In Shilai Union villages, the local Union Parishad (local government authority) served as the relief distribution agency for all government relief. The Chairman of the Union Parishad has the responsibility to distribute relief among villagers. The Chairman and the members of the Union Parishad draw up the list of beneficiaries. This was the case for the big 2008 flood and, according to one interviewee, government relief included two kilograms chira/muri (parched rice) and half a kilogram of gur (molasses) per adult with half of this amount being allocated to each child. However, a number of women said that most of the relief aid went to relatives of Union Parishad members while most of the women I spoke to said that they got nothing. A relative of a Union Parishad member was present in an early focus group discussion and this made the women reluctant to talk about the issue. However, when I reconvened the group without the UP relative present one woman said:
I could not provide any food for my children; they were crying for food. I went to the local UP member for relief, but he refused to support me and said my name was not on his list. But in my area, relatives of the UP member received chira, muri and gur and sold it to the local market. They also have the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) card system; with this card they received monthly support [rice] from the government. They are not poor like me, but they are the relatives of members. The government never looks at this type of corruption.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) provided ‘family kits’ to flood-affected people in the district during past floods. However, the research participants said that the relief was not adequate to provide for the large number of flood victims. The women said that one or two organizations may not have enough resources to look after everyone and one woman said: They make a beneficiary list, and they provide relief, according to that. Red Crescent mentioned that they were providing support to the most vulnerable people, but during the flood everyone is vulnerable.
Some of the women said that the relief they received was helpful but only for a short period. Major floods disrupt normal life for up to three months and relief aid has never been enough for such disasters in this area. Approximately 50 per cent of the survey respondents said that they did not receive relief aid during major floods and around 20 per cent said they were forced
Page | 84 to turn to better-off neighbours to survive the crisis
Most women interviewed praised Red Crescent for providing some relief aid, but they also complained that the local secretary of the Red Crescent Executive Committee was not fair in allocating it. A number of women said that most of the relief aid went to relatives of the committee secretary or to those who support the same political party that the secretary supports. When I pressed this matter in discussion, most of the women agreed that relief aid only goes to people who support the political party in government. Furthermore, some women who received relief during a flood period said that it did not make a big difference. As one woman put it:
Relief doesn’t matter too much to us. How many days can we survive with one kilo of chira or muri? We need jobs that can support us throughout the flood period.
Another woman said:
I received one kilogram of chira, as relief and that was finished in two days and after that I used to eat shapla [water lily], herbs, fen (rice gruel) throughout the rest of the flood. Sometimes one rich neighbour gave me some rice; I fed my children with it, and that was all that I received as a relief.
While relief aid was welcomed it was generally considered to be inadequate with the survey showing that only 56 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the relief they received (see Table 4.5). A majority of the survey respondents did not feel that the relief aid met gender- specific needs (see Figure 4.6)
Table 4.5: Survey result: Service satisfaction of relief organizations
Satisfied level with the service of the relief providing organization
Very dissatisfied
Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very satisfied Total Count 2 45 4 68 1 120 % within Location 1.7% 37.5% 3.3% 56.7% 8% 100%
Page | 85 This study found that most of the aid for flood victims in this research area came from within the community itself. Those who were economically better-off generally helped their poorer neighbours, and while the support they provided was not adequate to ensure their wellbeing, it was enough to keep them alive. I was told that men often helped other families that were headed by females and some wealthier families provided work for some of the poor families. Those who had one or more family members working overseas were able to get regular financial support from their remittances.
In summary, relief aid does little to end the misery of flood victims. It can, however, ease their suffering if it is provided in adequate amounts and at the right time, and if it reaches the people who need it most. In this research area, however, the research revealed that the amount of relief aid has been inadequate; it has not been distributed according to need; and it has not catered for gender-specific needs. It has failed to reach the most vulnerable flood victims.