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The Social, Political and Humanitarian Impact of Burma's Cyclone Nargis

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The Social, Political and Humanitarian Impact of Burma's Cyclone Nargis Volume 6 | Issue 5 | Article ID 2763 | May 03, 2008 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus The Social, Political and Humanitarian Impact of Burma's Cyclone Nargis Donald M. Seekins The Social, Political and Humanitarian where it is most needed. Impact of Burma’s Cyclone Nargis Donald M. Seekins Summary This report provides background information and analysis concerning the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis when it passed through the densely populated Irrawaddy Delta and Burma’s largest city Rangoon (Yangon) on May 2-3, 2008. One of the largest natural disasters in recent history, it caused the death Survivors of the cyclone of as many as 130,000 people (the official figure on May 16 was 78,000) and resulted in In the days following the storm, the SPDC between one and two million people losing placed major obstacles in the way of the rapid their homes and property. distribution of relief goods and services by the United Nations, foreign governments, international non-governmental organizations and local volunteer groups – a situation that has continued despite warnings from aid experts that a second, man-made disaster – the systematic neglect of people gravely weakened by thirst, hunger and disease and many more fatalities – is on the verge of occurring. On May 10, the SPDC carried out a referendum on a new military-sponsored constitution, though the vote was postponed to May 24 in the townships most affected by the cyclone. Observers wondered why the referendum was Fatalities are likely to rise both because of the considered so important by the SPDC, given the extremely unsanitary conditions in the disaster scale of the natural disaster and the need to area, and the slowness of the State Peace and commit resources immediately to its alleviation. Development Council (SPDC), the Burmese Resources inside the country that could have military government, in getting assistance been used for relief in the Irrawaddy Delta and 1 6 | 5 | 0 APJ | JF Rangoon were in fact used to make sure that Ban Ki-moon and Than Shwe the referendum was carried out smoothly. The humanitarian disaster caused by Cyclone The military junta was originally willing to Nargis is likely to have widespread social, accept medicine, food, temporary shelters and economic and political implications for a other relief goods from foreign parties, but did country where the military regime’s concern not wish to have foreign aid workers inside the for human security as well as human rights has country distributing these goods or performing always been minimal. Although the SPDC has other services such as medical care and public expanded armed forces manpower more than health education. This is because the generals 200 percent since 1988 and has allocated a fear that a large number of foreigners would be large part of its budget to purchase weapons politically destabilizing and they would be able from abroad and build a new capital, to report to the outside world on conditions Naypyidaw, 335 kilometers north of Rangoon, it inside the country. As a result, the very small has invested little in health or social welfare. number of foreign journalists in the country Indeed, many observers claim that social and (the authorities have been attempting to locate educational services were actually better under and deport them) and Burmese witnesses say the pre-1988 socialist regime of General Ne that the government’s relief efforts have been Win than under the post-socialist military grossly inadequate, given the scale of the regime. As a result, Burma is one of the poorest catastrophe. Observers generally agree that countries in Southeast Asia, outranked in terms only about a quarter of the worst affected of human security and social welfare even by population in the disaster area has received such (former) “basket cases” as Cambodia and aid. As of this writing (May 26, 2008), it is East Timor. unclear whether Senior General Than Shwe’s promise to United Nations Secretary General Despite heavy repression, popular unrest has Ban Ki Moon on May 23 that “all” aid supplies periodically flared up, most recently in and aid experts from foreign civilian sources September 2007 when Buddhist monks and would be accepted represents a genuine ordinary citizens demonstrated en masse in change of heart or is merely a tactic to hold the Rangoon and other towns over steep price international community at bay while the hikes for fuel and the SPDC’s brutal treatment military regime seeks to reassert full control of protesters, especially Buddhist monks. The over the Irrawaddy Delta. “Saffron Revolution” (so called because of the color of Buddhist monks’ robes) was the largest popular movement in Burma since the pro- democracy demonstrations of 1988. [1] This