After 100 Days

General Observations from a visit to one area in Burma in late March

We found that there were three classes of people in that area:

10% of the community are Merchants and Traders. (Some own fishing vessels and some have coconut plantations.)

10% are fishermen who own fishing vessels as well as coconut plantations.

80%   (the rest of the community) are laborers who work for the merchants and traders;   half go out in the fishing boats,   the other half own small fishing boats and catch their own fish. Most of these people live on the seashore in bamboo huts and so they suffered most from the effects of the tsunami.  

The reason for minimal loss of life

The earthquake started at 7:30 am and the first wave came at 10:20. The time between one wave and the next was about 25 minutes. The first and second waves did not cause much damage, being only about 5 feet high. The third wave was about 8 feet high and it caused a lot of damage. The people there were warned about the coming waves by the army at about 10:00 A.M. The people fled to high ground inland, but they were not able to carry any of their belongings.

The condition of the people in the area after the disaster

The merchants, traders and fishing boat owners live at a distance from the shore and trees and plants protect their houses, so the tsunami did not affect them as greatly as the common laborers and fishermen. As the latter lived on the seashore in bamboo huts, the waves washed away all their living places, the few household articles and clothing they owned, and their small boats and nets were either damaged, destroyed or lost.   At present their only possessions are the clothes they wear.

Water

The township relies on water collection tanks, ponds and hand dug wells. After the tsunami, the ponds and wells are full of salt water and are useless for drinking or domestic purposes. The vessels used for collecting drinking water are either broken or washed away.

Health

No illness or disease were found, but there are some injuries caused by the tsunami. e-g; an old lady was injured, but now she has recovered from her wounds: A man was hospitalized on account of his injuries, but it is not serious.

Education

The walls of the building of the High School and Middle school in the areas were cracked and are likely to fall down. Because it is dangerous for the school children, they have to take their lessons outdoors. Some desks and seats were damaged. The students lost all their school books, bags and writing materials. At present they have to carry their school books and stationery in plastic bags.

Food

The diet of most of the working class was not very nutritious even before the disaster. Now aid and contributions are coming in, there is little problem about food.

Shelter and Livelihood

In this area, all the dwelling places of the working class were completely destroyed. They are living in temporary shelters at present. Three families have to live together in one shelter, and so it is very crowded.

All the fishing vessels and boats were destroyed and so it is impossible to go out to sea to go fishing.   The containers for water have also been destroyed.

Before the tsunami came, there had been no clams on the beaches. But since the waves rolled back depositing sand on the beach, families earn about Kyats 600 per day (less than US$1) from collecting clams, shelling them and selling them to fishmongers from Chaung Tha, who used to buy the clams from other places, but are now buying them in these places in order to support the people.

Communication

There are only two modes of travelling in the area. One is by road and the other by water. Roads are impassable to cars, so tractors are used for travel. There are also motor cycles and bicycles.

Rowing boats and motor boats are used in the waterways.

On the inland route, there had been a bridge connecting two villages. Water products such as dried fish, fish paste, dried prawns etc, were transported accross the wooden bridge which was 198 feet long. It has been completely destroyed.

Two villages especially affected by the tsunami.

First Village

Of 350 houses, 36 were completely destroyed. Although the remaining houses were not completely destroyed, 30 suffered major damage and the rest suffered minor damage. Most people lost all their household utensils (cooking pots and pans, blankets, clothing, furniture, etc). 169 people have become homeless and 5 people were killed. One injured person is still recovering in the station.

There had been a pond for drinking water but salt water has entered it and the water is no longer drinkable. There is the difficulty of fetching drinking water from far away places.   Therefore a pond for drinking water is essential.

There are 616 school children in the High School. The walls of one of the buildings are cracked and there is danger of it falling down, so school children have to take their lessons outdoors away from the danger of the unsafe school house.

235 school children have lost all their school books and equipment.   The Government provided school text books and six exercise books each, but they are not sufficient. School equipment such as compass boxes, pencils, pens, rulers are lost. As their school bags were lost in the waves, the school children take their books in plastic bags to school.

2nd Village

Of 409 houses, 152 were completely destroyed, about 100 houses suffered major damage and the rest were only slightly damaged. Many households lost all their household implements and furniture. 718 people were made homeless.

Out of three ponds for drinking and household use, two have been destroyed.   A military colnel has proposed digging a fresh water pond near the village.

The desks and stools of the middle school were destroyed.   All the school equipment, books, pens, stationery etc, of most of the children were lost.   They need to be replaced as soon as possible.   There are over 500 school children, and more than 300 school children lost all their text books and stationery.      

