Disasters – natural & man-made

Editor's Note: This is the inagural post of a guest author rama from Calcutta, India, whose sensitivity to social justice issues and beautiful writing style inspired me to ask him to join Shining Light when the India government blocked access to Blogger. That problem has since been resolved, but I'm happy that rama has taken me up on my offer anyway! Welcome him warmly!
Natural disasters may strike a people, but its impact depends upon the existing situation within society. In that sense, the fundamental causes of the resultant devastation have to be found within the functioning of society, government and institutions, and in social relations. Undertaking a post-disaster rapid damage assessment mission enables such issues and factors to be highlighted. This note is based on such a study (undertaken by TARU) across the cyclone-affected region of Orissa in eastern India, three weeks after the cyclone disaster of 29 October 1999.
Rehabilitation is therefore essentially a process of awakening to the critical necessities for building a humane, just, and sustainable society. A natural disaster could serve to initiate a process to address long-neglected matters. Rehabilitation could act as a means for renewal of a moribund society. Pro-poor economic and social development in Orissa, has been at the best of times a significant challenge. These events could provide the impetus to accelerate this process.
The question of distributive justice
Unless there exists an independent mechanism of ensuring distributive justice and organising villagers at the grassroots-level, available resources would simply enrich and empower those already well-off and powerful.
Left to governments alone, the rehabilitation would be ineffective at best, and disastrous at worst. Given the inherent tendency towards self-interest in government and institutions, both the above aspects, i.e. the flow of resources from a civic response, and the empowerment of poor villagers to benefit from the rehabilitation process, should therefore be seen within an essentially civil society intervention. The challenge of rehabilitation is principally a challenge for the affected people, for the people of Orissa, and the people of India, rather than being a challenge only for the panchayats (village councils), the block development offices, the state government and the central government.
The survey of cyclone-affected villages only served to highlight the endemic nature of poverty, mal-utilisation of resources, environmental degradation, and social conflicts – even without any cyclone risk. That this is the situation in a region that is considerably better endowed, in socio-economic, infrastructural, communications, financial and institutional resources - than the interior, hilly areas of northern, western and southern Orissa, inhabited by indigenous peoples - is something meriting reflection. The coastal region, and in particular some of the affected areas like Jagatsinghpur, Erasama, Baleshwar, dominate and powerfully control social, economic and cultural life, decision-making and resource flows in Orissa. But as the survey reveals, this region is also with its deep stratifications, leaving large numbers of people at the margins of survival, with a precarious hold on the necessities for bare existence. Natural disasters may have devastating consequences. But even without them, a slow but nonetheless devastating process is at work.
The significance of these districts also means that, given that even the non-poor, reasonably well-to-do have been hit, e.g. by house, crop and livestock loss, there is likely to be a flow of resources for rehabilitation. Since such flows must ulimately also be formally governed by principles of just distribution, the potential exists of using the post-crisis situation to put in place forces enhancing distributive justice, and using the flow of resources to begin the process of long-term socio-economic empowerment of the hitherto marginalised. Such an opportunity would not be there in a pre-disaster situation.
Across the surveyed areas, it was found that access to institutional credit is virtually nil for the common villager, and there is continuing reliance on usurious money-lenders. With house rebuilding and restoration of livelihood (agriculture, fishing) being the crucial rehabilitation tasks, and both requiring credit, it is not realistic to expect that this credit flow will happen of itself.
Role of governmental institutions
The complete absence of any sanitation arrangements whatsoever in the Sandakut settlement in Paradip (which, had come up only about 30 years ago), which is after all a developed, important urban area, is a telling indicator of the state of affairs before any cyclone. This settlement is recognised, albeit informally, by the Notified Area Committee. Regularisation of the settlement, provision of basic civic amenities and facilitating improved house construction - are all tasks that could well have been taken up, without involving much resources. In fact, they could well have been taken up within the context of a larger commercially attractive and public revenue fetching self-financing scheme. But this is not within the set of priorities or capabilities of the authorities.
However, all these tasks require their involvement, and thus the formal power of the relevant institutions only serves to hold development hostage to an administration that is, quite typically, apathetic, incapable and corrupt.
The role of the state is not simply to secure the interests of the most needy and vulnerable. The state’s financial allocations should more realistically be seen in terms of enhancement of the overall economic development of a region. The nature of such economic development - the extent to which its benefits are concentrated in a few hands or is widely distributed – is the crucial issue. Principles of distributive justice demand that the state must not be a means for the enhancement of the stakes of one relatively secure section at the expense of another more vulnerable one. And, it is ultimately the rural poor who provide labour, the basic source of food and incomes creation in a capital-scarce rural environment. Their further immiserisation would only have serious long-term consequences on agriculture.
