School Days in Myanmar, Minus Thousands of Schools

With the opening of school this week we are beginning to see more reports on the effects of Cyclone Nargis on the social infrastructure. According to UNICEF, 4,000 schools serving 1.1 million children were damaged in the storm. Most schools remain damaged, but a few in and around Yangon have been repaired thanks to quick efforts of relief groups. Schools nationwide in Myanmar officially opened June 2nd, while Schools in seven townships in the Irrawaddy Division and one township in Yangon division will reportedly try to open in one month. But with thousands of schools completely destroyed, students in many areas may go without any proper school buildings for some time.

The economic hardship will be felt by hardest by children, who will lose out on opportunities to study. Many families who have lost their livelihoods will be unable to afford to send their children to middle school and high school. Compulsory education in Myanmar only covers primary school, and according to UNESCO less than 50% of children go beyond the primary level.

We have had some direct reports from sources in the Irrawaddy delta that people there have their children’s education prominent in their minds. Imagine a child 13 or 14 midway through their high school years being unable to continue because of the sudden impoverishment of their entire extended family. There are tens of thousands of such children in Myanmar today.

Here are some other news reports that have come in on the opening of schools.

UNICEF to focus on damaged schools in unreached areas of Myanmar

Myanmar reopens schools 1 month after cyclone

Myanmar evicts cyclone victims from schools, so classes can resume

Here are some agencies we know that are directly helping to improve the lives of children. Perhaps you or someone you know can also give them a hand.

UNICEF

World Vision

Save the Children

Eviction Day: Cyclone Refugees Moving Again in Myanmar

There’s the old expression, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. The doings of bureaucracies can often be described in such a way, reflecting the seeming impairment of brain function or logical decision making. Observing from a distance it seems like that old phrase is an apt metaphor from which we can view the day’s news.

For whatever reason, it seems the decision has been made that the homeless from Cyclone Nargis should be moved out of their temporary shelter in schools, temples, and even government-organized camps. Reports of refugees being asked or forced to leave private residences and temples came out in the week after the cyclone hit. The refugees then were often sent off to camps set-up by the government. Now, evidently at some level, the order has been made to break up these camps and temporary areas of shelter and send the refugees on their way. Some reports mention the start of the school year on June 2nd as one motivation for some evictions. However, such a situation ultimately makes the relief effort that much more difficult, as these centers were at one time central areas where food, shelter and medical care could be distributed in a somewhat orderly manner to the homeless.

We present some excerpts of these reports of forced eviction:

KHAW MHU (Kaw Hmu), Yangon Division (See Maps page)

Myanmar’s junta is evicting dozens of destitute families from one of its own cyclone refugee centres, giving each one just four bamboo poles, a tarpaulin and an unlikely promise of a monthly ration of rice.

“What are we supposed to do?” said 39-year-old Than Soe, nervously stroking the heads of his three young children at the small government ‘tented village’ 20 miles south of Yangon, the former capital.

More Stories of the Homeless and Hungry in Myanmar

From the start, the relief effort to help the survivors of Cyclone Nargis faced tremendous barriers and challenges to overcome. The area of destruction is wide and the numbers of those severely affected are immense. Combine these factors with the inaccessibility to areas, a badly damaged transportation network, and the destruction of so many boats upon which the area depends upon, and the problem of relief becomes even greater. Then on top of all this we can throw in the inability of local authorities to handle the challenges of all of these factors. Officials have further hindered the relief efforts, by creating barriers to access and assistance (likely out of fear and other base motives) and following traditional practices and impulses, when new solutions and openness would better serve everyone’s interests.

Through all of this is the cruel reality that far too many people are going without access to food and proper shelter. Here are some excerpts of the reality on the ground a full three and a half weeks into the relief effort.

Update 2 on the Karen in Myanmar

We reported nearly two weeks ago on stories we were hearing of aid being blocked from entering villages and areas of the Karen. In the last several days we have seen echoes of these stories on other websites, particularly Christian church-related websites, as many of the Karen are Christian.