report is based on information gathered from the international media (the British Broadcasting Corporation, CNN, MSNBC, New York Times/International Herald Tribune), Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, and Burmese exile news sources (especially The Irrawaddy, published in Thailand) and other sources, as cited in the footnotes. The following topics are discussed: 2 6 | 5 | 0 APJ | JF I. The Cyclone town of Labutta (Laputta) in Irrawaddy II. The Areas Affected Division. From there it moved in a III. Extent of Loss of Life and northeasterly direction through Bogalay and Property Damage Pyapon, veering just north of Burma’s old IV. International Response, SPDC capital of Rangoon before moving into the hilly Reaction, Popular Disgust Burma-Thai border area and dissipating. Peak V. The Rice Crisis: Hunger and winds reached a speed of 135 mph (215 kph), Politics but the force of the storm diminished as it VI. Conclusion: Prospects for Post- passed over land (sustained winds of 81 Cyclone Burma mph-128 kmh in the vicinity of Rangoon). [3] II. The Areas Affected I. The Cyclone Over the centuries, the Irrawaddy Delta has Tropical cyclones are powerful low pressure been formed by alluvial soils brought from the systems that form in the low latitude regions of northern part of the country by the Irrawaddy the Indian Ocean; similar phenomena are River, Burma’s longest, which has its known as typhoons in the western Pacific and headwaters in northern Kachin State. The hurricanes in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic river-borne soil has gradually changed the Oceans. shape of Burma’s coastline, enlarging it in a southwestward direction. The city of Rangoon straddles the low-lying alluvial region of the Delta and higher ground that is associated geologically with the Pegu Yoma, a range of hills that divides the Irrawaddy River Valley from the Sittang River Valley to the east. To the south and southwest of Rangoon, the land is flat and very low in elevation, crisscrossed by hundreds of small creeks and as well as the major channels of the Irrawaddy River that empty into the Andaman Sea. British writer and former colonial official Maurice Collis described the Delta in his 1953 Mechanism of the tropical cyclone book, Into Hidden Burma: The cyclone season in the northern Indian Ocean begins in April, but Nargis (as the storm Myaungmya district lay among the was officially named) differed from most other tidal creeks of the Irrawaddy Delta, tropical cyclones in the region by tracking a vast rice plain of the utmost eastward (toward southern or Lower Burma) fertility but without natural rather than north or northeast (toward India, features to relieve its monotony. Bangladesh, or Burma‘s western state of Before the British entry into Lower Arakan). [2] It emerged in the middle of the Burma in 1825, the whole delta Bay of Bengal on April 27, making landfall in had been largely an uninhabited the evening of May 2 with sustained winds of swamp. Seen to be very suited for 121 mph (192 kmh) south/southwest of the the growing of rice, its cultivation 3 6 | 5 | 0 APJ | JF had been gradually effected with safe, you could not sit and read after dark.” [8] the help of imported Indian labour. Following the cyclone, mosquito-borne diseases By 1920, it was yielding an such as malaria and dengue fever are among enormous crop, a great part of the biggest threats to public health in the area. which was bought by Rangoon merchants, British and Indian, and Although accurate statistics on the ethnic exported on British ships. [4] composition of the Delta population are unavailable, they include Burman, Karen, Arakanese, Chin, Chinese and Indian Transportation within the Delta and to areas communities. [9] Many and perhaps a majority outside it has traditionally been by boat rather of the people are Karens. Karen National Union than road or rail, though there is a rail link insurgents have operated in the area as between the Delta’s largest city Bassein (which recently as 1991, making Delta Karens targets seems to have escaped the worst storm for government retaliation. [10] It is unclear damage) and Rangoon. Most human habitations whether the large Karen community and the are located close to the sea, or near creeks, history of Karen insurgency in the delta ponds and other bodies of water inland: the partially explains the SPDC’s indifference to most common form of housing is made of the cyclone victims’ plight – the junta has bamboo and thatch, rather than moregenerally displayed little interest in the human permanent materials such as wood, concrete or security of the population, no matter where bricks. Human settlement is dense by Burmese they live or what ethnic group they belong to. standards (470 people/square mile in[11] Irrawaddy Division, well above the national average), but rural in nature. [5] As Collis III. Extent of Loss of Life and Property mentioned, this was (and remains today) Damage Burma’s rice bowl.
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