Calamities may force people into prostitution

To avoid this, relief should be strategic to help victims rebuild their lives

MANILA - More women and young girls may be forced into prostitution as families lost their properties and sources of livelihood due to the string of calamities that recently devastated the country, a women’s group said Wednesday.

In a press conference in Quezon City, the Coalition against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) said that natural calamities, like tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng, increase women’s and childen’s vulnerability to the flesh trade.

“We may see the effects of the disaster after a few months, when the relief is not enough and when the affected people are not able to rebuild their lives,” Jean Enriquez, executive director of CATW-AP, told Newsbreak.

Storms Ondoy and Pepeng have left hundreds of people dead, displaced thousands of families in Luzon, and caused billion-pesos worth of damage to properties and agriculture.

Enriquez expressed concern that women, especially those who are staying in evacuation centers, would be lured into prostitution after public interest in post-disaster operations dissipates and if the relief provided to the victims is not strategic.

“They will become more vulnerable if it’s just relief goods and there is no re-building and rehabilitation,” she added.

Pattern in Asia

Enriquez said Malaysia saw an increase in the number of cases of trafficking for prostitution after the Asian tsunami while women and children were sold as brides, servants and prostitutes after massive floodings in the Indian state of Bihar.

She said that in the Philippines, incidence of prostitution also went up during the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

The disaster, she said, forced women in the evacuation centers to sell themselves to local and foreign customers, especially in the cities of Olongapo and Angeles.

Enriquez, however, said that they were no exact figures on the number of women involved in prostitution during the aftermath of the Mt. Pinatubo since these cases were not well-documented and is based on testimonials of former commercial sex workers.

“Right now, the increase [in the number of women engaging in prostitution] has not yet been observed, but based on that, [there shows a] trend across the region that incidence of prostitution and trafficking increase after the aftermath of disasters,” Enriquez added.

Legislation needed

The group also called for the passage of House Bill 970 or the Anti-Prostitution Act, which seeks to impose penalties on businessmen involved in prostitution and provide support services to the victims.

The first version of the bill was filed in 2000. However, the bill, Enriquez said, “barely moved” in the Congress and is sidetracked since most politicians are already busy preparing for next year’s election and are using the disaster to gain popularity among voters.

“Apparently there is no urgency for legislators to enact such bill because prostitution is not even their priority issue,” said Belen Antoque, president of Lawig Bubai, a group composed of women who used to be involved in prostitution.

Enriquez said that in the absence of national laws, local governments should enact ordinances addressing this problem.

So far, she said, only Olongapo City and Quezon City have anti-prostitution local ordinances.Report by Jesus F. Llanto, Newsbreak.

as of 10/22/2009 11:13 PM

South India floods a result of climate change: Red Cross

Bangkok, Oct 6 (IANS) The floods in south India that have killed at least 350 people and made millions homeless are a result of climate change, said an expert in the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.

The sudden shift from “extreme drought” to “extreme floods” in the region was in consonance with the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), head of the climate centre Madeleen Helmer said here Tuesday.

In its 2007 fourth assessment report, the IPCC had said that one of the consequences of global warming would be more extreme weather events - droughts, floods and storms would become more frequent and more severe.

Experts shadowing the Sep 28-Oct 9 talks here between 177 countries in preparation for the Copenhagen climate summit this December have pointed out that these predictions have been borne out by a series of disasters in Asia in recent weeks - floods in India and typhoons in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

“The problem with humanitarian aid agencies like ours is, what do you prepare for,” Helmer told IANS, “when after extreme drought, you have extreme floods? Climate change is telling us we have to prepare for both, that we are in an age of more uncertainty. It’s not easy and we’re not geared to do it, but we’ll have to be.”

Richard Rumsey, director of disaster risk reduction and community resilience in the international NGO World Vision, said: “The problem is that the system is now being so stretched to provide short-term relief, to respond to all these climate disasters, that there is little planning to build long-term resilience of people to face climate change.”

The NGO has seen its own budget to disaster response climbing in recent years.