No one seems to really know exactly how many Karen there are in the Irrawaddy Delta. We have seen some estimates of them making up 40%-60% of the population. We know, based on reports from natives of that area, that there are many villages and areas where the Karen predominate. For example, there may be one village or groups of villages being nearly 100% Karen, the next nearly 100% Burmese. For those new to Myanmar issues, the Karen speak different languages than the majority Burmese, which can add to the sense of separateness between the two peoples (Pwo Karen and Sgaw Karen are the primary dialects of Karen in this area, with some further dialectical differences based on region, such as Bassein Pwo vs Thailand Pwo).

Ethnic conflict between the Burmese and Karen is nothing new. There was open fighting at times during WWII after the British were initially pushed out by the Japanese in 1942. But, at least in the Irrawaddy Delta, there has not been extensive ethnic strife in the delta for many years (at least that we are aware of). So, it would be worrying if the reports of discrimination in aid accessibility prove to be true (though we should note that many of our Karen friends seem to take these reports as very believable).

Here are some excerpts of the reports we have seen:

One villager who spoke to Asia Times Online said that the Karen in the Irrawaddy Delta did not trust the military, which he said treated the ethnic group as second-class citizens. “Many Karen villagers are not going to the relief centers because they fear human-rights abuses by the military,” he said.

Other ethnic Karen delta residents say it’s still too early to tell if racism is guiding the junta’s aid distribution and that to date all ethnic groups are suffering equally. Karen political and military leaders, based on the Thai-Myanmar border, also cautioned against jumping to race-based conclusions.

“The lack of aid is general, they are all victims. The relief teams are not reaching them,” said David Taw, the KNU’s foreign affairs minister. Yet whether the discrimination is real or imagined, the perception that it may exist could add to the frustration and desperation left in the cyclone’s wake.

The Karen Human Rights Group reports more of the same:

Speaking to KHRG, one Karen resident from the delta said that it is because many of the villages are predominantly ethnic Karen and were formerly “populated totally by Karen” that “the regime is not interested in aid reaching the area.”

According to another report received by KHRG, “In the rural areas the SPDC are not allowing assistance to villagers… The authorities have set up check points along the roads on the way to Labutta, Pathein [Bassein], Myaung Mya and Bogale in order to block relief from reaching those in desperate need.” Labutta, a predominantly ethnic-Karen town, has reportedly been decimated by Cyclone Nargis; as has Bogale, which outside of the town centre is also predominantly Karen. Myaung Mya, like Bogale, is predominantly ethnic Karen outside the town centre and in the surrounding countryside. Bassein, while now largely populated by non-Karen residents, was previously a majority-Karen town and the surrounding villages remain heavily populated by Karen.

Myanmar Food Security Update: The growing malnutrition crisis

As the relief effort continues to build and assessments become more detailed, one issue that seems to dominate is the factor of hunger and malnutrition.

“I have no dish, no cup, no blanket, no pillow. I have received nothing from the government,” said Daw San Mar Oo, 31, a farmer in a hamlet near Dedaye. “I have nothing in my hands.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything they own, such as their homes and belongings but most importantly they have lost their stocks of food. In fact, entire communities and regions have lost their stocks of food. Relief agencies are trying to build up logistical centers to replace the now destroyed food distribution system so that it can support the 2.5 million people who have been severely affected by this storm. As the flow still is meeting only a fraction of those affected, assessments of the impact the lack of food is having are beginning to come in. Here are some findings from one assessment from a few days ago:

– 72% of people surveyed only eat two meals per day, in contrast to three meals per day before the cyclone.

– 86% of people surveyed eat damaged rice and eat half the quantity they used to eat per meal.

– One week after the Cyclone struck, people already said that they were starving.

But, what amount of food would need to be delivered to people out in the Irrawaddy Delta? As we have noted before, the assessments are still ongoing, but we will take a wild guess here.

What are the odds? 92.4 x 2 …

Focusing in on issues such as the relief effort, food security, and public health we typically miss a lot of other news, so this little item slipped by us Monday.

YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s army-drafted constitution sailed through this month’s referendum, with 92.48 percent of the vote on a turnout of 98.1 percent despite the carnage wrought by Cyclone Nargis, state media said on Monday.

The remarkable thing is that the 92.4% yes vote was exactly the same as the percentage of yes votes for the voting that took place on May 10th in the areas not affected by Cyclone Nargis. As with all things of this nature, we don’t have any particular opinion, but we are heartened by the solidarity that everyone felt towards the new constitution. We are wondering, though, whether or not copywriters at The Onion were involved in this particular broadcast.

People in Myanmar Hoping for Goodwill on the Diplomatic Front

The U.N.-ASEAN co-hosted aid conference in Yangon Sunday saw 500 representatives from 52 countries meet to discuss the needs of the country and what countries are prepared to offer in terms of assistance. Most reports coming out of Yangon report more hope being offered than actual Euros, Yen, and Dollars. The progress made seems to be more in the 2 steps forward, one step back variety, as many governments appear to be in a “wait and see” mode.

New donations were reported from Sweden, China and a few other countries, but many governments are waiting to see what becomes of the promises of increased access for aid workers traveling to and from the Irrawaddy Delta. The promise of increased access extracted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday has so far been kept, according to initial reports coming out of Yangon. However on Sunday it appeared as if increased visa issuance for aid workers may not be completely unhindered.

While commenting that the country would welcome aid without any strings attached, General Thein Sein, who holds the post of Prime Minister, made some remarks that seemed to put some conditions on visa entry. “For those groups who are interested in rehabilitation and reconstruction, my government is ready to accept them, in accordance with our priorities and the extent of work that needs to be done,” Thein Sein said. “We will consider allowing them if they wish to engage in rehabilitation and reconstruction work.”

New donations were reported from Sweden, China and a few other countries, but many governments are waiting to see what becomes of the promises of increased access for aid workers traveling to and from the Irrawaddy Delta before increasing on previously made commitments. The promise of increased access extracted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday has so far been kept, according to initial reports coming out of Yangon. However, on Sunday it appeared as if increased visa issuance for aid workers may not be completely unhindered.

U.N. Secretary General Secures Aid Worker Access to Irrawaddy

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced in Myanmar on Friday that the Myanmar government has agreed to allow foreign aid workers of any nationality to travel to the Irrawaddy Delta, which was the most severely affected area hit by Cyclone Nargis. After discussions with leaders in the capital of Naypyidaw, 350 km north of Yangon, Mr. Ban announced the changes for aid worker access and the set-up of a logistical hub. Previously, only aid workers from Asian nations had been allowed beyond the roadside checkpoints set up outside of Yangon, although reports have come through that some high profile officials have been allowed in and other Western aid workers seem to have gotten to the area by water craft.

The U.N. reported that the main Yangon airport has been cleared for use as a logistical hub for the air cargo flights that are coming into the country. Also announced was that civilian ships and small boats were cleared for bringing aid into the country. This latter announcement could seemingly clear the way for French and U.S. naval ships, that have been waiting off-shore in international waters, to have their cargoes unloaded onto barges and other freight ships for transport to the delta area. Government media reported that these naval vessels and their fleet of helicopters will not be allowed direct access to the region. No word, however, on whether or not such unloading of cargo is planned or practical at the present time (given the current weather situation and availability of such private vessels).

Mr. Ban had arrived in Yangon on Thursday and his delegation was flown on two Mi-17 military helicopters over the heavily devastated Irrawaddy Delta. He toured the region for four hours with stops at a makeshift relief camp, where he met survivors of the village of Kyondah, and later at a distribution center stocked with bags of rice and cartons of sealed bottles of drinking water.

Mr. Ban will be meeting with Thai and U.N. officials in Bangkok until Sunday, when he returns to Yangon for a donor conference of international government and non-profit officials. While in Bangkok he will oversee the beginning of operations of the logistical hub at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport, formerly Thailand’s main international gateway until the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport two years ago. (Editor’s note: We will report in detail on the logistics situation in the next few days.)

