NARGIS LIBRARY RECOVERY NEWSLETTER #12 FEBRUARY 2010
This posting is shadowed by Haiti’s catastrophe and Afghanistan’s appalling devastation. Total collapse of civil order in Port of Prince and rebounding Taliban influence in many Afghan provinces has replaced Nargis Recovery as a priority among foreign donors. To maintain traction in assisting Delta communities we must hold to our mission and expand our efforts. New donors are essential.
Contrast the three societies—Myanmar, Haiti and Afghanistan—each suffers from decades of civil strife & dysfunctional economies; each society is torn by corruption and misappropriation of public funds, pitiful tax bases, and histories of abusive governance. However Myanmar has abundant natural resources, a long history of private [monastic] education, and a society rebounding from Cyclone Nargis. Much remains to be done, but our project is feasible in Myanmar because of its unique educational tradition associated with local libraries. In most Third World countries libraries are not players in recovery; in Myanmar their role is not only feasible, it is essential if most citizens are to access knowledge to expand freedom and productivity. Libraries, like a free press, are more than a crutch, they are escalators to modernity.
Compare what you know of the Burmese experience after the Nargis catastrophe to Afghanistan’s. Listen to Professor Zaher Wahab’s assessment this week on the American Friends Service Committee’s website:
http://www.afsc.org/middleeast/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/85980
Comparable assessments from Haiti reveal huge challenges to that struggling nation. While billions of investment dollars are needed in all three countries to sustain economic growth; Myanmar can leverage significant improvements with far less. Its expanding private sector is creating social space via family entrepreneurs seeking more productive enterprises. Burma’s libraries, with our support, can provide access to the knowledge essential to economic growth.
Professor U Myint–fellow graduate student at Cornell and Berkeley in the 1950s– retired a decade ago as ECAFE economist and now resides in Yangon. He continues to write astute critiques of Burma’s economy and recently helped organize Nobel Laureate Joseph Stieglitz’s visit and presentation to Nay Pyi Daw officials. The last four paragraphs of Myint’s critique of Stiglitz’s presentation are relevant to our project.
73. Nargis and global crisis were mentioned as disasters that hit Myanmar which were beyond its control. When these natural and economic disasters strike, it is always the poor and livelihoods in the rural economy that are hit the hardest. However, the resilience of the rural economy can be strengthened to better withstand these misfortunes through creating non-farm employment opportunities. For example, a farm household or a village that not only grows rice but engages in other economic activities has better chance of coming to terms with these disastrous events. Non-farm activities in the countryside can take place by setting up small enterprises in processing, construction, transport, repair, catering, and other services. In China these towns and village enterprises played a vital role in the agricultural reform process, by creating jobs for millions of people and increasing rural incomes and output. With climate change brought on by global warming Myanmar like other countries will have to face more frequent and more violent natural disasters than before. Similarly, increased globalization will bring with it greater impact of economic disturbances originating outside its borders. Hence, there is a clear need to strengthen the resilience of the rural sector by promoting non-farm employment opportunities.
74. Since we are now living in a knowledge based economy, the importance of education and technology revolution that is upon us received considerable emphasis. With young and able bodied people leaving to take up better paying jobs in neighboring countries only old people and young children are left in the villages and farmers in some parts of the country are facing a labor shortage. There may thus be a growing need to mechanize farming and to use less labor intensive methods in agricultural production.
75. We are also said to be living in the information age. For ordinary people two things are important in this age: access to internet and mobile phone. Here again, our situation is far less favorable than in neighboring countries. For instance in terms of percentage of population that has access to the internet in the Asian region, Myanmar with (0.2 %) shares bottom place with East Timor. The percentages for neighbors are as follows: Laos (1.9%), India (7.0%), Thailand (24.4%), Vietnam (24.8%), China (26.9%), Malaysia (65.7%) and Singapore (72.4%).
76. As for mobile phone let me give you my personal experience. The supplier is a government monopoly and I had to fill an application form to buy a phone. I applied for one some time ago. My application was approved after 3 years. Then I paid 1.5 million kyats to purchase the SIM card. That is equivalent to 6 months pay of the highest government official. Now under a new rule announced recently my monthly phone bill is estimated and I have to pay in three times that amount as advance payment for use of the phone. In poor neighboring countries such as Cambodia and Laos, fierce competition among local manufacturers and sellers has brought down mobile phones prices to hit rock bottom and you can buy one for a few dollars. And everyone seems to be carrying one.
But not in Myanmar…not yet…Nargis Library Recovery will hasten that process.
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