Aila survivors' plight
Monday, 1 June 2009
THE situation of thousands of people in the country's Aila-hit south-western coastal districts, seems to be getting grimmer by the day, despite the best efforts of the Army, Navy, the Air Force, and numerous volunteers wanting to do something for their stricken brethren. Although the government's ministries concerned have claimed to be well stocked to meet the current emergency, the management of the materials being distributed is clearly not equal to the enormity of the situation. So far, about a dozen or so portable water-treatment units, operated by the defence teams, have been flown in, according to reports. Water purifying tablets and alum are believed to be used to make water safe. Raw rice is also being distributed. But, needless to say, apart from this staple grain, among the most cherished items at the moment are salt, sugar, lentils and oil, though what the sufferers need most and immediately is dry, energy-dense foods that they can eat as it comes, without cooking.
Eight days into the devastation -- the cyclone lashed the region on Monday 25th May, whipping up the sea in terrifying tidal bores that swept everything in their paths -- too many of the survivors, who belong largely to the subsistent and stark poor majority, are being heard and seen in the media crying for ready-to-eat food, drinkable water, medicine and, at least some rudiments of shelter, for immediate succour. Diarrhoea has broken out in many affected areas as people are forced to drink from polluted sources. Most tubewells which used to supply drinking water have been submerged and await reclamation once the water recedes. There is a great deal of work that needs to be done which the government's agencies alone cannot handle.
The battering of lives and localities by floods, tidal bores and cyclones is all too frequent in Bangladesh, enough reason, say critics, for the country's disaster management authorities to be seasoned and well prepared for handling such emergency situations effectively. There have been times in the past when some situations were managed so well as to gain international appreciation. But this time round it appears that the logistical realities on the ground are proving rather difficult and communities in the remote areas are getting left out. Even a government minister reportedly admitted that relief efforts were falling short on management. Lest the government be faulted with lack of seriousness in its rescue and relief operations, it would do well to mobilise other proven relief and rehabilitation resources within its orbit to ameliorate the situation.
Needless to say, it is one thing to have neat plans on paper and quite another when facing so many parched, hungry and helpless communities whose body of problems is so full of sores one knows not where to apply the balm! Although people in such situations have their own coping mechanisms to keep themselves afloat, the government, as facilitator, should, sooner, rather than later, attend to the need for creating enough jobs through which the battered community could rebuild their lives. Reconstruction of the 813 km of flood embankments that have been swept away by Aila, if undertaken in earnest, could generate the jobs necessary if the people are to overcome their current destitute status. In this context, the assurances of Bangladesh's development partners to help with long-term rehabilitation measures should be followed up seriously and sustainably.
Eight days into the devastation -- the cyclone lashed the region on Monday 25th May, whipping up the sea in terrifying tidal bores that swept everything in their paths -- too many of the survivors, who belong largely to the subsistent and stark poor majority, are being heard and seen in the media crying for ready-to-eat food, drinkable water, medicine and, at least some rudiments of shelter, for immediate succour. Diarrhoea has broken out in many affected areas as people are forced to drink from polluted sources. Most tubewells which used to supply drinking water have been submerged and await reclamation once the water recedes. There is a great deal of work that needs to be done which the government's agencies alone cannot handle.
The battering of lives and localities by floods, tidal bores and cyclones is all too frequent in Bangladesh, enough reason, say critics, for the country's disaster management authorities to be seasoned and well prepared for handling such emergency situations effectively. There have been times in the past when some situations were managed so well as to gain international appreciation. But this time round it appears that the logistical realities on the ground are proving rather difficult and communities in the remote areas are getting left out. Even a government minister reportedly admitted that relief efforts were falling short on management. Lest the government be faulted with lack of seriousness in its rescue and relief operations, it would do well to mobilise other proven relief and rehabilitation resources within its orbit to ameliorate the situation.
Needless to say, it is one thing to have neat plans on paper and quite another when facing so many parched, hungry and helpless communities whose body of problems is so full of sores one knows not where to apply the balm! Although people in such situations have their own coping mechanisms to keep themselves afloat, the government, as facilitator, should, sooner, rather than later, attend to the need for creating enough jobs through which the battered community could rebuild their lives. Reconstruction of the 813 km of flood embankments that have been swept away by Aila, if undertaken in earnest, could generate the jobs necessary if the people are to overcome their current destitute status. In this context, the assurances of Bangladesh's development partners to help with long-term rehabilitation measures should be followed up seriously and sustainably.