Disaster Discussions:

On Thu, 14 Nov 2013 11:18:08 +0100
"B" wrote:

> Hope all is well and stays well, the news that comes in sounds really
> horrific.

Well, the silly thing is, of course, that we have no idea of what they are
saying about us..... :)

The earthquake was definitely here (in Bohol) -and seems to be the opening up
of a new fault line -which may actually run through Tagbilaren (the main town)
about 10 km away: Maybe near one of the (slightly out of town) malls. There is
visible damage to (some) buildings in Tagbilaren. There are also rumours of
caves -along the coast road -which may become sink holes if traffic becomes too
heavy. The main road between Tagbilaren and Baclayon (and beyond) has been
diverted -for heavy traffic -and all traffic where the church tower fell down.
There are cracks in the Baclayon harbour wall and in various municipal concrete
constructions (which are near the harbour). The market has a a crack in one of
the pillars -but the roof is fairly light -and held up more by columns than
walls. Wooden houses (like ours) seem unaffected. However, up in the hills
(both here and elsewhere) the situation may be worse -because many people
already have a marginal existence. In some case, this may make it easier for
them to survive difficulties -but obviously not if everything they own has been
destroyed.

The typhoon was mainly in Leyte/Samar -so to the east and north of us. We only
got the fringe of the storm (level 2) while the main area would be level 5. The
actual storm was no worse here than we have had before. Lots of heavy rain -and
heavy winds (but not always together).


However, The main electricity supply for Bohol comes from Leyte (their main
town, Tacloban, seems to have been wiped out). Apparently, both generation
plant and transmission lines have been destroyed. Bohol has an old (diesel)
generator -which can be used for backup in an emergency.

Within a few days of the storm, it seems that the system (on Bohol) was
configured so that government and business users (perhaps including internet
cafes) got electricity -and the general public got nothing. This kept the water
pumps going in our area. It was also possible to charge mobile phones, etc. in
various places. However, a few days ago -the emergency backup overloaded. So
blackout for all! That was when the water supply failed. Last night,
electricity was unexpectedly restored. We had a blackout this afternoon -so
supply is still uncertain.


Perhaps the real problem (maybe for me, at least) has been the failure in
information. With no electricity, radio and TV (which we don't have) -and
internet are useless. There isn't a newspaper shop nearby...... The local
government isn't quite as slick with PR as in the more developed countries....
Perhaps there is no need -within the context of local politics......

When the water supply vanished, our garden helper told us she had been to the
well at 4 AM to collect water before the rush began -and that the reason for
the loss in supply was that the local pumping station had overloaded the system
through personal use (including karaoke). It wasn't easy getting objective
information from the Municipal offices. Many employees are not professionally
trained -perhaps haven't been informed -and maybe not used to being
interrogated about the way the system is run. There may also be language
problems -poor English -but also with anything that is not the local
dialect.....

However, the mayor's assistant did eventually tell us that the provincial
supply had overloaded -and the mayor was getting (for 1.4 million pesos)
emergency generators. How the system has been fixed so quickly -and what will
happen to the generators -I don't know. We also don't know how permanent the
current set up is.


Today were parish (Barangay) level elections. We don't know yet for sure who
won -but we did hear earlier that the current leader has been re-elected. We
hope so -she has worked hard to help poor people. Perhaps we can work through
her to help some of the really poor here in the area.


So you see, things for us, are not as bad as they have probably been showing on
the media. Actually, from the little I have read in a Philippine national
newspaper -or what I have seen on the BBC -I am sick of the media and see them
more as a problem than a useful resource. The national (and perhaps even local)
political situation remains very problematic (although local is probably not as
bad here as in many places -where corruption is high). Saturday, I did see an
interesting article about one town in devastated Samar -who were perhaps
grateful for the American aid -but were still engaged in a battle with the US
authorities to get back town bells that were taken by American troops as part
of war crimes committed by the US during the 1899-1902 Philippine American war.
The bells are apparently in US museums. It may sound silly -but it was just
like Iraq here then. Now, as an ex-colonised ally of the US, the Philippine
armed forces hardly have enough material to scratch their own backsides, let
alone help in a disaster -and today I read that the local infrastructure cannot
cope with the flood of aid streaming into the country from abroad......

Wow, that is quite an impressive sum of money.

The Slovenians have also sent help (as well the Swedish -and many others -including Britain, the US and Japan)

Yes. This is quite a problem.


