The Forgotten Disaster in the CAR

Last class we spoke a lot about what classifies as a disaster. One of the questions we touched on is if a hurricane hits an island is that really a disaster? The answer was no because no human lives were lost. If this is the case, then why has the international community ignored the conflict in the Central African Republic, which will have been going on for two years as of March 24th and has claimed thousands of lives?

The conflict, which many who are aware of the conflict are calling a disaster, began March 24th of 2013, as there was a coup by a group of rebel Muslims, the Seleka. In a country where there were already many coups leading up to the Seleka coup and where tensions have always been high between Muslims and Christians, there have even been "acts of genocide" reported against Muslims during this conflict. As of September 15th of 2014, more than 5,000 people had died since December of 2013. In addition, one article from November of 2013, reports that 400,000 people were displaced within the country and there were 64,000 refugees at that time. This was just eight months after the official beginning of the conflict, one can only imagine what those numbers would be today. And unfortunately, unless there is more media coverage, we may never know what the official numbers are to date.





So the question is: Why aren't we hearing about this?

Well, the problem is it seems that there is barely any media coverage of the conflict, even by worldwide news sources, such as the BBC and Al Jazeera. Earlier when I said that the international community is ignoring the conflict, that was an exaggeration. The UN and African Union peacekeepers have had a presence in the country during the conflict. Along with this, France and South Africa have both deployed troops to try to help calm tensions. This task has been difficult because of the amount of insecurities that come with entering this unstable country, and the fact that there is still not a strong enough peacekeeping strategy or structure in the continent of Africa. Though in many unstable countries, such as those in the Middle East who experience disasters, there is usually an outcry from the international community, especially when "acts of genocide" are reported.

Something that is missing from this "disaster", besides the media coverage, is the United States. Since the US is the greatest power in the world, it seems that only when the US government calls a tragedy a disaster it becomes a disaster. One article comments on this fact by reporting that the US and France do not want another "failed African state" to be responsible for.

This conflict/disaster begs the question that for some tragedy, whether man made or natural, to become a "disaster" and relevant to the world, does the United States have to get involved and declare it a disaster, even when the UN has cautioned at the "risk of genocide"?

Sources:
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/11/central-african-republicisdescendingintoanarchy.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13150040

Yemen's Water Shortage

As of 2012, Yemen's capital Sana'a has been speculated to be the first capital city in the world that will be left without a sustainable water supply by the year 2040. The reason behind this Arab country’s increasingly dangerous water shortage stems from a problem that has occurred throughout the nation’s history that happens to have both natural and anthropogenic causes.

The most significant of these problems has been the water mismanagement with the overproduction of qat, a chewable plant that plays a large part in Yemeni culture and consumes nearly fifty percent of the agricultural water supply. The problem with the extreme cultivation of the product is that it requires too much irrigation for the arid region it is being grown in.

The other part of this problem can be noted in the pictures below. The majority of the country’s population is located near the water basins which results in excessive amounts of water being drawn from the reserves at the same time. In 2004 the World Bank suggested that only sixty-seven percent of the Yemeni population had sufficient access to water, and in a country of nearly 25 million, that means that only a little over 16 million inhabitants have adequate access to something that is vital.

Just to put it into perspective, Sana'a residents usually receive public water once every nine days, while Ta'izz (a less populated city in the southwest of the country) residents usually receive it every 45 days. Yemen’s General Rural Water Authority has set out groups of water distributors to transport the liquid throughout the needed areas of the country, but still a large portion of the country finds itself without sufficient water.

It’s truly tragic to think that because the Yemeni government failed to administer regulations and inadequately enforced laws regarding the production of qat the people of Yemen are left almost completely without something that is absolutely necessary for survival. This disaster can still be handled differently, but action needs to be taken before it’s too late. 

Boko Haram Attacks Nigerian Fishing Town

Boko Haram, a terrorist militant group based northeast Nigeria has claimed a deadly attack on the Nigerian town of Baga. The leader, Abubakar Shekau broadcasted this message on Tuesday, and went further to threaten Niger Chad and Cameroon in a video the group published online.

The attack in Baga, a fishing town on the shores of Lake Chad, has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties. The terrorist group burnt parts of the town to the ground, completely demolishing 16 surrounding settlements; displacing tens of thousands of people, many of whom, have fled to neighboring Chad and Niger.

Representatives from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon are meeting to seek a regional response to the threat of Boko Haram. Many African leaders, like Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has also suggested a new type of force against the group that would seek support from the African Union. Boko Haram leaders, however, dismiss the Leaders’ discourse and, in the videos, proceeds to show off a huge arsenal of weapons and said that Boko Haram would take on all opponents.

Apart from the immeasurable ramifications of the Baga attack, Boko Haram’s terrorist acts are growing more and more deadly. In conjunction with the International community, African officials must take actions against the militant group before their acts spark an even bigger humanitarian crisis. Boko Haram’s acts are a ticking time bomb and if measures are not taking soon, the group may commit even more horrendous acts of terror that may worsen the economic, social and political instability in Nigeria and its neighbors.

