Anniversaries provide us with many opportunities – to commemorate, to remember, to admonish, to celebrate, to reassess. Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which destroyed 700,000 homes in the Irrawaddy Delta of Burma and killed an estimated 138,000 people. In the press releases that I’ve read in the past few days, a number of organizations are using this anniversary to chastise the Burmese regime for their callousness towards their own population. This is undeniable, but I want to argue that this anniversary should be used for a different purpose – to see what we can do to continue to help the people who suffered from the storm.

Despite the Burmese regime’s abhorrent response to the cyclone in the opening weeks, humanitarian aid workers eventually gained unprecedented access to the disaster zone. Millions of people have been helped, but many still need more assistance to build permanent housing, access clean water, and purchase equipment for fishing and agriculture. Shortly after Cyclone Nargis stopped becoming front page news, funding for activities like these began to slow down. On a recent mission to Burma in February this year, I found that agencies were concerned that they may have to scale back or even shut down their operations in the delta because funding was so limited.

Aid to Burma is even more urgent now.  Even though many Burmese have made impressive gains in their recovery, the global economic crisis has complicated this process. In February, we found that farmers who were able to successfully harvest the last rice crop thanks to international aid are having difficulty selling it, as market prices are roughly 30% lower than last year. As a result, they may not earn enough money to buy seed and fertilizers for the next planting season, which begins soon. Similarly, fishermen who have received new boats thanks to international assistance have seen the market for their catch disappear, as prices dropped 30 to 40% in the past year. The international community must realize that helping people get back on their feet takes time and long-term commitment. That means continuing to fund the Cyclone recovery.

The new Obama Administration is giving indications that it will include a commitment to humanitarian assistance to Burma as part of its current policy review. This would be the first time that the U.S. is willing to make a long-term commitment to helping the people of Burma meet their daily needs. However, Congress holds the purse strings, and getting the US to make a meaningful contribution will be difficult.  To date, the US has committed $75 million to the cyclone relief effort – we were the second largest donor to the disaster, and that should be applauded.  However, when we compare the contribution in 2008 to the budget for 2009, funding has dropped 75% in just a year to $15 million. We need to show that we are serious about this policy and put our money where our mouth is – the budget for 2010 should be doubled to $30 million.

Anniversaries being what they are, Burma will quickly fade to the back pages of most people’s agendas, if it makes it on to the agenda at all.  But it is up to the policymakers in Washington and other capitals around the world to make sure that, when we remember the horrible suffering that Cyclone Nargis dealt to the Burmese people last year, that we become part of the solution year round. 

-Jake Kurtzer
Refugees International

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