Phuket, Thailand (mizzima) – The secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has released two books by members of the bloc concerning post-Cyclone Nargis relief in Burma.
Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN Secretary-General, presided over the book launch on Monday in the media center for the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Phuket, in southern Thailand.
At the event, Surin explained, “Through the two books, ASEAN hopes to share our first ever ASEAN-wide regional engagement on humanitarian missions, our highs and lows in ‘building back better’ for both Myanmar [Burma] and ASEAN. At the same time, the lessons documented in these publications will also serve as a reminder on what has been done, what should have been done better and how we can do better in our responses to any future humanitarian challenges.”
The books – “A Bridge to Recovery: ASEAN’s Response to Cyclone Nargis” and “Myanmar: Life after Nargis” – provide a full account of ASEAN’s steadfast response to relieve the sufferings of victims of Cyclone Nargis, according to a statement released at the conference.
“A Bridge to Recovery: ASEAN’s Response to Cyclone Nargis” documents ASEAN’s involvement in humanitarian assistance and disaster recovery in Myanmar [Burma]. It details ASEAN’s role in humanitarian assessment, planning and monitoring to ensure an effective coordination of international assistance,” the statement noted.
The book also highlights how ASEAN strengthened the coordination between local authorities, NGOs and stakeholders to meet the needs of cyclone-affected people in addition to building safer and disaster-resilient communities and developing local capacity. ASEAN’s first ever Volunteers Programme is also featured.
“Myanmar: Life after Nargis”, a joint publication between the ASEAN Secretariat with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, is a real-time documentation on ASEAN’s experience in the conduct of its Post-Nargis Joint Assessment. It looks at life in Myanmar [Burma] after Nargis, capturing the human stories of those involved in the process and ASEAN’s approach of collaborative partnership to make a difference for the Nargis-affected population.
According to a joint communiqué from the bloc’s foreign ministers released on Monday, “We were pleased with the progress made in the post-Nargis recovery efforts under the ASEAN led mechanism in Myanmar [Burma] and had a fruitful discussion on the recommendations from the Secretary-General of ASEAN as the Chairman of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force for the Victims of Cyclone Nargis (AHTF).”
“Considering that the mandate ends in July 2010, we tasked the AHTF and the Tripartite Core Group [Burma, ASEAN and the United Nations] with reviewing the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan to take into consideration priority deliverables for the next twelve months. In this regard, we agreed that our continued support for Myanmar [Burma] will focus on livelihoods, shelter, health, education and disaster risk reduction,” continues the joint communiqué.
Surin, at the launch, added that he appealed to ASEAN member states and the international community for additional funding, estimated at some US$ 691 million, to cover the costs of ongoing and scheduled recovery projects throughout areas of Burma's Irrawaddy and Rangoon Divisions devastated by the storm 14 months ago.