Saturday, I bought a newspaper. The front page presented various issues (mostly trivial). However, "important" issues were:



Obviously, there is quite a complex mixture of corruption, mismanagement and anti-colonialism.
So if you add in reports of incoming (perhaps uncoordinated) aid overwhelming the (poor) local infrastructure (which has also been damaged by the disaster), plus the problems of (internal) communication (without electricity there is no radio, tv or internet) then perhaps you can see there is quite a mismatch in perception (and expectation) between donors and receivers.


Also, the political inheritance of the American period means that many bureaucratic posts are political and not professional appointments. For good or bad, the political system here is very "personal" -and (some) individuals have great power. It may cut out bureaucratic inefficiency -but it also makes corruption easier.

For example, a local politician may receive financial aid from foreign donors -but remain silent as to the source of the funds. He may also channel funds through friends and relatives -or promote schemes which benefit his political and/or business interests.

As far as our personal experience goes, electricity comes and goes without warning -or explanation. Tap water needs to be pumped -so there is a direct relationship between electricity and water supply. We have been informed that the local mayor has bought generators to keep the water supply going. However, we have no idea where the funds came from -and we have no idea what will happen to these (expensive) generators if normal electricity supplies are resumed. We don't even know how, why (or even how long) we are getting electricity now.

So, it is very difficult to know if the Dutch (or other money) has gone into rebuilding power plants and transmission lines, providing temporary supplies of electricity and water, emergency housing, food -or even helping people directly with income support (very little social security here) or rebuilding their houses.

Then there are people living in remote areas -who may perhaps be completely forgotten.


In other words, giving money is a good start -but there are many, many, problems that also need to be solved before any aid becomes effective. So, "aid" needs to be provided in phases (a bit like medicine, perhaps): Emergency aid, short term (temporary) aid and long term aid. Doing all that, without promoting certain interests, is quite difficult and presumably needs a lot of coordinated planning.

In turn, providing the physical and conceptual infrastructure to develop the planning process -and implement it -is (in many ways) a political issue (deciding priorities and balancing various interests)..... all of which there is no time to do, in an emergency.....

The obvious answer is to work through local government channels -but if these are untrustworthy (through poor organization or deliberate corruption) then how does one get help where it is needed?

Quite a puzzle.

However, I'd be interested in more details about the organization of the aid and its distribution channels on the Dutch side.

On Fri, 29 Nov 2013 15:45:52 +0000
"M"  wrote:

> Well there seem to be multiple beneficiary's for the money,
> all organizations involved in some sort of aid:
> <http://samenwerkendehulporganisaties.nl/contact/>
>
> So the GIRO number 555 collects the money and distributes to the organizations.
>
> I hope they do not go through local governemnet but local NGO's
> otherwise it will not go where is needed, I know enough people here
> who refuse to donate because they do not believe the money
> ends up with the people who need it,
> I have looked for some  social media outlet that actually shows deliverd aid,
>  where when and to who.
> That should be very easy nowadays even in third world countrys but not easy to find.

Social Action and Reaction:

Yes, this is typical media behaviour: Something attracts their attention -and
they blast away at it. Then within a short period something else happens and
they move on to that. So one only gets sensationalist impressions of (often)
very complex situations.

One also notices that the emphasis in aid reports is usually on amounts
collected -or amounts spent -and very seldom does one get a real insight into
the effectiveness of the result (unless it's a case of obvious corruption).

A Dutch ex-student writes that the sum was 20 million euro -so it is good to
see that with all that media coverage -the basic facts still remain
unclear......

Yes, I can imagine. I'd be very interested to know more about their situation
and how it develops. How effective has all the aid streaming in been in their
specific case?

What happened to their home, what happened to them?

What kind of crazy world is it -where they can communicate with family
thousands of miles away -but cannot get basic needs satisfied locally -when so
much media attention is focused on them -and so much aid pouring in?

Those are the kind of questions I'd like to see answered!

I guess we are as snug as bugs in a rug...... A bit of discomfort due to the
intermittent supply of water and electricity (sometimes an irritation at the
noise when the electricity gets turned on -and radios and karaoke machines
blare out!) -but generally we can manage. In fact, we often prefer to sit in
the candle light (if not working). Fatima's mother sends candles, tins of food
and other goodies by courier. So we have our own "relief goods" -some of which
we pass on to neighbours, etc... We are not used to eating processed food.

