LABUTTA TOWNSHIP: LIVELIHOODS A TOP CONCERN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000532 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP AND IO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SENV PREF TBIO BM PHUM EAGR VM SUBJECT: LABUTTA TOWNSHIP: LIVELIHOODS A TOP CONCERN REF: A. RANGOON 455 ¶B. RANGOON 514 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On June 18 and 20, USAID/OFDA shelter expert and Poloff traveled to the Irrawaddy Delta region to assess recovery efforts. Six weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit, most people had sufficient shelter, either rebuilt from indigenous materials or plastic sheeting or living in communal housing or refugee camps. While drinking water appeared adequate, sanitation around the camps and in many villages remained a concern. People complained of food shortages, especially of food other than rice and onions, but there were no reports of major health problems other than severe depression. Farmers have not yet restarted rice cultivation, even as the end of the planting season draws near. As people begin to rebuild their lives, relief efforts must focus on restarting rice cultivation and providing people with incomes to help them help themselves. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On June 18 to 20, USAID/OFDA shelter expert and Poloff traveled to Labutta Township and visited two refugee camps and four villages. Poloff had visited the two camps, Three Mile Camp and Five Mile Camp, on a previous trip to the delta region (Ref A). We also traveled with the Adventist Relief and Development Agency (ADRA) to four villages: Hlawza, Theitbangonegyi, Pyingdaungdwin, and Seitgalegone. Cyclone Nargis affected all of the villages differently, but all the villagers were recovering from the storm, regardless of the amount of aid received. The only village we saw that was not actively rebuilding was Seitgalegone, where approximately one third of its former 150 inhabitants died in the storm. Shelter -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Regardless of the amount of relief aid received, all villages had made strides rebuilding shelter in the six weeks since the storm hit. ADRA brought supplies such as rice, plastic sheeting, and other building materials to Hlawza and Theitbangonegyi in June. Villagers in both constructed numerous new shelters since the storm, especially out of USAID plastic sheeting and occasionally even from USAID boxes. Villages that received little or no aid, such as Pyindaungdwin and Seitgalegone, have rebuilt many of their shelters from indigenous materials. The village head in Pyindaungdwin told us that even though construction costs have risen since the storm due to shortages of building supplies, people were able to rebuild their homes from new materials for around USD 50. Some people in the affected villages still live in large groups in concrete buildings that survived the storm, but we saw some rebuilding in each village that we visited. Water and Sanitation -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Despite numerous calls from INGOs to provide more drinking water to victims of Cyclone Nargis, villages and camps that we visited appeared to have adequate potable water. People living in villages that received plastic sheeting had created cachement ponds for rain water to collect clean water. Other villages used the same methods that they used prior to the storm, such as collecting water in clay pots from the eaves of their homes or boiling water from streams and rivers. INGOs provided water purification systems to refugee camps, which often supplied inhabitants with better quality water than they had in their native villages. ¶5. (SBU) On the other hand, sanitation, particularly in camps and hard-hit villages, remained a concern. Very few drainage systems existed, and pools of water provided a potential breeding ground for diseases. Lack of sanitation awareness on the part of many villagers contributed to this problem. For example, we observed one woman dipping bathing and RANGOON 00000532 002 OF 003 cooking water out of a stream near a latrine. Furthermore, many villages, including Theitbangonegyi, had done very little clean-up since the storm, only moving debris out of roads and homes. As a result, piles of rotting wood and other debris littered the village and contributed to public health hazards. The Problem of Finding Food -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Most of the areas that we visited continued to suffer food shortages. Donors provided people living in camps with rice, beans, and onions, but they had to buy any other food they needed at elevated prices from sellers in Labutta. Many refugees told us that food prices doubled since the storm, and since they have no source of income, they face significant problems in obtaining other staples in the Burmese diet, including fish paste and chili. Hlawza and Theitbangongyi faced similar shortages. The INGO Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) brought supplies of rice and onions, but other commodities, including vegetables, remained absent. People in the tiny village of Seitgalegone survived almost solely on fish and indigenous plants. Villagers told us that they had received only a few tins of rice since the storm. ¶7. (SBU) Pyindaungdwin was the exception in the food shortages. The village head told us that its proximity to Labutta (thirty minutes by Zodiac speedboat) allowed traders to bring rice, beans, spices, and vegetables from outside of the village. Nevertheless, its warehouses are still filled with rotting rice and villagers have not yet restarted rice cultivation. Health and Well-being -------------- ¶8. (SBU) None of the villages or camps that we visited had experienced any major disease outbreaks. Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) workers in the camps noted that many people suffer from severe depression, and camp residents complained that they would be happier if they could restart their lives and find a way to make money. The attitudes of people living in the villages were significantly better than in the camps. People in villages were working to improve their situations and had hope of an income. Livelihoods and the Way Forward in the Delta -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The primary concern among residents of camps and villages was how they would repair their livelihoods. Most people in camps told us they wanted to return home as soon as possible; fear of starvation and lack of funds to travel were the only factors keeping them in camps. A few people said they never wanted to return, but they appeared to represent a small minority; income concerns played a large part in their decisions. In villages, most shopkeepers and fishermen had returned to normal business. ¶10. (SBU) Villagers showed very few signs of restarting rice cultivation, which along with fishing and salt production represented the primary occupation in villages. They lacked equipment and seeds to restart cultivation in a meaningful way. An official from the Ministry of Industry (1) in Theitbangonegyi showed us tractors that the ministry had brought to sell to local farmers on an installment basis for 900,000 kyat each (USD 762). Under the plan, farmers would pay the first installment of 300,000 kyat (USD 254) after six months and then pay the remainder over the following two and a half years. (Note: Most farmers make far less than 300,000 kyat per year.) In addition, the number of tractors was insufficient to till all of the land before the end of the planting season in July. The official acknowledged that there was very little time to start the projects that the GOB had proposed, especially because few people were interested in using the tractors. RANGOON 00000532 003 OF 003 ¶11. (SBU) The GOB also brought draft animals, such as water buffalo, to the area to replace those lost in the storm. However, many villagers complained that the animals were weak, too young to plow, or did not understand the commands in the local language. We have learned that many of the animals came from Karen and Shan States, were forced contributions from farmers there, and had not received food or water during the several days of travel from Shan or Karen States. We saw several such animals in the villages we visited, none of which were being used. A villager in Hlawza told us that several animals in his village had already died. ¶12. (SBU) In order to provide an alternative source of income, ADRA started a cash-for-work program where people could earn a daily wage in return for assisting in clean-up and rebuilding activities. The UNDP, in a similar effort in Pyindaungdwin, gave 30,000 kyat (USD 26) each to several families as a grant to restart their livelihoods. Both of these programs were very small and still in their initial stages at the time of our visit. Comment -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Six weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit, people are rebuilding their lives regardless of how much aid they have received. Pyindaungdwin villagers, who have received very little from the outside world, were doing the most to rebuild their village and restart their livelihoods. Villagers have moved from worrying about their daily food needs to how they can feed their families in the coming months. At this point, international aid in the form of cash would help them rebuild homes and livelihoods. Cash enables them to help themselves, it causes less distortion to local markets, and gives a sense of possibilities to those suffering from depression and hopelessness. VILLAROSA