“In 1998, 15 percent ($90 million) of World Vision’s overall expenditure was spent on relief activities,” Rumsey said. “Ten years later, it accounted for 35 percent ($644 million).”

As the number of climate disasters has climbed from an average of 200 per year in the 1990s to an average of 350 per year this decade, governments in industrialised countries have been forced to increase their response.

Brett Parris of World Vision pointed out that the percentage of overseas development aid (ODA) going for this “humanitarian response” had increased from 4 percent in the 1990s to 9 percent now.

Parris told IANS that the NGO had calculated that industrialised countries would have to pay developing countries $150 billion per year to help them adapt to climate change and to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases that are leading to global warming.

The World Bank recently estimated yjsy developing countries will need $100 billion a year for adaptation alone.

“The current level of financing and the current pace of negotiations here is not good enough,” Parris said. “They will take the world well beyond a two-degrees Celsius rise in temperature. That will be catastrophic and we’ll need a lot more money to deal with those disasters.”

According to Parris, developing countries were perfectly right to demand that industrialised countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions far more than they were willing to do now. “Strong (emission reduction) targets are what science demands, they are not bargaining positions.”

India and many developing countries have demanded that industrialised nations reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels

2009 Floods

The 2009 India floods affected various states of India in July 2009, killing at least 36 people in Orissa and 13 in Kerala. The most affected states include Orissa,^[1][2][3][4] Kerala,^[5] Gujarat^[6] and North-East Indian^[7] states.

Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 36 people in the eastern Indian state of Orissa alone and inundated half a million homes.^[2] On July 13th, seven people were killed and many others missing when a bus fell into a rivulet after being swept away by flood waters in Nayagarh district in Orissa. Nayagarh is 87 km from the Orissa state capital, Bhubaneswar.^[8] The world famous Sun Temple at Konark is also water-logged, causing hardship for tourists.^[9] The most flood affected districts in Orissa are Nayagarh, Cuttack, Ganjam,^[10] Keonjhar, Koraput and Kandhamal. ^[1]

Several parts of Kerala was affected with the torrential rains with losses amounting to crores of rupees. At least 13 people in Kerala state are reported dead due to floods in the state.^[11] The most affected districts of Kerala are Kannur,^[12] Ernakulam^[13] , Kozhikode, ^[14] Kollam^[15] Thrissur,^[16] Malappuram, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Alappuzha districts.^[17] A number of relief camps are opened through out the state.^[13] The Revenue Minister of Kerala state, K.P. Rajendran at Kozhikode has convened a meeting on July 20th, 2009 to review the damage caused by rain. District Collectors and officials of the various departments of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad districts are likely attend the meeting.^[18]

Over three lakh people have been hit after incessant rains in Assam^[19] and other north eastern states of India.

At least 10 people, including four children and two women, were killed and nine others injured on July 27, 2008 when a wall collapsed due to heavy rains in the satellite township Noida of the national capital of Delhi.^[20]