A Disaster in Yemen That Is Only Getting Worse

The present situation in the Republic of Yemen is, by any definition of the word, a disaster. Today, the President of Yemen, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, along with his entire cabinet, abruptly resigned, leaving the nation without any form of effective government. This comes after months of fighting between the government of the predominantly Sunni nation, Shiite Houthi rebels, and the Sunni-affiliated al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Houthis have controlled most of Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, since September, but on Tuesday, they stormed the President’s residence and captured more territory near the capital. This, along with other actions, gave them effective control of Yemen’s already-weak government.

The Houthi logo. Arabic text translates to: “God is Great; Death to America; Death to Israel; A Curse Upon the Jews; Victory to Islam.”

This power vacuum will only bring additional tensions to a highly volatile region that does not need any more conflict. Yemen was previously two countries: the majority-Shiite Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the majority-Sunni People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). Yemen’s current capital, Sana’a, was previously located in North Yemen. The countries merged in 1990 following periods of both war and cooperation between the two states.

The current events are raising fears that southern Yemen might attempt to break away from the north if Houthi rebels control the government. The presence of al-Qaeda (which controls some areas of Yemen as well) only complicates the matter and makes the entire situation more dangerous. Another civil war in the already weak state is sure to bring not only widespread death and destruction, but more opportunities for extremist groups to gain control of territory and resources. This would be horrific for the entire international community.

Hundreds are already dead in Yemen— this is, without a doubt, a disaster. I sincerely hope that the international community will be able to act to restore peace and order, but something tells me that this will get worse before it gets better. I will keep reading up on the conflict, and hopefully, I am proven wrong.

Further reading:

The New York Times: "Yemeni Government Collapses as President and Prime Minister Resign"

Floods in Malawi Displace 200,000 People

On January 13th the president of Malawi has declared disaster zones in fifteen districts after floods displaced over 200,000 people and killing 176.

The Phalombe district in the southern region of Malawi has been greatly effected. Over 39 schools were closed and turned into makeshift camps.

The Malawi Congress Party(MCP) has asked the government to declare a state of emergency. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, president of MCP said, “This will enable the government to get funds from other allocations to assist in the floods disaster.”

Although, Peter Mutharika, Malawi’s president has yet to declare a state of emergency he is being applauded for his response to the situation.

Not only have makeshift camps been created, but the Department of Disaster Management has set up a call center to address the concerns of the community. Also, food and money have been allocated to help the displaced.

Many non-government organizations have also join in on the efforts.

The Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) and Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation (CHRR) are offering to assist the government.

The executive director of Cedep, Gift Trapence, said, “We at Cedep and CHRR would like to join hands with the Malawi President and government […] to alleviate the problem at hand bearing in mind that human rights issues are at stake due to this catastrophe.”

NGO’s such as Cedep and CHRR hope to avoid a humanitarian crisis.  

Previous natural disasters have become humanitarian disasters due to unequal assistance, discrimination, and sexual and gender based violence, but currently, the Malawian government's main concern is to encourage international communities to donate and raise funds.

The government needs to raise about K5 billion (11 million dollars) to provide services and cover damages caused by the floods.  

The government is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of disease by providing water treatment kits and mosquito nets in various districts. 

Agriculture accounts for 85 percent of Malawi's exports. The recent floods have destroyed crops putting Malawi's economic well being in danger. 

There have been aid workers dispatched to help distribute supplies and medicine. 

One million (US) dollars have been allocated so far to support flood victims. 

sources: http://www.nyasatimes.com/2015/01/14/mcp-urges-malawi-govt-to-declare-state-of-emergency-over-floods/
http://www.nyasatimes.com/2015/01/20/malawi-disaster-csos-renewed-appeal-for-increased-global-response/
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2015/jan/21/malawi-floods-cause-devastation-in-pictures
https://news.vice.com/article/malawi-declared-disaster-zone-after-flooding-kills-48-and-torrential-rain-continues

Framing Disasters

What do Sudanese famine and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have in common? Is there anything to be learned from a response to a drought when assembling aid for typhoon victims? Not all disasters are alike and the responses to them vary as well. Our task, as political scientists, is to uncover patterns of similarity and difference that will help us in making sense of the world of disasters. This is a little bit like the analogy questions on the SATs.

Should we study disasters as variations on the same kind of phenonmenon?

TYPHOON : HURRICANE

NAVY: BLUE

Should we emphasize the consequences of certain disasters?

DROUGHT : REFUGEE FLOWS

SPEEDING : TICKET

Should we differentiate between disasters based on the role that humans play in their prevention / consquences?

TORNADO : NUCLEAR ACCIDENT

ROCK : SCISSORS

Should we consider the variation among disasters based on the extent to which they affect multiple countries?

 

LOCAL FLOODING : TSUNAMI

CITY HALL : UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION

Should we study the degree to which we are certain about the outcome of disasters?

EARTHQUAKE : CLIMATE CHANGE

CONTRACT : LOTTERY

The purpose of these analogies is to alert you to different lenses through which we can study the nature of disasters, their sources, consequences, as well as the likelihood, extent, and kind of international intervention. Finding the right analogy is the biggest challenge. It is important to remember that there is no single answer although all the answers should stem from a theory that can support (y)our argument and that allows us to consider evidence from a variety of sources in a systematic way. Only this approach permits comparisons of seemingly very different instances of disaster and even make them productive. So go ahead, see if you can come up with a lens and relevant examples of your own!