The election seems to have gone quite well, with the "forces of evil" in
retreat. Our Barangay captain (who is very pro-poor) was re-elected against a
turn-coat challenge from a former ally on the Barangay council. Four of the six
"council" members are allies of hers. In other Barangays in our municipality,
it seems that the pro-poor group won. That means we can try to help a little
(maybe with small sums of money for serious need) by working through the
Barangay captain.


It seems politics here is very personal (and not "policy" based) -which may not
be a bad thing at the local level -if people are popular because they function
well and not for trivial reasons. It seems people have become a little cynical
regarding promises -so "personal reputation" is perhaps the only thing left.

However, as far as I can see, (locally) there are two main "camps":

1. The pro-poor -who support poor people but perhaps are a little weak in
helping people to rise above their poverty (which has both material and
immaterial aspects).

2. The pro-rich -who (perhaps) try (too hard) to remove poverty (or the poor)
by focusing on "economic development" -by encouraging "business" (in all its
forms) while developing the material and immaterial infrastructure required by
business. These people are perhaps somewhat weak in distributing the wealth
created to those outside the circle of associates who created it. This is, of
course, the (global) mainstream approach.

The traditional left-wing approach also seems obvious within this simple model:
One continues (more or less) with the same (basic) economic system and
infrastructure -but works on the redistribution of income. Unfortunately, I'm
not sure that this is satisfactory. It ignores what one might call "cultural
factors" which are both the cause and consequence of different lifestyles: It
seems to me, that we are fairly comfortable, despite the difficulties, because
we are less reliant on the damaged infrastructure. In the cities, the
discomfort is likely to be much higher -because the reliance on the
infrastructure is much greater. On the other hand, in many ways (for email and
related technologies) the infrastructure still plays a valuable role in our
lives. So, it seems to me that the consequences of the infrastructure need to
be closely examined -and not simply accepted as being entirely positive -or
inevitable. There are clearly vested interests that do their best to ensure
that certain developments take place. The more self-sufficient people are -the
less they can be manipulated -and the less they can be exploited for "economic
development", which thrives on (inter-)dependence.



However, in turn, the "poor" seem to be divided into two groups:

a. The (generally, but not always, older) hard working people -who receive
little benefit from their struggles. This may be for a number of reasons:
External exploitation, a way of life which is being eroded by modern life -and
perhaps the loss of the cultural traditions that helped their parents survive.
However, there are still high levels of mutual support operating within this
group.

b. The (generally, but not always, younger) generation -who have access to
"easy money" (from pensions or family members abroad or in the merchant
marine). These seem to have no other aspirations than sitting around (in
groups) drinking and playing music (and perhaps building expensive houses). In
this group, mutual support is probably only on the social level -and not on the
material level (but, being an outsider I can't be sure about any of this).
Certainly, there are what one might call "cultural differences" in the aims and
ambitions of the various groups.

Perhaps the "rich" too can be divided into two groups:

a. Those who remember their poverty so well (or are so far above poverty) that
they remain open to helping others in less fortunate situations. However,
indeed, the need is often so great (and so complex, due to the power of the
extended family) that even simple gestures can lead to complex situations.
Personal and family networks (and divisions) may be (sometimes) critical here,

b. Those who are trying to distance themselves from their poverty (or are
scared of falling into it) so that there is no solidarity with others (either
rich or poor) -only personal interest.

It is particularly sad when poor parents sacrifice everything (sometimes
including valuable land) to educate their kids -who may then join the group of
middle class who forget their origins. Although, obviously, some kids do help
their parents. However, "education" (and social environment) does (inevitably?)
inculcate middle class values -which often undermine their parent's way of
life. Potter, the author of "The Singing Detective" demonstrated this in his
own autobiographical TV script. The "Phil-Ams" are also particularly noticeable
in this respect -often exhibiting a disdain for all aspects of life in the
Philippines that are not reflections of an American lifestyle. Nevertheless,
(permanent) emigration (to US, Australia or Europe) seems (until recently, at
least) to be a popular ambition -especially among those who can afford it.


Logically, the (local) reactions of people to the recent disasters also seem
divided:

i. Some people seem to want to return to a more simple way of life -which is
less dependent on external things -and so less vulnerable. This group may find
the organized church somewhat hypocritical in its requests for money to support
the church system, especially while people are still suffering from lack of
basic needs.

ii. Other people apparently wish to build even higher the wall that isolates
and protects them from the vulnerabilities of daily life.