To assume that the inertia will be broken because of the cyclone disaster, and will be replaced by sustained dynamism, to address matters that were consistently neglected earlier, would be unrealistic.
But even if a committed, dynamic administration were to do its utmost, in terms of mobilising financial resources and initiating various measures, nevertheless, at the levels of the hamlet or village, the village council and the block, there are persons, functionaries, formal representatives, contractors, traders and businessmen, landowners, groups, families – who dominate and control decision-making and resource flows. In some places, and at times, their role in affecting the quality of living of the poor and vulnerable may even be quite positive.
On the whole, however, the situation is that the ordinary villagers, landless agricultural labourers, marginal farmers, fishermen, are completely immersed in simply struggling to eke out a marginal existence, often on a day-to-day basis. They do not possess the basic economic security, education, social exposure, awareness and confidence necessary to secure their just share of whatever rehabilitation assistance is forthcoming. Their typical attitude is to get whatever little they can, and since they have to continue living in that environment, and have a predominant focus on survival, rather than on rights, justice, ethics, governance, they would prefer to accept their lot. This might still result in some resources flowing towards them. Such people form the overwhelming majority of the affected population.
Since such people are already living on the margins of survival, and the cyclone has disrupted this very rudely and rendered their situation even more precarious. The issue here is of ensuring maximal flow, out of a limited fund. Unless an all-out effort is made to stand by this section, and work with them to draw maximal assistance from all quarters to ensure they gain a somewhat stable foothold - there is every likelihood of famine-like conditions visiting the affected areas in the coming months.
If this were to happen even as some relatively affluent, and considerably powerful people enhance their stakes further, quite apart from the ignominy of this, is the fact that their stranglehold over resources and their flow and utilisation would have become fiercer still – with severe and deeply negative socio-economic consequences. In that sense, the natural disaster could be seen as having been merely a detonator of even greater devastation.
The significance of the issue of transparency can be illustrated with reference to the survey finding that in all the affected villages visited, even a month after the disaster, most villagers were ignorant about the financial assistance to be paid. Some had heard that it would be between Rupees 500-2,000, elsewhere people mentioned figures of Rupees 20,000 – 30,000. In a post-disaster context, it is essential that steps are taken speedily, expeditiously, with certainty and transparency, so that basic objectives are not impeded or thwarted by vested interests.
If transparency can be ensured, the potential exists to mobilise a large quantity of voluntary labour – the ultimate source of wealth creation in a humble village – in a post-disaster scenario. Food-for-work or wage employment schemes could be used to leverage voluntary labour, for a transparently leakage-proof collective benefit. This can happen at the level of one labourer, and at the level of the village as a whole. Those workers will be chosen for a day’s job who will give half a day’s labour in the week, say, to build a cyclone shelter. This should not then mean that there can be an equivalent leakage from the financial allocation for the shelter, but that existing resources can go further. Similarly, a job can be allotted to that village which provides the largest volume of voluntary labour (relative to its population).
Stakeholders
The challenge is this: rehabilitation, and disaster preparedness or mitigation, ask for things to happen, which tended, by design, not to happen earlier. Things as they existed, worked to keep such people in their precarious situations. Is it reasonable to expect that the cyclone would have brought about a complete change of heart, all around? To the extent that this happens, it is a very positive factor for the rehabilitation. But more practically, it is necessary to bring in something that will work as a powerful means of introducing transparency into the rehabilitation process. This will be aided by new guidelines, procedures, mechanisms instituted by an administration committed to speedy rehabilitation of the vulnerable. But the fundamental need is for something more that just such measures. The villagers need an ally, against exploitation, beginning with their own selves first.
This cannot be a government functionary – since this role does not form the job description of anyone in the administration now. Also, government is seen by different people and groups in different ways, which may not coincide with the role needed.
In some of the affected villages there may be local youth associations, some of which may occasionally be active, for public purposes. Others may be largely of a cultural or recreational type. Typically, these are not well-resourced, active or presently capable for a major development and justice facilitating role. On the other hand, many of these organisations may provide the initial persons for organising villagers for rehabilitation.
The role of village council and ward members also differs, in terms of awareness, commitment, integrity, transparency, vested interests, conflict-generation or conflict-resolution, capability and effectiveness. But it can definitely be said that this level of governance is not managed by the vulnerable sections, in their interests. The functioning of the present structure, at best results in an indirect trickle-down of opportunties to such sections. Sometimes, they may represent a well-entrenched interest group unto themselves, not averse to intimidation and violence to secure their objectives.
