MYANMAR: Bureaucratic hurdles plague government cyclone relief

Irin Humanitarian News and Analysis

  Nu, a 50-year-old woman from a fishing family, should finally get the boat engine she needs after three arduous visits to the township authorities in Daydaye. “We were informed by the township authorities who registered the names of all fishing families in our area,” she said in Kyon Chin, a village of 1,400 inhabitants about 68km southwest of Yangon, the former Burmese capital. But the process of getting that motor - vital to restarting her family’s livelihood in the wake of Cyclone Nargis - has been complicated. First, she had to get a letter from the village head attesting that she came from a fishing family which had suffered losses as a result of the storm. Then she needed to get a recent photo of the family head, fill in a complicated application form, and write a letter stating her need for assistance - none of which was free. “It cost us a lot,” Nu said. “We had to pay for everything - from the application form to travelling costs,” she said, shaking her head. “Even treating office staff at a teashop cost about 15,000 kyats (around US$12) each time,” she complained. Altogether she spent close to $40 to receive the government assistance, a significant sum in impoverished Myanmar - and potentially enough to feed a family of five for one month in the village, say many. Stories of bureaucratic hurdles in the aftermath of the disaster, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing when it struck on 2 and 3 May, are far from unusual. “I have no money to travel to town. I can't even afford to apply for the assistance,” said Khin Maung Yi, another local fisherman. Landless, the 55-year-old fisherman has erected a temporary hut on his brother’s land, placing his broken boat prominently outside in the hope of help from the local authorities. While he waits, he and his family remain dependent on international food assistance. According to the recent Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report by the Myanmar government, the Association of Southeast Asian Natio

Burma's Fishery Industry near Standstill

The Burmese offshore fishing industry is at a near standstill because of high fuel prices and a shortage of human resources and other supplies, say sources in Rangoon.

A businessman from the fishing community said about one-fifth of the offshore fishing fleet, including trawlers and drifters, now engage in daily fishing trips. 

"They can't afford to pay for diesel," he said. A normal trip consumes about 100 barrels of diesel. A barrel of diesel is around 320,000 kyat (US $273).

According to the Myanmar Offshore Fishing Vessel Owners Association, there are 536 registered offshore fishing vessels; about 100 vessels are now working. "If a boat goes to sea, it will spend at least 60 million kyat, including other general expenses," said a captain of a fishing trawler. "We can catch only a small amount of fish after the cyclone, and we can't earn enough for our expense."

According to the Burmese Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Livestock...

Myanmar: Cyclone fishermen await assistance

PYAPON, 11 July 2008 (IRIN) - Ten weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit, only a fraction of the small-scale fishermen - the backbone of the industry - have returned to work in the Ayeyarwady Delta, a labyrinth of rivers, ponds and waterways along the coast of the Adaman Sea.

In addition to damaging coastal fisheries, both large and small, the cyclone devastated fish-processing facilities in the area, exacerbating unemployment and the conditions of Myanmar's poor, many of whom depend on wage labour to make ends meet.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost 18,000 fishermen lost their lives when the typhoon struck, while another 10,000 are still missing.

"If you multiply this back into households and people affected, you can imagine the order of magnitude," Albert Lieberg, mission leader for an FAO assessment team that travelled to the delta in June, said.

The government estimates that more than 2,000 fishing boats - both "inshore" and...

Crabs aplenty but price declines

Chiang Mai – Fishermen in cyclone-hit Labutta are catching more crabs these days but the price is on the decline. The number of fishermen operating in this region after the cyclone has decreased. So, fishermen are netting more crabs. However, sales have declined in the main export market on the China border. The price too has registered a downward trend. "We are netting more crabs these days because fewer fishermen are operating. The fishermen who used to get 1 viss (about 1.5 Kg) are now getting 1.5 viss, "a person who studied the situation said. Wholesalers in Labutta bought crabs for over Khat 2,000 per viss from the fishermen before the cyclone, but now it is Kyat 1,300 per viss. "We once got a windfall price of over Kyat 2,000-3,000 per viss in our villages before the cyclone. Now the price has declined to Kyat 1,300 per viss. They said that the buyers in Muse (China border) are offering lower prices," he said. The wholesale merchants at 105-mile border...

The price of salt in Myanmar

Salt prices escalate in Mon state

Salt and Fisheries Industries at a Standstill