Disasters: It's Time to
Take a Holistic View
By Regan Morris
Dr. Janki Andharia has walked through Indian villages ravaged by earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis and has witnessed devastation almost too unspeakable to describe.
Dr. Janki Andharia
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She has spent more than 20 years studying disaster relief and the nature of community recovery.
Her difficult task as head of the department of urban and rural community development at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai is to turn these scenes of devastation into something resembling hope: an analysis that might prevent future havoc, reports with insights that make the next disaster easier to weather, recommendations that make help swifter and more accessible.
One change that Dr. Andharia is championing is the development of disaster relief as a specific, integrated academic discipline. Her institute has proposed a masters program in disaster management to fill the need to train people familiar with the full range of complexities of the field.
Her work has taught her even more about the resilience of children than their vulnerability: "Children are not just victims, they can also be agents of recovery and liberation from misery."
"Rescue, relief and rehabilitation is not just about good will," Dr. Andharia says. "We also need to understand and appreciate that disaster preparedness and management is a multi disciplinary approach. Besides engineers, and doctors or medics, you need people with diverse backgrounds."
Indonesian children smile and cheer as U.S. Navy helicopters fly in purified water and relief supplies to a small village on the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia
Dr. Andharia's work has focused, in part, on the unique needs of children in the wake of disaster. She has studied the psychological effects of these horrors on the youngest victims, looking for ways to shape policy and aid in the future. But as she points out, if anything, her work has taught her even more about the resilience of children than their vulnerability. Many international aid organizations are taking a new look at the role of children in disaster recovery and finding that in places where they are enlisted as helpers, the benefits for the community and the children's own mental well-being are impressive.
We rarely look at the various factors that actually lead up to a disaster
"Children are not just victims," she says. "They can also be agents of recovery and liberation from misery."
Changemakers interviewed Dr. Andharia about her insights on disaster planning and management, as well as the unexpected opportunities found in what seem to be the world's most dismal moments.
CM: What preparedness strategies have you found to be most effective in terms of savings lives?
There is a need to revisit the concept of preparedness itself. The current dominant approach seems to be one of disaster response; that means you wait for the disaster to happen and then respond. And the way in which you conceptualize your strategies are also in a post-disaster context, which means you train people so that they can 'respond' better. We rarely look at the various factors that actually lead up to a disaster. There's a need to conduct comprehensive environmental impact assessments for specific regions, to look at the eco-sensitivity of an area, and to examine the topography of an area.
What I'm arguing for is a more holistic way of framing the entire discourse on disaster management
For instance, in New Orleans, if it is a bowl-shaped area, what are the kinds of development that should be permitted and not permitted? What is the nature of technology applied to the infrastructural development? This approach would be far more appropriate from the point of view of prevention. Planners have a critical role here.
CM: It sounds as though you're advocating that development plans for these types of environmentally sensitive areas should all be viewed through the lens of disaster planning as well.
What I'm arguing for is a more holistic way of framing the entire discourse on disaster management.
We need to talk in terms of human security. In order to foster human security what are the various things we need to put in place? Take the example of the recent flooding of Mumbai city. Mumbai has seen roads and flyovers [concrete highway overpasses] proliferating. Over the last five years we have paved our roads and infrastructure investments have been scaled up. Now, what does so much concrete and asphalt imply? The normal seepage of water into the earth, the amount of water that can be absorbed by the soil—now covered by cement—is severely decreased. An absence of drainage facilities has also been an additional problem. So who is responsible for this? The planning authorities have a large role to play here.
The way in which we reconceptualize our notion of development is important. The governments have to look at this entire dimension and not merely focus on disaster response. We have not internalized this culture of prevention in our planning process.
CM: How does that holistic framework apply after the fact with disasters?
Rebuilding efforts must be tailored to the specific region. The Nicobar groups of islands, which were badly hit by the tsunami, are a case in point. The materials used by the local people are bamboo, wood, and a specific variety of grass. There's a particular style of construction. Much of the material is available locally. Unfortunately, when the government develops rehabilitation plans for people, they have one specific model. There is no effort to study the housing patterns and look at the cultural significance of the local habitats. The Nicobaris are tribal communities. And their housing pattern is closely interwoven with their livelihoods.
Rugged individualism promoted by Western values has deep implications, especially in situations that demand mutual support
Right now the kind of construction that the government is proposing there is a bricks-and-mortar approach. This needs to be seriously re-examined. It's antithetical to the local culture and in an eco-fragile area! When you dismantle something and put in something new in the name of, let's say, "a better life," the assumptions about what a better life is, need to be examined. Otherwise, you're inviting perhaps another ecological disaster in the already vulnerable area.
CM: What is the role of the government in an immediate relief operation?
You have to put the government at center stage. Somebody has to coordinate. Somebody needs to take charge. When a disaster occurs, there is the inevitable chaos, a lot of suggestions, a lot of people wanting to rush in aid. The government may not be in a position to respond effectively as much as it should because capacities are limited. But your line of control, your line of command needs to be the government. In some instances we have NGOs saying, "Well, we can do it better," and governments are happy to "hand over" responsibility. This trend is dangerous because it implies that the government is abdicating its responsibility. The systems of public accountability of NGOs remain weak.
CM: India was praised in the wake of the tsunami for quick government action, whereas in Sri Lanka the government was criticized for being too slow and depending too much on NGOs. Do you think that is a fair assessment?
