Mary Callahan on “donations in relief of the disaster in Burma/Myanmar”
Posted by otterman on 11 May 2008
Thanks to Chua Ai Lin for the forward from the Humanities and Social Sciences Net online.
H-ASIA
May 10, 2008
On donations in relief of the disaster in Burma/Myanmar
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From: Priti Ramamurthy
Friends,
Mary Callahan, Assoc Prof, U Washington, is one of a handful of senior
political scientist experts on Burma. She has conducted field research there
for years; she authored the prize-winning book Making Enemies: War & state
building in Burma (Cornell University Press 2003) her advice on sending help
to the Burmese surviving the flood of the Irrawaddy Delta follows:
“A number of friends and colleagues have asked how to help the people of Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. The malevolence of the Burmese government toward their people is incomprehensible. The junta is making it very difficult for foreign relief agencies to get desperately need medical assistance and other supplies to the hundreds of thousands (more likely millions) of victims of the cyclone. International media report that foreign relief workers are not being granted visas. Even if aid personnel can get into the country, existing government regulations are likely to make it difficult for expatriate relief workers to travel very far outside Rangoon.
There are, however, dozens of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Burma that have worked there for years. There are also several hundred local NGOs, which include faith-based organizations (Christian churches and monasteries) and other social service organizations. And finally, UN agencies such as UNICEF and the UN Development Program have staff throughout the country. Most of these organizations have years of experience carrying out disaster relief during both the annual monsoon and fire seasons. Until yesterday, US economic sanctions against Burma made it quite difficult to donate money to non-governmental operations inside the country. As of last
night, the Treasury Department has loosened some of those restrictions at least in regard to international organizations.The international and local NGOs and the UN agencies already on the ground employ thousands of Burmese professionals and support staff, who - unlike the foreign/expatriate staff - can travel to affected areas. Already, the NGO community has assembled assessment teams (including medical personnel) to go to the Irrawaddy Delta, where upwards of 20,000 are already confirmed dead.
Realistically, in the early stages of this relief operation, it will be the Burmese staff of INGOs, local NGOs and UN agencies who will carry the lion’s share of the burden. They have worked in this aid-hostile environment; have intimate knowledge of how to carry out aid without putting beneficiaries at risk; and are well-placed to identify community needs. When foreign relief operations do finally get access to Burma, it is of the utmost importance that they coordinate with and support these locally-based nongovernmental organizations and UN agencies that understand the complexity of working in Burma.
Both the Burmese government restrictions and US economic sanctions make it very difficult to give money to local NGOs directly, but it is possible to support their work by donating to the international groups that have longstanding partnerships with local NGOs and community-based organizations (including churches and monasteries). The following international organizations are already in the Delta and have launched fundraising campaigns to support broader efforts. All of them have proven track records in Burma, and especially in the Delta.”
| ADRA International Myanmar Cyclone Fund 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 (800) 424-ADRA ext. 2372 http://www.adra.org CARE Project HOPE Save the Children |
U.S. Fund for UNICEF 125 Maiden Lane, 11th Floor New York, NY 10038 (800) 4UNICEF http://www.unicefusa.org World Concern World Vision |
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