and inflicted major damage to buildings, such that six days after the storm people remain largely without electricity, piped water and communications. Many roads into and out of the city, as well as vital roads into the delta region, are blocked by flooding or debris. For much of the delta region, the most significant transportation is normally by waterway, and water transport infrastructure has been severely damaged. The toll of people killed, missing, or affected remains difficult to assess, with the numbers continuing to increase daily. As of 5 May, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Social Welfare, Relief and Rehabilitation, and Information estimated that, in Ayeyarwady Division alone, up to 10,000 people have been killed, with 3,000 more missing. As of 6 May, international media sources cited a total figure of approximately 23,000 dead and 40,000 missing. State media have reported that in Haing Ky, an island in the delta, 162 were killed and nearly 20,000 houses were destroyed, leaving 92,706 homeless. Several hundred thousand are estimated to be without shelter and safe drinking water. Efforts to carry out a comprehensive assessment continue to be hindered by the lack of communications and blocked roads. The Government announced the establishment of an Emergency Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, and has deployed military and police units as part of rescue and cleanup operations. The Government also indicated in a briefing with United Nations agencies and the diplomatic community on 5 May that it is open to international assistance, although it would appear at this stage that the assistance envisaged is primarily bilateral, with assistance going directly to Government relief agencies. The Government itself has pledged approximately US$1 5 million for relief. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) expects that critical needs will be plastic sheeting, water purification materials, water receptacles, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits, and food. Fuel shortages have also been reported. The food security situation in the country, which was already severe, is likely to become more acute. Compounding the delivery of this aid will be the dire logistical situation, with much of the delta region very difficult to access. Considering the size of the area hit by the storm, the number of people who will be found to need assistance is expected to rise to a massive total as assessments continue and access improves. The combined population of the declared disaster areas, Yangon and Ayeyarwady divisions, is around 13 million (out of a total estimated Myanmar population of 53 million), with roughly six million living in Yangon and periphery, and with a significant population spread across the delta region, one of the country?s most populous. Currently, the HCT is working on planning to assist a minimum of 1,500,000 persons for at least three months. However, the current difficulties surrounding access to the affected areas, the difficulties in bringing further relief supplies and expertise into the country, and the uncertainty over the degree and type of in-country capacity to implement relief programmes are casting a shadow over planning. On the basis that these difficulties must be overcome, this appeal therefore seeks $187 million to enable international partners (10 United Nations organisations and nine non-governmental organisations to support the Government of Myanmar in addressing the needs of more than 1,500,000 people affected by the cyclone. The planning horizon for this appeal is six months. The appeal will be regularly updated to reflect new needs as the situation evolves, with an organised revision after some weeks when fuller information and plans are available."
Source/publisher: United Nations
2008-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 807.53 KB
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Description: Die USA präsentieren sich in der Burma-Katastrophe als unbürokratischer Krisenhelfer. Doch tatsächlich versucht die Regierung Bush, das Drama politisch auszuschlachten. Diese Strategie macht die Militärjunta so extrem misstrauisch - Hilfsorganisationen sind empört; USA-Burma Beziehungen; Amerikanische Hilfsprogramme; USA-Burma relations; US Aid Programme;
Creator/author: Marc Pitzke
Source/publisher: Spiegel Online
2008-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: Die Militärregierung in Burma hat die Bevölkerung trotz Alarmhinweisen aus Indien nicht vor dem Wirbelsturm „Nargis? gewarnt und behindert die internationale Hilfe. Ein Team aus fünf Fachleuten warte vier Tage nach dem Sturm noch auf die Einreisegenehmigung, sagte die Sprecherin des UN-Büros für die Koordination humanitärer Einsätze; Zyklon; Taifun; internationale Hilfe; cyclone; typhoon; international aid;
Source/publisher: AFP, FAZ
2008-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: "Anecdotal evidence suggests that the socio-political and cultural dynamics put into motion at the time of catastrophic 'natural' disasters create the conditions for potential political change - often at the hands of a discontented civil society. A state's incapacity to respond adequately to a disaster can create a temporary power vacuum, and potentially a watershed moment in historical trajectories. This generates (albeit temporarily) a window of opportunity for novel socio-political action at local and national levels. Interventions may include manoeuvres to entrench or destabilize current power-holders, change power-sharing relationships within recognized sectors, or to legitimise or de-legitimise new sectors. This briefing note presents initial findings of a study reviewing historical data on the political outcomes of disaster at the level of the nation state and below. It draws on academic papers, practitioner and media reports of large natural disaster events from 1899 to 2005..."
Creator/author: Mark Pelling, Kathleen Dill, (King's College London)
Source/publisher: Chatham House (ISP/NSC Briefing Paper 06/01)
2006-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 43.89 KB
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Description: "...The reports that the government has accepted assistance from abroad are good, but it must not hesitate to open its doors in order to alleviate the needs of its people, and allow for independent monitoring of the delivery of this emergency aid. Clearly, the authorities in Burma are completely incapable of responding to a tragedy of this scale and will be heavily dependent on outside help to avert an even bigger tragedy of starvation and disease caused by a lack of safe drinking water. At this stage, local councils, which play an important role in basic administration, are likely to be non-functioning in many areas and still at a loss for what to do in others. They cannot be expected to take up the task of addressing this disaster but so too must they and other agencies not obstruct the work of outside groups coming to render assistance, or try to profit from others' nightmare. ...it is patently obvious that to hold the planned constitutional referendum at this time would be an adventure into the utmost absurdity. The affected areas are among the most populated in the country and perhaps as many as one in four of the enrolled voters will have in some way been affected by the storm. To attempt to conduct the poll under such circumstances would go far beyond the description of a farce that had already been attached to it, and into the realm of the unreal. To expend the energy of government officers on that exercise rather than the needs of the populace at this critical time would do nothing but demonstrate to the entire world the implausibility of the country's government and everything upon which it pretends to stand. The Asian Human Rights Commission thus joins with those others around the world that have rightly called for the referendum to be put off, and get on with the job of restoring some basic security and dignity to the lives of millions."
Source/publisher: Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC-STM-121-2008)
2008-05-06
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Engl
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