Lessons of the Burma and China Disasters: Crises Shed Light on Regional Issues

HONOLULU (May 23) — The natural disasters that swept through Burma and western China in recent weeks throw into sharp relief the humanitarian, physical and even political challenges facing the region today, a panel of East-West Center experts said here this week.

In striking ways, the aftermath of the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China offers contrasting views of how tightly controlled Asian governments deal both with their own internal problems and with the rest of the world.

But whether it’s China, Burma or other countries, such disasters demonstrate how often lessons are not learned, according to Center Senior Fellow Allen Clark, a specialist in disaster planning and response. What is happening in Burma and in China has happened before and will likely happen again, Clark said.

“These patterns (of failed response and lack of preparation) don’t just happen in the Irrawaddy and in Chengdu,” Clark said. “They happened in New Orleans as well.”

In addition to Clark, the panel included Research Director Nancy Lewis, an expert on public health issues, Center President Charles E. Morrison and Senior Fellow Shabbir Cheema, who spent many years as a United Nations program director.

Western governments and citizens horrified by the scale of the disaster in Burma were understandably frustrated by the initial reluctance of local authorities to accept outside help, Cheema said.

That may in part be explained by a cultural gulf and differences in political systems that in some ways continue to divide Asia from the West, he said. It is a gulf that China is rapidly learning to bridge, while the leadership in Burma has not, he said.

This raises a fundamental question that he often struggled with during his years at the U.N., Cheema said: “How do you strike a balance between the need to protect life and (ease) the suffering of the people and at the same time ensure that the sovereignty of the country is protected?”

Until the time when a nation is comfortable with its own security and sovereignty, Cheema suggested, the task of providing large-scale outside aid in an emergency setting will continue to be difficult.