ISLAMIC NGOS, NATIONS MAJOR PLAYERS IN CYCLONE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000209 SIPDIS SIPDIS DCHA/OFDA FOR ROBERT THAYER AID/W FOR AA MARK WARD AND ANE ANNE DIX DEPT PASS TO SCA/EX DEPT PASS TO SCA/PB KATHMANDU FOR USAID OFDA BILL BERGER AND SUE MCINTYRE DOJ FOR OPDAT TREASURY FOR SUSAN CHUN AND JEAN-PAUL DUVIVIER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018 TAGS: EAID PINR PREL SOCI BG SUBJECT: ISLAMIC NGOS, NATIONS MAJOR PLAYERS IN CYCLONE RELIEF FOR BANGLADESH Classified By: CDA a.i. Geeta Pasi. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Three months after Cyclone Sidr barreled through southern Bangladesh, Islamic organizations and nations are thick on the ground offering assistance to the worst-hit areas. They are filling the gaps in government relief efforts, often focusing on sanitation, shelter and other reconstruction efforts where U.S. activity is not yet as visible. As memory of the initial burst of USG cyclone relief -- particularly the military airlift of critical emergency aid to remote areas -- recedes into the past, this reconstruction activity is likely to become an increasingly important factor determining local perceptions of who did what to help recover from Sidr. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) During a cyclone-relief assessment visit in early February to the Patuakhali and Barguna districts of Barisal division, an interagency team of Department of State, Department of Defense and U.S. Agency for International Development personnel saw ample evidence of Islamic non-governmental organizations and Middle East governments, particularly Saudi Arabia, heavily involved in reconstruction efforts. They often worked in tandem with local government or, in some instances, with Jamaat-e-Islami, the main Islamist party in Bangladesh. In other cases, however, they appeared to be acting on their own in determining what aid to provide. ¶3. (C) The most impressive relief effort viewed by the team was that of Muslim Aid-UK Bangladesh, which has launched a multiyear, comprehensive program to assist Mirzaganj upazila (county) of Barguna district in recovering from the cyclone. "People are saying that the government response was good but not enough," says K.M. Abdul Wadud, the leading government official in Mirzaganj. "The NGOs have given much more." ¶4. (SBU) According to Muslim Aid, its representatives arrived in Mirzaganj on November 18, three days after the cyclone, and over the next two months provided medical treatment to more than 10,000 people and donated blankets and clothing to more than 8,500 families. Among the food it distributed were nearly 140,000 kilograms of rice, almost 50,000 kilograms of pulses and more than 40,000 kilograms of potatoes. Charkhali, a village of about 3,000 people along the Payra River that was largely washed away in the storm, is home to many people who have received Muslim Aid largesse. Adjahar Khalifa, a 50-year-old fish trader with eight children, emerged from his jerry-built temporary home holding a bright yellow blanket he received from the NGO, and then listed the food -- rice, oil, pulses, potatoes -- he received from the group. "If it wasn't for Muslim Aid I would have been in big trouble," he said. ¶5. (C) The emergency relief received by Adjahar is just the beginning of what is planned as a multiyear effort, says Alauddin al-Azad, the Muslim Aid official in charge of the local relief effort. Al-Azad -- preppy-looking in his red short-sleeved shirt, short hair and clean-shaven face -- said the NGO is getting ready to install 350 five-ring slab latrines, each worth 5,000 taka (about USD 70) and with a lifespan of several years. (Note: A sign outside the latrine factory said the European Commission was involved with the project. Al-Azad said Muslim Aid also works with other Western NGOs including Oxfam. End Note) He also said the group planned to provide 100,000 taka (more than USD 1,400) to 400 families in three villages to rebuild their homes, a far greater amount than the 5,000 taka offered by the government. Villagers told the interagency team that Muslim Aid attached no strings to the assistance. ¶6. (SBU) The USG team also saw evidence of assistance from the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). The NGO rebuilt a mosque just south of Kalapara town in Patuakhali district after its representatives drove by and saw how badly the DHAKA 00000209 002 OF 002 cyclone had damaged the building. WAMY brought in its own mason to supervise the work, according to the mosque's imam. ¶7. (SBU) One of the biggest questions involving Sidr reconstruction is what role will be played by Saudi Arabia. It pledged $100 million in aid shortly after the cyclone hit and another pledge of $130 million in assistance was made by an anonymous Saudi benefactor in January. On February 5, the team visited a government distribution center in Kalapara upazila where rice was stored in bags bearing the slogan "Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Humanity" in English, Arabic and Bangla. Later in the day the team visited a government office in Amatali town of Barguna district where shawls and jackets paid for by the Saudis were being distributed. We frequently ran into local officials and civilians who said that the Saudis would soon be rebuilding homes destroyed in the storm. A.G.M Mir Moshiur Alam, the district commissioner of Patuakhali, said the Saudis would spend about 100,000 taka per house to build about 10,000 homes, a total of 1 billion taka (about USD 14 million). While we saw no evidence any money had yet been disbursed it was clear that expectations were high that the Saudis would be making a significant investment in reconstruction. We didn't hear any discussion of U.S. reconstruction assistance nor did we see any evidence of significant ongoing U.S. aid during our travels. ¶8. (C) Comment: Islamic NGOs and nations were among many donors who played a significant role in providing immediate relief to cyclone victims. They now appear to be playing a leading role in early reconstruction work such as housing and sanitation. The cyclone also left many mosques damaged or destroyed, creating plenty of opportunity for Islamic groups to rebuild these important community centers that so far have not been a major part of government reconstruction efforts. It will be important for the USG to quickly set in motion its own reconstruction program to ensure that the favorable impression left from its initial emergency relief does not dim with time. Pasi