Burmese forced from relief camps

Cyclone refugees are being evicted from shelters, according to Amnesty International. Analysts say the regime is dispersing those who might foment opposition.

from the June 5, 2008 edition

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UN officials who have collected reports of camp evictions say they have expressed their concern to Burmese government officials and been told that there is no official eviction policy. "We are concerned at any return [of people] to areas that don't have the right services and where people's lives and livelihoods can't be sustained," Amanda Pitt, a spokesperson for the UN's humanitarian arm, told a news conference in Bangkok.

Junta eager to rebuild 'rice bowl'

In recent weeks, however, Burmese leaders have repeatedly called for a rapid start to reconstruction in the delta, a major rice-growing area. They've also requested $11 billion in foreign aid. Asia Times Online, a news website, has reported that 43 Burmese companies have already received contracts for reconstruction in cyclone-hit areas, including some owned by businessmen under US and other Western financial sanctions.

Burmese state media has also scolded villagers who wait by the roadside for private handouts and struck a defiant tone toward international food aid, saying villagers can forage for fish and frogs in monsoon ponds. This fits the junta's vision of self-sufficiency and intense suspicion of Western-led relief efforts, say analysts.

"When they see white faces, they see spies.... They don't want anyone looking around there," says Aung Naing Oo, an exiled Burmese scholar based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In private, UN officials say they are appalled by the recent camp closures but wary of openly criticizing Burma's authorities and seeing the door slam on their aid programs. This caution is understandable, say human rights activists and Burmese exiles, but provides little comfort to the cyclone victims whom the international community has pledged to protect.

UN agencies "are scared to speak out and expose the real situation, because they don't want to jeopardize a fragile relationship with the military junta.... It's really frustrating for Burmese staff who work for UN and international NGOs," says Aung Zaw, editor of the Irrawaddy magazine in Thailand, which has reported on camp evictions.

Anxious to go home, but with help

Despite the hardships, cyclone survivors are often anxious to go home and start again, provided they have enough support, say aid workers. A return to daily routines can help ease the trauma and dislocation caused by the cyclone.

On Monday, hundreds of schools reopened for the first time since the cyclone, though not in all storm-hit areas. More than 4,000 were damaged by the cyclone, of which over 1,000 were utterly destroyed, according to United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

The UN Development Program has begun a livelihoods program in 250 villages that includes cash grants and small infrastructure projects. This should help villagers get back on their feet, though not at the expense of the relief efforts that are still taking shape, says Sanaka Samarasinha, deputy UNDP chief in Rangoon.

"There are communities that are in a recovery phase, and we should address their needs while not taking our eyes off the ball on relief work," he says.

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