Caritas Australia’s chief executive officer Jack de Groot has just returned from Burma after seeing the devastation to the country and its people first hand. PAUL DOBBYN spoke to him about the experience
Caritas Australia’s head Jack de Groot has returned from his recent fact-finding mission to Burma (Myanmar) with a desperate message from its people as they struggle to recover from the ravages of Cyclone Nargis.
“The Burmese people have been overlooked in the past because their country is so controlled and isolated by the governing military junta,” Mr de Groot said.
“So the people have implored me, and anyone else who’ll listen, not to let the international community forget them.”
However, the organisation’s chief executive officer said he had also found signs of great hope and inspiration on his August trip.
“I learnt that Catholic and Buddhist religious and various tribal factions were forgetting bitter divisions and working together to conquer disease, despair and destruction,” he said.
“With such cooperation comes the hope of some form of healing in this tragic country.”
Some 4 million people were affected by the cyclone which struck on May 2 – 2.4 million of these seriously, having lost housing and livelihoods, all blown or washed away by high winds and enormous walls of water.
Estimates are that as many as 300,000 people lost their lives. The official death toll stands at around 84,537 with 53,836 people still missing and 19,359 injured.
Worst affected area was the Irrawaddy Delta in Burma’s south.
It was in the region’s major city Yangon (formerly Rangoon), headed by Salesian Archbishop Charles Bo, that the Caritas Australia leader stayed.
Mr de Groot was made quickly aware of the ruling party’s tight control on his arrival in the city.
“The reality of my situation was that I wasn’t allowed out of Yangon – I was there on a tourist visa visiting friends so was limited to there … I was not free to travel where I wished.
“However, people do drop into visit with information once they know you’re in the area and many brought terrible stories.
“Such as one instance where people were trying to recover and bury their dead and spoke to the media about the lack of support from the government.
“These people were arrested and apparently are still in prison.”
He was also aware of the danger to those involved in various works if he spoke out or contacted the media while he was in Burma.
Mr de Groot said his primary role while in Burma had been to evaluate the effectiveness of Caritas relief efforts and to help work out the best way forward.
This information is also being used to help the Australian Government in its relief efforts.
He was particularly positive about the Australian Government’s role, particularly in its tough negotiating stance with the Burmese ruling party.
“The Australian people should congratulate their government for its immediate support of the Burmese people – which was in fact the most generous in the world,” he said.
“What our government also did was to put demands on the military government for greater accountability and access and to an extent this was granted.
“However, we as Australians need to continue to pressure our government to continue this engagement and ensure these poor and suffering people are not forgotten once again.”
Caritas Australia, in its response to the disaster is implementing a $2.2 million program over the coming 12 months to build on work that has been undertaken since Cyclone Nargis hit, Mr de Groot said.
Priorities include replacement housing in areas where natural building materials like bamboo were swept away.
Numbers of people have yet to regain their means of livelihood having lost crops, fishing boats and other items essential to self-support.
Mr de Groot said he would often become frustrated as he heard stories of the Burmese government’s inaction.
“I would ask why the authorities were not doing this or that to help – the people would simply tell me: ‘ The government does not love its people,'” he said.
The work being done by the Church is remarkable, however.
“As I observed the situation I was reminded that the most extraordinary strength of the Catholic Church as an organisation in such situations is that it is present and active in most remote and inaccessible parts of world – its vast network means it can get to people no one else can,” Mr de Groot said.
“Also the actual church structures are often stronger than rest of the buildings around so they will often remain as a focal point for communities to regroup.
“These bits of remaining infrastructure form the basis of recovery as do the human relationships created by faith communities.
“Some 350 Burmese priests and nuns have been trained since the disaster in counselling as part of their pastoral role.
“Volunteers have been recruited locally from within the parishes and communities that the Church operates in Pathein, Aima, Pyapon, Dedeye and Yangon.
“It has been also tremendously encouraging to hear great stories of interfaith work that are going on as Christians, Buddhists and others work together to mount an informal response to the disaster.
“With this cooperation comes great possibilities for healing in the country, so perhaps from this great hopelessness and tragedy can come good after all.”