Health Care Update on Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta

While at least a million severely affected people in the Irrawaddy Delta are trying to scrape together proper shelter and supplies of food, health care workers in the Irrawaddy Division are bracing for potentially deadly disease outbreaks. Many survivors of Cyclone Nargis are, no doubt, still seeking care for injuries suffered during the storm as well as sicknesses brought on by days of exposure to the torrential rains of the monsoon season. Health care services in the Irrawaddy Delta have been pieced together from the remnants of staff from local township hospitals along with Ministry of Health staff, staff from Yangon General Hospital and other hospitals, local healthcare workers from NGOs and international teams of doctors from around the region. While medical teams from NGOs and regional countries continue to stream into the country, the entire health care system of Yangon and the Irrawaddy is no doubt undergoing serious strain.

Take for example Yangon General Hospital’s staff of roughly 278 doctors and over 400 nurses (as per figures from the Yangon City website). The hospital’s cardiac and cancer wards were reportedly destroyed in the storm, with roofs covering other sections of the hospital being damaged. In addition to handling the afflicted among Yangon‘s population of 5 to 6 million people,

Commentators and Scholars Sounding Off on Myanmar (Burma)

Browsing through cyberspace we have noted several commentaries onMyanmar (Burma) from longtime Asia and Burma watchers. These articles should help those new to Burma or Myanmar(as the country has officially called itself since since 1989) and the country’s history and current political context, which may be fairly mystifying to many.

Crisis and Response Part II, by Bertil Lintner, YaleGlobal, 21 May 2008.

Author, long-time Far Eastern Economic Review columnist, and Chiang Mai resident, Bertil Lintner, has written several books and numerous articles since the 80s on Burma politics and the ethnic insurgency.)

Gwynne Dyer: Latest chapter in a 45-year-old tragedy, The New Zealand Herald, May 22, 2008

A military historian, columnist, and author, Gwynne Dyer has long commented on Burma politics.

A storm of protest over Burma, by Andrew Selth.

Selth, a Research Fellow at Griffith University in Australia has followed the history of Burma’s Army and written published numerous academic articles on this subject.

“Burma’s Economic Prospects” (html format), by Sean Turnell.

Sean Turnell is a professor of economics at Macquarie University in Australia who has written extensively on the economic situation and history of the country. This paper, written in 2006, was presented to the U.S. Senate.

The face of survival – Two month old Kyaw Zin Law

“He survived the wind that blew away his house and the flood that drowned his neighbours. He has clung on for two weeks in a ruined monastery where hundreds of refugees sleep head to toe. His weight has dropped and his temperature has soared, but on Thursday morning he finally saw a doctor. She diagnosed severe pneumonia and malnutrition and referred him to a hospital for tests and treatment. One thing stands between Kyaw Zin Law and the treatment that would save his life: money.”

(Editor’s Update: In our original post, we identified Kyaw Zin Law as two-weeks old. Reading the original Times report of May 8, we noticed our misread. In fact he is two month’s old.)

Who, What and Where? – The Unanswered Questions Haunting Relief Groups

Officials from a variety of U.N. agencies announced in Bangkok today that they still don’t have the basic data to provide an adequate assessment of the needs of those affected by the cyclone. Hampered by limited access to the disaster zone, relief agencies are still dealing with wide ranging estimates of the total numbers of people severely affected by the disaster. Recently the U.N. upped it’s estimates of severely affected from 1.2 to 1.7 million to now 1.5 to 2.5 million. No doubt this is partially due to the length of time that many survivors have gone without food, but it also reflects a still rather limited understanding of the full crisis.

Without clear numbers of the needy and information about their whereabouts they are unable to come up with a clear picture as to what survivors truly need, in terms of amounts of food, medicine, and shelter materials. In disaster relief, agencies would typically take a census of affected areas to find out important details, such as the numbers of those at greatest risk and need –