Role of NGOs
There are people whose present role may seem to be quite close to the kind of grassroot level empowerment role that is needed. NGOs, for instance. They are therefore a valuable resource. However, the survey indicates that the presence of capable, empowered, committed NGOs at the village level across the cyclone and flood affected areas - is very marginal. The reasons for this have to be probed. Were not the conditions of the marginal people of coastal Orissa precarious enough, and their numbers large enough to merit intervention, in the pre-cyclone scenario? Would there be a change of heart, all of a sudden? If so, is this a positive factor for the rehabilitation? But it may also prompt some thought on whether there may be other, less noble objectives motivating the sudden intervention.
There is a need for an assessment of the actual capabilities, background, proven experience, skill-levels of NGOs, rather than merely assuming that anyone claiming to be an NGO has the wherewithal to do the requisite work. At a village level, NGO involvement ultimately involves their field staff. More often than not, this level is staffed by youths for whom this is a job, in the absence of any other. They may not necessarily have the motivation, aptitude or personal qualities appropriate to a grassroot development worker. At the very least, they may be a redundant; at worst, they may even create deep damage in the village community.
Where would the large number of requisite village-level staff come from, in the NGOs, who may get involved in the rehabilitation effort? NGOs are by and large supported by project-based grants, mostly foreign. Some of them may have a long-term programme focus based in a specific region. Some of these organisations may have the capability based on their action experience to play a valuable resource role, for instance in training and guiding village staff.
Across the affected region, the survey revealed that villages could benefit significantly with some fairly straightforward measures being taken – such as a small sluice on a water channel to control inflow of saline water. Many villagers know this, some have even gone so far as to have made some efforts to get this taken up, but to no avail. It is reported that there are over 27,000 registered voluntary organisations in Orissa. The state also features in the priority areas list of many international lending, aid and donor agencies. So why does the vacuum remain?
The need for an agency
So we arrive at the apparently absurd need for someone, present for a significant period of time, at the village level, who is more concerned about the vulnerable villagers’ survival and upliftment than they themselves are. And this someone has to be above any personal stake in the resource flow – since direct or indirect control over resources is what all the forms of power ultimately imply. In short, this person or group has to be trustee, of the power of the villagers’ own awareness, intelligence, unity, organisation, initiative and labour, which they can then use for their own betterment.
There is no agency, at present, that matches this description. But this is the most critical requirement, based upon whose presence everything else can happen, (provided resources are forthcoming). In this context, reference may be made to the Nehru Yuvak Kendras. Wherever they exist, in the affected zone, they could play the requisite grassroot-level facilitative role.
Essentially the necessary agency has now to be created - an independent, voluntary, civic movement, of grassroot workers, professionals, experts and specialists. Setting up the structure of such a movement, making the network linkages, and training and ongoing guidance for a cadre of village rehabilitation workers – emerges as the most crucial and strategic requirement for a just and effective rehabilitation programme.
A volunteer worker would be based in an affected village for a considerable period of time – at least one year. He or she would operate within a group of hamlets / villages. At one level this person would interact with the villagers and especially the vulnerable; at another level, with resource persons, experts, professionals. Such workers and specialists would be mobilised from across the country, as part of a special civic mission for rehabilitation and rural reconstruction, beginning in the affected coastal belt of Orissa.
The initial focus of this movement would be to begin the work, on a demonstrative and action-learning mode, in a number of selected villages. This approach would then be sought to be propagated across the entire affected zone.
Local factors
The survey also revealed that the plight of the Scheduled Castes sections in the affected villages was, almost uniformly, the worst. At the same time, it was also clear that a positive process of social integration has been taking place in rural society, with an erosion of prejudicial attitudes (e.g. regarding using common water sources).
Travelling within a short span of time, across a wide band, also enabled discernment of subtle differences and variations across regions. These differences could be related to environmental, economic, social, institutional and even circumstantial factors. Thus, there are regions that are relatively well-developed, in terms of irrigation facilities, commercial agricultural returns, off-farm diversification; there are regions which are significantly lower in social development terms, measured for instance by school attendance. There are places where after a modicum of economic development, a saturation point has been reached, and migration is growing.
Each place has to be understood in terms of its specific situation within an overall human development frame. A general prescription applied mechanically across the entire cyclone-affected region will mean that the potential is lost of utilising the rehabilitation process to begin addressing long-term issues of sustainable livelihood.
Resource flows
If available resources could flow to the vulnerable, the rehabilitation process could be a means for them to begin rising above their previous marginal existence. Conversely, in a limited resource scenario, the ‘law’ of self-interest pursuit, on the part of anyone other than the vulnerable, will work to push the vulnerable to starvation and destitution. And the ‘self-interest’ of the vulnerable, even as articulated by them, may not really be in their interest. For instance, a villager would not like to overtly offend a powerful man. Nor does he want to have to wait very long for getting something. He is completely outside the framework of seeking to obtain justice or redress through the formal channels. So he is quite willing to pay a commission to a sarpanch (council head) for some disbursement.
