No homes in sight for 900,000 Myanmar cyclone survivors
Source: AlertNet
Date: 25 Nov 2009
Written by: A Myanmar expert in Bangkok
BANGKOK – For about 100,000 people in Myanmar who have been living in makeshift shelters since Cyclone Nargis hit 18 months ago, Wednesday’s news of fresh donor money spells light at the end of the tunnel.
But for the remaining 900,000 people whose homes were destroyed or damaged, the prospects are dim.
International donors pledged a fresh $88 million for new houses, schools and employment programmes for the cyclone’s survivors. The money will help fund 17,800 new family homes.
Using a U.N. standard of five to six people per family, it works out that the new houses will accommodate around 100,000 people. But about one million need help with shelter, according to the United Nations.
Earlier this year, the United Nations listed responding to the immediate need for sustainable shelter in Myanmar as one of its priorities for 2009-10. Despite that, shelter remains one of the most under-funded needs in the country.
Part of the reason, aid workers say, is the perception among donors that housing is the responsibility of the government and most donors want to avoid being seen as subsidising Myanmar’s military regime.
“If we have resources, I believe we can do much more,” said Bishow Parajuli, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar. “The fundamental problem for the recovery support in Myanmar is lack of money – for everything.”
Cyclone Nargis swept through Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta, once dubbed the country’s rice bowl, in May last year, killing 140,000 people, destroying 450,000 houses and leaving 2.4 million destitute.
For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.alertnet.org
