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

And the food issue, said Cheema, is where the international community must continue to press officials in Burma to open up to international help. Even after the immediate humanitarian crisis is dealt with, he said, the country will need vast amounts of help to rebuild and recover.

“The real crisis comes after (the immediate situation) when you go to rehabilitation,” Cheema said. “It is at that time that the world community loses interest.”

And even as much of the world looks away, those who still wish to help often feel frustrated and thwarted.

“The bad news is that the ability of the international community to decisively respond to these crises is very limited,” he said. “While some, particularly the Europeans, believe that it is the obligation of the international community to act when a country is unable to help itself, others – particularly in Asia – resist any hint of forced intervention.”

Morrison said that’s a matter of deep frustration for American officials who know they have the military and logistical ability to help, and are willing to do so just as they did in previous disasters in Bangladesh in the early 1990s and after the 2004 Asian tsunami.

“From a humanitarian point of view, it becomes tremendously frustrating, even if we can understand (the resistance) intellectually,” he said.

Sidebar:
Disasters come and go, and yet the same patterns continue to emerge. Disaster specialist Allen Clark notes these grimly familiar lessons learned, or more accurately lessons re-learned following the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China:

n All nations are ill prepared, to a greater or lesser degree, for major disasters.
n Early warning systems are inadequate.
n The most immediate response is almost always from local people – “you are on your own.”
n The greatest deficiency is lack of “lifting” capacity, which means helicopters.
n Women and children are most at risk; they tend to be concentrated while men are scattered at work or elsewhere.
n Schools are universally at risk and are usually not constructed to withstand severe trauma.
n Clean water and shelter are imperatives.
n Health care, hospitals and medical supplies are often inadequate for disaster situations.
n Assistance often is not prioritized according to need (age, gender, physical state, coping capacity).

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The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations and the governments of the region.