The amount in question may not make an immense difference to the villager. But the aggregate of such amounts, with that one person, and over all such persons across the entire affected region - would work out to quite a enormous sum, which, since it can apparently be spared by the villager, and of course, is in no way due to the people getting it, could instead have been invested in much-needed rural infrastructure, which would enhance the livelihood prospects of all.
But public works involve significant leakages, and result in shoddy constructions. And life goes on, notwithstanding this. A natural disaster visits and causes extreme devastation in such a scenario. So, by the same logic, one arrives at the need for ensuring flow of the maximal resources, to the absolutely vital investment areas, and through a mechanism involving the vulnerable beneficiaries themselves. The number of intermediaries, between the source of funds, and the beneficiaries, should be zero - except for entities that function like a dynamo-engine, enhancing the quality of the rehabilitation process, the rate of fund flow, distributive justice, attention to the specially vulnerable etc.
The specially vulnerable
The psychological impact, on those in the worst-affected areas, who have been witness to the harrowing drama of losing their kin, could be serious. Compounding this is the practical dimension, of bread-winners and able-bodied men having been killed. Thus, the final human impact has really to be sensitively assessed at a family-to-family level, and the rehabilitation process, at a village level, has to be dove-tailed with the family-level observation and remedial measures. For instance, priority would have to be given to families who have lost their able-bodied men – since they do not have the male member even to go out to find work, while in another family, whose men are alive, they can at least go out to find work even if they are deprived because of the special favour shown to the other. However, typically, far from receiving special attention, the more vulnerable family would be the one trampled in the rush of many, all needy in a broad sense, for limited resources.
No special attention is being given yet to the question of health conditions of women and children. Many children would be severely malnourished.
There are reports of young girls having been sold into prostitution. Similarly the issue of sexual abuse of young girls, who are exposed and vulnerable after their houses have been destroyed and men have gone out to get relief materials or for work.
Human nature would also reveal that the ones rendered most vulnerable, would show tendencies to prefer continuous patronage, rather than seeking to attain rapid security and stability through utilising the available benefits, their own intelligence and effort. This has to be dealt with, sensitively.
There would also be many whose situation simply calls for continued assistance, over a long-term, before they can attain some stability. A young widow, with infants. An elderly or infirm person, straddled with some of the surviving family children. The ways of sustaining this pose a tremendous challenge for micro-level intervention, in terms of resource identification, harnessing and multiplication.
The ultimate concern of the administration is to see that, in the records, tasks have been completed. Requirement was assessed, and communicated. Allotments were made. Disbursement was made. What actually happens to the villager, day by day, over the coming months and years – does not feature in this. The pain of her painful existence is not felt.
In any village, there exist structures of kinship, community, and compassion, which work to ameliorate poverty and resource scarcity. This would work to ensure that the most vulnerable, do also get attention. But these tendencies are severely strained in a post-disaster scenario, when everyone is quite badly affected. Also, this cannot be expected to be sustained, and that too at a higher level, over a long period.
Conflict, cooperation
It should be realised that the flow of resources occasioned by the rehabilitation effort will be accompanied by the emergence and growth of conflicts, as different interest groups seek to obtain a stake for themselves. This can have a deeply negative and long-term socio-economic and environmental effect.
It was found that people who have been badly affected seem to be in a state of shock, just trying to get from relief whatever they immediately need, while those less or not affected are busy obtaining as much as they can. Approach roads to some of the areas are lined with children, women and old women stretching out their hands to passing vehicles with distressing pleas. One can understand that the post-cyclone relief milieu is like a heaven-sent opportunity to extract as much as possible to improve their admittedly not so comfortable situation. Similarly, some of the affected villagers have also started exploiting the post-cyclone situation, e.g., selling vegetables at exorbitant prices. In some of the areas, looting and other serious anti-social activities took place, suggesting that besides some criminals, some of the local villagers may also have indulged in this.
Conflict and cooperation are both present at the village level, emerging at different times, under different circumstances. Thus, villagers across the surveyed villagers spoke of the spirit of cooperation, unity and selflessness that was exhibited in the midst of crisis. Limited foodstuffs were pooled and shared, with priority being given to small children, the aged and infirm. But the same villagers also speak of the exploitativeness of some now, for instance by charging exorbitant prices for vegetables. In Ganjam district, a few kms south of Gopalpur town, a rice mill owner reported that his badly damaged mill was looted by people from a nearby village.
Such acts of looting in the immediate aftermath of the disaster suggest the prior existence of serious conflict between the parties in question. Such currents will be operative during the rehabilitation process. Discerning such currents at a village level, resolving conflict and enhancing cooperation, is part of the rehabilitation challenge.