When visiting the shopping malls (for the supermarket) in Tagbilaren -one
certainly gets the feeling that the mad consumer Frenzy is over (although for
how long is obviously unknown). Suddenly, the "basics" seem more important than
all the earlier frills that keep the consumer economy going. On the other hand,
it is possible (even likely) that all those who are addicted to the consumer
economy have already left for places where they can (unashamedly?) enjoy their
addiction.

However, "junk food" seems to remain popular -perhaps even more so under
difficult conditions because it provides an instant "feelgood" sensation -with
minimal preparation (and so especially tempting under difficult circumstances).
We, in contrast, are experimenting with slow cooked stews and traditional food
preservation methods (including a simple evaporation cooler) to counter the
effect of an unreliable refrigerator.

> take care!
> Is there a report on your website? (with work so restricted)

Well, actually, this (and other emails) may well end up as part of it...... In
that context, I'd be interested to know how your colleague feels about such
things (you can pass my comments on, if desired). All these comments (however
expressed) merely represent thoughts and questions which are open to change.


However, working has been frustratingly difficult: Last night the power was
restored around 7 PM (just as we were thinking of going to bed). Then it kept
going on and off -every time I managed to boot the computer. The internet
connection was also very uncertain. I did manage a bit of email but finally got
defeated -although I did manage to do some work (emails and garden diary)
around 11 PM -until I got too tired. This morning the power was off at first
but came back around 7 AM. The internet connection seems(ed?) ok -but I've
given up following the outside (BBC) news -which seems total propaganda
bullshit to me. You can see how reliable the connection is -by the delay
involved in sending this message.... ;)

For various reasons, we went into Tagbilaren on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday
-which is quite tiring. Monday morning (election day) we couldn't get a jeepney
in the morning -but when we tried again in the afternoon, one came almost
immediately. However, some of the things we wanted to do were impossible
-because it was a public holiday on Monday and many shops were closed (hence
our return on Tuesday). On Saturday, there was no electricity supply -even in a
local hospital -but by Monday it had returned (many people seemed to be selling
generators).

Being November, the weather is also changeable: Sometimes, it is nice and sunny
-but if I try to work in the garden then it often rains -and by the time I've
cleaned up -it stops.....

As the "backlog" of work increases -so does the frustration (a little) -but one
can only hope it will eventually sort itself out. This is Asia after all!


However, it would also be silly to get upset about such things when many people
are perhaps still homeless.

PS: It seems the things local people have been calling "sinkholes" (which I
thought were caves that could become real sinkholes) are probably tectonic
"fault lines": Many of which run along the coast road (between us and the sea).
Our stretch of coast road is not yet banned for 6 wheelers and above (as a
large section already is) -in fact, heavy trucks loaded with quarry material
(road repair?) drive up the road near our house. On the other hand, I suspect
fault lines must connect -or the earth would be unable to shift (except perhaps
upwards) -but I've no idea where these lines run -with regards to sections of
the coast road that are apparently unaffected. Certainly, we are both rather
ignorant of such things -although I believe Fatima's father was a geophysical
engineer.

Apparently, (some) local people believe earthquakes are caused by a (giant?)
pig rooting under the house (pillars)..... but perhaps in our case -it is not a
pig! ;)

:)
trevor

Crazy World?

On Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:16:33 +0800
"L" wrote:

> > What kind of crazy world is it -where they can communicate with family
> > thousands of miles away -but cannot get basic needs satisfied locally
> > -when so much media attention is focused on them -and so much aid
> > pouring in?
> > Those are the kind of questions I'd like to see answered!

:)
trevor

On Thu, 28 Nov 2013 19:53:08 +0800
"L" wrote:

Values:

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 16:53:11 +0800
Trevor wrote:

>  It would be nice to see how different people respond to the same circumstance...

> > > On Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:06:15 +0800
> > > "L" wrote:
> > >
> > > > I just realised, almost all of my of my US contacts have family in
> > > > the military. There's Lo's retired husband, there's C's
> > > > daughter who's a major in the army stationed in Afghanistan, her
> > > > husband was in the army too, then there's my new friend Ch whose
> > > > father was in WWII (shot their mom and himself, mom survived!) -
> > > > there are more acquaintances with family in the US military, but I
> > > > don't have as much contact with them as Lo, C and Ch.
> > > >
> > > > Ch has been sending money to help folks here. She seems to feel
> > > > obliged to help, perhaps because her ex-husband is Filipino ...
> > > >
> > > > I'm sure Trevor would like to chat with my American friends and
> > > > their army contacts, but I'm sure if that happens, I'd lose all my
> > > > new friends!! LOL!