Another report received April 8

- we are requested not to name organisation, villages and identities of people -

We met with the chairman and the secretary of thevillage authority at 7 o'clock in the morning. After breakfast, went to visit houses of those who's homes were damaged by the tsunami and talked with them. We discussed with the villagers about their most needs. In the evening, we had a meeting with local authority and some villagers. We agreed to collect the actual needed materials and support the villagers requested us to construct for them a drinking water tank (reservoir). We agreed to support the money for this.

Next morning the local authority member joined with us to collect details on the actual needs of the tsunami victims.

In the afternoon we went to collect data from 2 villages. A list of destroyed boats was made and we gave financial support to buy the 22 boats so that families could regain their livelihood source. The money was given to the Head man and the victims had to sign that amount they get. The Head man took responsibility to find the right boats and pay the cash.

In the evening we consulted to all the victim villagers to appoint a person for distribution of the goods needed. The person appointed was agreed to go to a town to buy the necessary goods with us.

Next morning we visited a High School that was damaged by the tsunami. The Head Mistress requested a drinking water reservoir to which we agreed and donated funds for this.

In the afternoon met some victims whose houses were damaged. We met and talked with the families and supported them with needed kitchenware and some food. (Cooking oil, chilies, onions, beans and pulses)

We reached the town early next morning. We bought all the required goods and sent them to the respective villages. A local volunteer took responsibility to distribute the works on our behalf and to visit the places damaged by the tsunami every two weeks and send a report back to us.

Some of the problem we faced

•  Since there were always soldiers around us, we were not free to talk, discuss with the victim villagers.

•  Villagers were not allowed to build their own houses, even if we would like to support each.

•  There were families with high school students who needed support in cash for their education, but the authorities strictly prohibited this.

•  Some damaged houses were not considered fit for repairing. No list of damaged houses and their needs was allowed.

•  We were not allowed to support and help the victim villagers freely with what they really needed and wanted

For the immediate future

•  The local volunteer will visit the tsunami damaged areas every two weeks.

•  We will finance a drinking water reservoir.

•  We will donate books to the destroyed village library.

•  We will check that the goods reach the victims and are used properly.

•  We will work with the volunteer hand in hand and discuss the real needs to support the victims of the Tsunami.

List of relief materials

No	Items	Number	Amount (MMK)
1	Rope for prepare fishing net	150 roll & 300 kilo	750,000
2	Fishing net	150	1,730,000
3	Dyke	8	55,300
4	Hook	15	75,000
5	Fishing boats	22	660,000
6	Preparing boats	3	150,000
7	Drinking water reservoir for school	1	300,000
8	Kitchen wares		125,500
	Total Amount		3,845,800

In Conclusion

We are facing a big challenge in distributing funds to support tsunami victims in some parts of the country. There is a real need to re-build lives and communities. We may need time to develop distribution channels and organize methods.

 

Update April 6

  TSUNAMI AFTERMATH / GETTING LIVES BACK TOGETHER

  Aid trucks on way to help Burmese migrants

  ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT - the Bangkok Post

  Two trucks carrying more than 14 tonnes of humanitarian aid left Bangkok yesterday to help tsunami-affected Burmese migrants in Ranong, Phangnga and Phuket provinces.   At least 7,000 Burmese migrant workers and their dependents, most of whom worked as hired hands in the fishing, construction and tourism industries, were affected by the tsunami, according to a joint technical assessment mission carried out by the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), the World Bank and UN agencies in January.  

The 14.5-tonne shipment of donated goods and other basic essentials, including food items, clothes and medicine, will be distributed by the IOM under the Thai Migrant Health Project (MHP).   The US$1.4 million USAid-funded project, which uses a network of community health workers to reach migrant communities, was launched in 2003 and operates with the help of the Thai Health Ministry.  
It responds to primary health care, reproductive health, communicable disease control and environmental sanitation needs of migrants and their Thai host communities on the Thai-Burma border.   Following the tsunami, the MHP received US$800,000 in new funding from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Unocha), the World Health Organisation and Ireland to expand its scope into the tsunami-ravaged provinces of Ranong and Phangnga.  
Yesterday's delivery of humanitarian aid to the area would be channelled through the project's migrant community health workers, who have access to the often marginalised and impoverished migrant communities.  

While some 120,000 migrants in the three provinces are registered, many others are undocumented and may be working in Thailand illegally, the IOM said.

