Nargis Still Taking a Toll on Children in the Delta

By AUNG THET WINE

Many children in the Irrawaddy delta are still suffering from the psychological effects of Cyclone Nargis nearly six months after the disaster struck, according to local and international aid workers.

The failure to restore a sense of normalcy to the region has severely impacted on children’s ability to recover from the trauma of living through Burma’s worst recorded natural disaster, said relief workers, who observed disturbing signs that continuing neglect was causing lasting damage to children’s emotional and educational development, as well as endangering their physical health.

In some of the hardest-hit areas of the delta, children still have difficulty sleeping at night, and many react to strong wind and overcast skies with evident fear, said Burmese staff working with UNICEF. They said it was not unusual to see children crying when the weather turned stormy, reminding them of the cyclone that struck on the night of May 2-3.

“Children in cyclone-affected areas are not like normal kids,” said a volunteer relief worker involved in an education project for children in Laputta Township. “They are not so playful. They seem to be living in constant fear.”

The relief worker said that many children showed a lack of interest in their education, and some simply stared into space, completely withdrawn from their surroundings.

“The psychological trauma and fear caused by the cyclone is having a significant impact on their ability to learn,” said an official from the Bogalay Township Red Cross Association. “They feel insecure, and for that reason they can’t enjoy learning. Moreover, many are physically weak, and this is causing health problems.”

Most observers said that the key reason children haven’t been able to return to their normal lives is that they are still living in an environment that bears the scars of the disaster. They note that the military authorities have done little or nothing to improve living conditions, leaving the work of rebuilding to local or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“UN agencies and local and international NGOs are doing as much as they can, but the government isn’t moving at all,” said a schoolteacher from a village primary school in Laputta. “They stopped doing anything three months after the cyclone.”

Volunteers from a Rangoon-based NGO working for childcare and development said more projects were needed to help children recover from their psychological problems, and that these projects would require cooperation between the government and NGOs.

At least at the ground level, some officials appeared to appreciate the need to do more to get children back on track.

“To help the children recover, we need more gardens and places for them to play. Above all, we should create more enjoyable spaces for them. And we need more trained teachers who understand their psychological problems,” said an official from the central government’s Basic Education Department.

But it looks like the task of actually creating such spaces will be met primarily by international NGOs such as Save the Children, which plans to construct 20 child-friendly centers in villages around Laputta Township. These centers will be stocked with games, storybooks and drawing materials, and staffed with teachers specially trained to help children overcome their lingering insecurity.

Save the Children has also officially announced that it will give monthly funding to the centers so that they can provide nutritious food to the children.

But local residents say that boosting children’s morale is not enough—that more needs to be done to meet their basic need for secure places to live and study.

“The primary schools in Laputta Township can’t give children a sense of security,” said one resident. “Their temporary learning centers are just tarpaulin walls covered with sheets of zinc. There are no chairs, so they just sit on the floors.”

According to official figures, there are now 365 primary schools in 500 villages in Laputta Township, operated jointly by the government and local communities. Most, however, are flimsy constructions built by private companies close to the ruling military regime.

“The private companies assigned for reconstruction of schools repaired some schools, but they did it superficially and minimally,” said one official from the Laputta Education Department, adding that there was also a shortage of books, stationery, teaching aids and qualified teachers.

The official said that children in cyclone-hit areas should receive free education, and that their families should receive additional assistance to help them meet their daily living expenses—a view that others working in the area shared.

“Now that the UN agencies and international NGOs are gradually stopping their food assistance programs, it will surely have a negative effect on their kids’ education,” said a 27-year-old volunteer relief worker from Rangoon. “For that reason, the assistance programs should continue until households strong bases for their livelihood.”