We are 10 days on from the earthquake in Burma, and the severity of the situation is still not much clearer than it was this time last week. We will probably never know the full extent of the damage, the final death count or hear detailed accounts of lasting impact of the disaster: there is still intermittent power, scarce internet connection and few journalists on the ground. So as is to be expected, it has fallen out of the media, replaced by the falling FTSE and other newer news which is closer to home.
But the aching sadness in Burma has not gone away. The official death toll is 3471, but it is likely to be much, much higher; most of the collapsed buildings are still un-cleared, so the number of people buried in the rubble is unknown. The clearance is being done mostly by volunteers in cooperation with the fire department, but neither have adequate tools for the job, so are mostly using their bare hands and domestic hammers and pliers. Moving huge slabs of concrete is impossible like this, as is cutting through metal, so progress is extremely slow.
Thousands of people are living in tents, under tarpaulins or in the open as their houses have either been destroyed or are unstable so people are scared to sleep in them. Many are choosing to sleep in the middle of the road as far away from the risk of collapsing buildings as possible. The weather is extreme; temperatures climb to 40 degrees some days, and then the first of the monsoon rains have started which swamp camps and people's few remaining belongings in seconds. The rains will intensify in a few weeks time which will likely cause destroyed buildings to subside, complicating clearance and the recovery of bodies. There is also fear of disease and dengue fever spreading due to the stifling tropical heat and moisture.
Hospitals are completely overrun: Mandalay Hospital has 1000 beds, so patients are lined up in the car park under makeshift shade canopies. Food, water and medicine are extremely limited, they have run of out body bags, power is unreliable, and looting is rife.
And beyond the humanitarian crisis, the damage to thousands of years of heritage is heart-breaking. Monasteries and pagodas which have stood for centuries have been reduced to rubble. This is a disaster which has caused untold disruption on the present, past and also the future, as the support needed to recover is simply not there which will mean damaged roads, power lines and water systems aren’t repaired for months. The damage to morale will also take a very long time to heal; this will require extreme resilience to grow through.
And beyond the humanitarian crisis, the damage to thousands of years of heritage is heart-breaking. Monasteries and pagodas which have stood for centuries have been reduced to rubble. This is a disaster which has caused untold disruption on the present, past and also the future, as the support needed to recover is simply not there which will mean damaged roads, power lines and water systems aren’t repaired for months. The damage to morale will also take a very long time to heal; this will require extreme resilience to grow through.
An earthquake of this strength would be cataclysmic in any context, but four years of civil war and the damage caused by a persistent, multi-sided conflict had Burma on the weakest possible footing. Roads were already blocked, infrastructure was already crippled, power was already intermittent. The military, who in any other context would lead the recovery process, are mostly absent from the worst hit areas as they are stationed in conflict zones. Those that are present are not trained for a disaster on this level. Added to this, USAid is no longer a lifeline, and the void has not been filled. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time for Burma.
We finally got in touch with the last of our makers on Friday, a full week after the earthquake. They are all still alive, but some have devastatingly lost everything: their homes, workshops, looms and materials. Others were luckier and despite being close to the epicentre, have sustained little damage. Some tell us that things have actually been slightly easier since the earthquake, as they live in a heavy-conflict zone and say that there have been fewer airstrikes in the past week so they have been able to return to home, rather than having to hide in the jungle which has been a common position for them over the past few years. The consistent message though is one of disbelief, shock and extreme sadness and helplessness in the face of what feels like needless loss of life. There are so many “if onlys” which would have made the outcome different, so many ways fewer people could have died.
We have donated directly to teams which are working in the worst-affected areas to provide the help most acutely needed. I know many of you donated to Doh Eain following our suggestion last week. This organisation is completely independent from the government. It is directed by a friend of mine and is being managed by teams on the ground in Mandalay and Sagaing. They have raised €45,000 so far, and have started deploying it on the ground. It is being spent both on immediate needs and on the rebuild to come. Here is the link to support them, and the breakdown of what they have spent so far: https://www.gofundme.com/f/earthquake-relief-and-recovery-support-for-myanmar
However, just like the media interest, aid will eventually slow, and is limited so can only be channeled to the most needy. Our makers know this. What they need is work to provide them with agency and a consistent, sustainable income. This is where we can help. As I have said in the past, in the face of sadness and obscurity, we as a business can channel our energies into something generative. Our team in Yangon are carrying on as normal, and insist that we do too; the hundreds of makers we work with need us to keep ordering from them as they need us to wire them deposit funds more than ever. The worst thing we can do as a business is to stop ordering, and the best thing you as customers can do is to keep buying to cashflow these orders.
We will be donating the profits from our Easter Collection to Doh Eain, for all orders between today and Easter Sunday. Thank you so much for those of you who have continued to order over the past week - I know that many of you have bought things without an immediate need for the products, knowing the impact your purchase will have. We are really grateful and have been reordering and placing deposit payments with our makers off the back of those orders. Thank you.