 

 

 

 

Burma - On this Page

Situation Jan 26
Plans for the future
Burmese in Thailand
Earlier Reports

working with the Burmese in Thailand gathered in Phuket (Jan 20) to meet with ACHR friends in the other afected countires.
Below is a summary of the situation in Burma and Thailand

It is estimated there are about two million Burmese living in Thailand, mostly illegal immigrants.
There are about 22,000 Burmese officially registered in Phang Nga province where most of the devastation in Thailand occurred, many of them in the Takua Pa area.
They are involved mostly in the construction industry building resorts etc., in fishing, and working in rubber plantations.
Burmese support groups assessing the problem and trying to reach survivors say that 1,000 Burmese died in the village of Baan Nam Khem near Takua Pa, and another 1,400 in the area of Tap Lamu where about 500 Thai Sailors died at the Navy Base there.
That adds up to 2,400 Burmese deaths in those two areas alone, so obviously the official figures are an underestimate. Another 7,000 are counted as missing.  

Inside Burma the problem is still very hazy. It seems obvious that the devastation didn't suddenly stop at the Thai-Burmese border, and yet the official figures from the Burmese government indicate only 16 villages with 517 families affected and less than 50 deaths.

What is Planned for inside Burma
summary -

Continue plans to assess the people's needs from local contacts and visits to the affected areas.. It is expected that the material needs of those affected will be fishing nets, boats and house building materials. The Burmese support group will set up a fund to support community needs and use it as a tool to bring people together to organise and stregthen communities.
The Burmese government has announced that it is providing 5000 Kyats (US$5) per Tsunami affected family to construct temporary huts.   It is not clear whether the government will allow them to rebuild more permanent structures nor it is clear how funds and/or building materials can be provided to victims without provoking negative responses from the government.  
Support groups in Thailand also intended to send spiritual leaders (possibly Shamans or Buddhist monks) to help the traumatized communities and individuals cope with their emotional problems.  
International pressure is needed on the government to open their doors to relief efforts

Plans to Support Burmese in Thailand

Since the great majority of the Burmese are illegal immigrants, the survivors cannot get relief from any official source and it is difficult for them to even return home. It is difficult for the NGO's to even find them and identify their specific needs, because the workers fear being arrested by the Thai authorities.
The Burmese support groups want an amnesty at least for a period but because of the magnitude of the problem it is not likely to be forthcoming from the Thai authorities.
The survivors will not come to a Burmese refugee camp, because they feel it would amount to capture.
There is also a Thai "mafia" involved in trafficking Burmese workers with the complicity of Thai Officials in some cases.
Strange as it sounds, the Burmese workers' best hope may be in turning to their Thai employers for aid.

Bangkok Post, Jan 26, 2005"

According to Takua Pa's record of registration, there were 7,070 registered Burmese workers, 58 Laotians and 14 Cambodians in the district. However, NGO's dealing with immigrant workers said there were more than 10,000 Burmese workers in Takua Pa District alone."

Jan 13
Burmese in Thailand
Santisuda Ekachai, in the Bangkok Post, January 13, 2005)

"There are more than 120,000 registered manual laborers from Burma in the fisheries, construction, rubber and other industries in Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi, Satun and Trang provinces. The real number of migrant workers could be at least twice this figure.

Thousands of these people are believed to have perished when the tidal waves hit those provinces. According to survivors' accounts, at least 1,000 are missing in Phangnga alone.

These survivors believe many of their loved ones are lying unattended at Wat Yanyao among the unidentified. But they are too scared to go and check and collect the bodies for fear of being arrested and deported...."

 

8 Jan
From e-mail from our friends in Burma
The latest news tell us that (59)people died, (517) households destroyed and more than (2745) lost their livelihoods - farmers and fisher men were homeless.
They all need shelter, blankets, clothing, food, medical treatment and drinking water. Emergency relief activities were done by the government, local authority, Red cross society. Many well wishers make donations for that area's people. But still help is needed endlessly. Drugs for cholera, fever and dysentery are most wanted by the local doctors who are active in medical treatment. Clean drinking water is a demand because all the deep wells and natural lakes are over whelmed by salt water. The wind is strong and so people need shelter and protection.

 

Jan 4
The military junta in charge of Burma is notoriously reluctant to release data about casualties following disasters, but it has confirmed about 80 deaths. Other reports put the toll higher.
There is concern for many Burmese who worked in southern Thailand - not only for the number who may have died, but for others who are illegal and therefore, afraid to seek help.