Current Disaster Reconstruction methods miss the opportunity to build local economies and social...

7/27/2019 Current Disaster Reconstruction methods miss the opportunity to build local economies and social cohesion

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Disaster, Vulnerability and Development

Mohammad Haider Haroon : 10040

Current Disaster Reconstruction methods miss

the opportunity to build local economies and

social cohesion

Disaster in my opinion is a blessing in a disguise. For the very first reason it creates destruction

no doubt but on the same side it also provides a window of opportunity to build economies and

furthermore social cohesion. Hence in my opinion it’s a situation of mixed bag because it is not

necessary that social cohesion will be successful.

“ Some changes in the employment structure of the region after the earthquake have been

observed. F ir st, after the integration of vil lages, the number of employed heads of households

decreased sli ghtly, f rom 187 to 164 (Table 4), mostly due to reti rement. Few previously

unemployed household heads now have jobs. Moreover, most of the jobs are now part-time —

the average number of working months per year has fal len f rom nine to eight. Typically,

before the earthquake, only one person per f amil y was employed. I n the post-disaster period,

however, the data show that the number of famili es with mul tiple members worki ng has risen,

especial ly in the host communi ty. The findings also suggest that the type of employment before

and after the earthquake has changed. The percentage of persons employed in the agr icul ture

sector has decreased in both communi ties. Thi s decli ne is particular ly acute in the relocated

communi ty, due pr imar il y to i ts loss and i ts limited access to agri cultur al r esources. Yet, there

has been an increase in the level of employment of the host communi ty in the publi c and

pr ivate sector service industries” (S. Al i Badri , et al, 2001, 458)

The following extract from a research paper done on Iran’s earthquake shows that after the post

disaster the economic activity in village has increased in services sector after the collapse of

agriculture sector. Previous people who did not have jobs are now employed and are now earning




money in order for their survival. Although after the massive earthquake struck area in Manjil

with a lot of destruction but on other hand multiple families member got job. One such is

example of honey production in which now more people were involved so that they can earn a

respectable amount of income.

The situation of women in the disaster stricken area of Manjil also shows a positive trend.

Women are now getting more opportunity to work in region after the disaster rather than before.

The very reason is the need. Human recourse is mainly required in the region after the disaster.

Women being the major chunk in the area play a vital role in economic generation but one thing

that comes into hindrance is that they are usually paid less for their work then the man , which in

itself being gender biased but on other hand its better for women to earn something rather than

sitting idle in home.

“Successive governments have been unable to alter local political economies and thereby

change signif icantl y the socio-economic and poli tical positi on of the poorest people, in which

case a partnership seems to be the most positive way to break the cycle. The governments

would continue to be responsible for the in frastructural elements of coastal management

thr ough publi c-works programmes and other publi c services. The co-operative NGOs would

be responsible for car rying out the economic aspects of the anti -poverty programmes, which

have the possibi li ty of r eaching mi ll ions of people. These programmes are normall y well

beyond their means. Together these programmes should ensure both protection and reduced

vulnerabi li ty as well as bringing lasting economic benefi ts in cyclone and f lood-prone coastal

areas.” (Peter Winchester, 2000, 34)

Tropical cyclones and floods usually hit the East coast of India. The above taken paragraph from

a Middlesex University flood hazard research centre shows that after the hitting of cyclones and

floods in the region a lot of destruction takes place. In post disaster scenario, rehabilitation ,




reconstruction plays a very eminent role for a society to get upheaval in economic and social

well being . For these two very reasons the government has decided that NGO sector should

come forward in this regard and help out people living there . It is urged that the NGO s can play

a pivotal role of development in the eastern coastal region of Devi Seema. The poverty can only

be alleviated by improvement of socio economic resilience of the poor.

Two intermediate-scale NGOs operating in the Krishna delta have joined forces with larger

NGOs to carry out projects which neither could do on their own while remaining independent.