Safety Precautions : FLOODS

	Floods

This guide lists simple things you and your family can do to stay safe and protect your property from floods. Before flooding occurs. All your family members should know the safe route to nearest shelter/ raised pucca house. if your area is flood-prone, consider alternative building materials. Mud walls are more likely to be damaged during floods. You may consider making houses where the walls are made of local bricks upto the highest known flood level with cement pointing. Have an emergency kit on hand which includes a: A portable radio, torch and spare batteries; Stocks of fresh water, dry food (chura, mudi, gur, biscuits), kerosene, candle and matchboxes; Waterproof or polythene bags for clothing and valuables, an umbrella and bamboo stick (to protect from snake), salt and sugar. A first aid kit, manual and strong ropes for tying things When you hear a flood warning or if flooding appears likely Tune to your local radio/TV for warnings and advice. Keep vigil on flood warning given by local authorities Don't give any importance to rumours and don't panic Keep dry food, drinking water and clothes ready Prepare to take bullock carts, other agricultural equipments, and domestic animals to safer places or to higher locations. Plan which indoor items you will raise or empty if water threatens to enter your house Check your emergency kit During floods Drink boiled water. Keep your food covered, don't take heavy meals. Use raw tea, rice-water, tender coconut-water, etc. during diarrhoea; contact your ANM/AWW for ORS and treatment. Do not let children remain on empty stomach. Use bleaching powder and lime to disinfect the surrounding. Help the officials/volunteers distributing relief materials. If you need to evacuate Firstly pack warm clothing, essential medication, valuables, personal papers, etc. in waterproof bags, to be taken with your emergency kit. Take the emergency kit Inform the local volunteers (if available), the address of the place you are evacuating to. Raise furniture, clothing and valuables onto beds, tables and to the top of the roof (electrical items highest). Turn off power. Whether you leave or stay, put sandbags in the toilet bowl and over all laundry / bathroom drain-holes to prevent sewage back-flow. Lock your home and take recommended/known evacuation routes for your area. Do not get into water of unknown depth and current. If you stay or on your return Stay tuned to local radio for updated advice. Do not allow children to play in, or near, flood waters. Avoid entering floodwaters. If you must, wear proper protection for your feet and check depth and current with a stick. Stay away from drains, culverts and water over knee-deep. Do not use electrical appliances, which have been in floodwater until checked for safety. Do not eat food, which has been in floodwaters. Boil tap water (in cities) until supplies have been declared safe. In case of rural areas, store tubewell water in plastic jars or use halogen tablets before drinking. Be careful of snakes, snakebites are common during floods.

Prevention Floods

Can India learn some lessons from China in disaster management? The answer may not be wholly in the affirmative because the track record of that country in this field is not entirely impeccable. But one of the recent Chinese moves in this direction is worth looking at. Last week, it launched two satellites meant exclusively for natural disaster monitoring. India, on the other hand, has at least eight major flood-prone river valleys, spread over 40 million hectares and inhabited by over 260 million people. But they still lack fool-proof arrangements to forecast floods, leave alone controlling them. What is often ignored is that unlike earthquakes, which are neither predictable nor preventable, the floods are easily foreseeable and can be averted in most cases. The floods in Bihar were allowed to ravage the lives of millions of people before they could be rescued. Though the vulnerability of the Kosi embankments as well as the dam on the river in Nepal was known to the authorities, little action was taken to either rebuild them or create a relief reservoir upstream to reduce the water load. Also, the true cause of the disaster, the accumulating silt that has raised the riverbed and reduced its water holding capacity, has remained unaddressed. This apart, the Brahmaputra river, which is also currently in spate, is another instance exposing the chinks in our disaster management system. The regular frequency of the devastation caused by flooding in the valley of this mighty river, with no signs of any decline in the annual losses of life and property, is clear evidence of poor management of this river system.

This is the state of affairs in spite of having in place an apparently formidable natural disaster management infrastructure. India is indeed one of the few countries with national disaster management legislation. It has also created a national disaster management authority (NDMA) headed by no less a person than the prime minister. Besides, there is a national crisis management committee headed by the cabinet secretary. In addition, there are eight battalions of the national disaster relief force comprising roughly 10,000 men trained in rescue and relief operations. But when it comes to activation of this giant machinery for timely and rapid action on the ground, it is invariably found wanting. This is borne out by the Kosi calamity, where it took several days to press an adequate number of boats and other services to rescue the affected people and bring them to the relief camps. Luckily, mobilising relief material is seldom a problem in India. But the delivery system is weak, marked by inefficiencies and, more appallingly, leakages. Also lacking is a well-conceived long-term strategy for mitigating and preventing floods. The planning for this purpose has to necessarily include measures to reduce the silting of riverbeds, as also to minimise habitation in the extended river beds and highly flood-prone tracts. Most importantly, the flood forewarning system needs to be revamped and suitably strengthened so that it can issue timely alerts not only for the authorities but also for the people who may be affected. It is in this key area that space technology can be of immense help.