Yes. And there was corruption in Sri Lanka, that has been reported. The other thing is the government can obtain access to a number of critical services, and that has been the pattern in India. In the wake of a disaster the state can ask the central government for military aid. This has played a very important role in disaster relief in a country like India.
In all disasters, the first response is from the local community
The armed forces have the ability to move in quickly and perform an operation in an efficient manner, especially in the rescue and relief phase. Few agencies have the ability to carry out mass evacuation in India. That's also been an important dimension. Most of this is usually within the first few days—at most a month and then they pull out. It's not a long, drawn-out involvement. They come in during the emergency period and do what is needed until others can come in and take over.
And while the government has an important role to play in the immediate response, in the rehabilitation process, civil society has a huge role to play.
CM: Which level of government should be in charge in the immediate aftermath?
In the first two weeks, and these are extremely critical, coordination and access are crucial. I'm not talking about government taking full responsibility at all times. In the initial stages you have the local government completely incapacitated. People who constitute the government are often equally affected by the disaster. So the strategy generally is to move in a new team, from the surrounding districts. Or, to bring in people who have the experience of handling disasters from another state. And that works. But you do need a combination of local and state government. Because local officials have a good understanding of the resources and the geography of the area and what its other strengths are.
In all disasters, the first response is from the local community. Whatever we may say about bringing in experts, the reality is that these experts come in maybe after 12 hours, 15 hours, 24 hours and sometimes even a week later. So the immediate response is usually from the community itself.
These are vexing questions and generalizations do not hold. Strategies have to be context specific, disaster specific and depend on several factors such as the magnitude of the disaster and the history and culture of a region affected by the disaster.
CM: What have we learned from various disasters that should be applied on a global basis to response and planning?
We should look at best practices in context. The magnitude of a disaster is a direct function of the coping capacities. And coping capacities are obviously dependent on your level of development. For instance, can you evacuate 50,000 people by air? I don't think India has demonstrated deployment of such resources, although the capability does exist. For example: during the Tsunami the Indian Navy sent out their ships to the islands and rescued and evacuated over 20,000 people. Ships also went to Sri Lanka and to Maldives and other places. To strengthen such capabilities, resources are needed.
Women have often reported that one positive result of this influx on the social fabric is the changing orientation to girls and women's mobility
The question needs to be seen in terms of context of a country. We are told that the Kobe earthquake had very few casualties and that's because Japan has a culture of disaster preparedness or disaster prevention. For example, the standards they follow with regards to construction norms are extremely stringent. As a process of disaster prevention, there is a movement in India now to look at building norms and then enforcement more carefully. There is a lot to learn from each disaster and response strategies used. An analysis of factors that contribute to an increase in damage losses would be very useful.
And we need rapid action teams—teams like Doctors Without Borders. We need more people who can move in without being dependent on the local administration for food, water or logistic support and provide specific services. Such professional teams in a number of areas of specialization would be invaluable in saving lives and responding to immediate needs.
CM: What opportunities for social change can a disaster can bring to the fore?
In developing countries like India, disasters certainly offer huge opportunities to bring about positive change, to foster development. This is what we have seen after the Latur earthquake, the Orissa super cyclone and more recently the tsunami in the Nicobar group of islands. I have worked in each of these areas for an extended period of time. For example, many villages or settlements in these areas have poor road connectivity. Therefore, mobility for evacuation and relief becomes a huge challenge. In many parts of India inadequacy of infrastructure and resources pose major challenges during a disaster. These inadequacies draw media attention. The government and NGOs come in and commit money for schools and hospitals. There is an opportunity to make a quantum leap, to make a substantive difference in post-disaster situation. Disasters can reverse years of neglect or at least the opportunity to do so exists.
Disaster can accelerate social and cultural change and enable people to train as community workers. It's a radical shift in gender roles.
CM: Aside from infrastructure improvements, what other opportunities for change arise?
Relief and rehabilitation bring many "outsiders"—NGO workers, aid agencies and corporate bodies. Women have often reported that one positive result of this influx on the social fabric is the changing orientation to girls and women's mobility. This is significant because in rural India young girls are confined to the home, withdrawn from schools after puberty especially if the schools are at a distance. Girls are also seen as a liability in some cultures and their marriages entail huge sums of money.
We often have women telling us that the approach to girls has been altered. They say is that when we see young, educated women coming from outside moving about freely working with men and others, explaining things, it opens up another culture and way of life for us. These roles that women play open up another perspective for the entire village. They are also encouraged to send their girls to study. Disaster can accelerate social and cultural change and enable people to train as community workers. It's a radical shift in gender roles. Women say that this was not imaginable earlier and it is possible to get out of their traditional restrictive ways of social and cultural living. This was the case in Latur District. I think the opportunity for bringing about change is really huge after a disaster.
I think it's the average people who make the biggest difference in terms of saving lives.
CM: What can ordinary people do to prepare for disaster relief?
I think it's the average people who make the biggest difference in terms of saving lives. At a larger level one really needs to work in a direction where we create a greater sense of community for each other. We've become, particularly in urban areas self-absorbed. The erosion of mutuality and the sense of community has several implications. When you don't necessarily work together and do things together as a neighborhood the ability to reach out, the spontaneity of response is reduced. A greater sense of cooperation and reaching out to one another can be reinvented and restored. Rugged individualism promoted by Western values has deep implications, especially in situations that demand mutual support.
Regan Morris is freelance writer based in Los Angeles. She covers international and business news for various publications including WomensWallStreet and The New York Times.
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