The Divi Seema Social Service Society (1977 – 85), run by the Jesuits, and the Salvation Army

(1977 – 82) came to Divi Seema immediately after the 1977 cyclone and worked in the areas with

the highest death tolls on the coastal strip and low-lying inland areas where approximately

25,000 people lived (or one-third of the area’s population). They departed after friction between

their respective head offices and their field operatives. Both organizations established village

credit unions, membership of which gave access to soft loans and subsidized agricultural inputs;

their other programmes covered health-care, adult and nursery education and skills training for a

wide range of self-employment activities. Membership of credit unions was open to everyone,

but the better-off found the prospect of regular payments and compulsory attendance at meetings

too tedious and the loans and subsidies too small. Nevertheless they did not feel excluded and

consequently did nothing to undermine the programmes. Both NGOs worked with Oxfam and

other international aid agencies on large projects (affecting up to 15,000 people).

With the operation of new NGOs in the region , hence it was now time for people to get benefit

from them and hence provide themselves an opportunity to earn and also gel together socially

because the activities NGO z are doing will definitely fill the gap of the society and social

cohesion hence will take place .




“In addition to relocating communities to a foreign natural envi ronment, the resettl ement

process incited by the buf fer zone has also resul ted in unfavorable social conditions. For

example, at the Di ckwell a resettlement camp in the Matara distri ct of southern Sr i L anka

more than1000 people of dif ferent social, economic and cul tur al backgrounds were brought to

li ve together. This is a drastic change from the small traditional vil lages of a few hundred

residents where people lived before the tsunami. A sense of community is dif fi cul t to attain in

large resettlement camps with non-traditional groupings of socioeconomic and cultural

classes. Thus, community networks, which are crucial f or f osteri ng adaptation and learning

from a disaster ( Adger et al., 2005; M il ler, 2005 )may have been severely disrupted. A fai lur e

to address long-term needs such as social and cultur al issues when selecting resettl ement

camp locations for coastal communiti es has potenti all y made it dif fi cult for people to cope with

the trauma of the disaster and may increase vulnerability to social conflicts.” (Jane C. Ingram

et al , 2006, 609)

The aforementioned extract taken from a research paper done on tsunami stricken Dickwella

resettlement camp in Matara , Srilanka. Here the people of various backgrounds were resettled

after the disaster of tsunami. Unfortunately social cohesion could not take place between

everyone there because the effecters from various nontraditional groupings could not merge

together. Everyone had their differences. It was a difficult job to try to settle more than 1000

people in one place if they are not willing to live together. Ultimately it was a failure and made

life complex for people to muddle through the trauma of the disaster. For this very reason the

policy should be made that how the resettlement of the people will be done in order that there is

no issue that they might end up facing while living together. Sustainable livelihood opportunities

must be given to the affected people of disaster stricken region so that they can get involved in

work and engage themselves actively in the society and hence providing economic generation in

the region.

All in all after going through some of the examples regarding the topic I conclude that current

disaster reconstruction although provide a window of opportunity in economic aspects but as far

as social cohesion goes there is a need bringing such a policy that people struck in disaster region




get an opportunity to amalgamate together so that they can do work collectively as a single unit

hence showing social cohesive bond. A famous saying goes “United we stand and divided we

fall.” This saying is a picture perfect example for the case of this topic.




References:

Disasters, Badr i, E,A(2006) “ Post-disaster resettlement, development and change: a

case study of the 1990 Manji l Earthquake in I ran ” : Bl ackwell Publi shers,30,4,Oxford and Malden ,458.

Disasters, Peter Winchester (2000), 24(1) “ Cyclone M iti gation, Resource Al location

and Post- disaster Reconstruction in South I ndia: L essons from Two Decades of

Research ” Blackwell Publishers, 24, 1, Oxford and Malden, 34.

Envir onmental science & poli cy, I ngram E, A (2006) “ Post-disaster recovery

dilemmas: chal lenges in balancing shor t-term and long-term needs for vulnerabil ity

reduction ” Ear th institute, 9, Newyork, 609.

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