Stories from the people in the report
Behind the headlines of floods, droughts and sea level rises, lie the real stories of people being forced further into poverty. Hear how life has changed for them and what they are doing to try and cope with the effects climate change is having on their lives.
Joshua, Head of camp for displaced people
Displaced by election violence, Kenya, April 2008
"Even if we went back the people there wouldn’t accept us. When the trouble started we lost everything we had. This was the place where we had our livelihoods, where we had our jobs, our homes, where we brought up our families. We lived with people – our neighbours – for years, people we thought were our friends. Now they’d kill us. We cannot return."
The disputed elections in Kenya exposed underlying political tensions and led to an outpouring of violence. More than 1,000 people died, and at least 500,000 people were displaced. Tens of thousands sought asylum in neighbouring countries. Such upheavals have a huge impact on the lives of those affected, long after the original crisis has slipped from the headlines. For Joshua, displaced with his family from Kenya’s Nandi Hills region, it was clear he would not go home in the near future.
Shahia, chair of Shukher Shondhane (In search of peace) women’s group
Bangladesh, 2007
"When there is danger of flood members of the committee listen to the radio for information. Warnings and messages are given out. When we hear the weather forecast and news we can warn the community to prepare."
The women’s group was formed as part of the River Basin Programme (RBP). Radios are an important part of the disaster preparedness programme. Remote villages can be kept informed about the flood and weather situation. Updates give vital warnings - people have time to pack up, move livestock to higher safer places and go to flood shelters. When 2007 floods struck, villages were better prepared to deal with the emergency. Many belongings and livestock were saved and nobody died.
Balkru Behera, livelihood destroyed by floods
Orissa, India, 2007
"Suddenly we heard a noise…the embankment was breached and the water flooded towards our houses. We just managed to save our lives, but not the household contents or our domestic animals…the water washed them all away. For two days we lived in complete fear…all the time the break in the embankment was slowly increasing as the river took it away. Some of us still had some polythene sheets from the [1999] super cyclone; around four families sat under one sheet, just holding on to it with our hands whilst it was raining. There was no food for days. After four days a local institution came with the local minister and gave out food relief."
The severe rains that devastated much of Orissa and West Bengal in June 2007 became a threat to Balkru’s life and home because his community was particularly vulnerable to flooding. Poverty makes millions like Balkru more vulnerable to being killed or made destitute by disasters. Poor people are more likely to live in densely populated areas, in poorly constructed and poorly sited housing; more likely too to suffer the effects of falling land productivity, lack of savings, insecure land tenure, and lack of access to health care. Poor people are also more likely to live in parts of the world affected by conflict.
Sri Haryani, a local resident and cash recipient
Indonesia, 2007
In the aftermath of floods in Indonesia in 2007, Oxfam implemented a cash-for-work programme. It was a time of high political tension in the run-up to an election, so it was particularly important that cash was clearly distributed impartially and accountably. People were told that the money was being given only on the basis of need. Sri Haryani, a local resident and cash recipient, explained:
"We’ve all read the notice [a signed agreement between the partner and Oxfam]; it’s pinned up where we can all read it…It was in the open in front of everyone."
Receiving aid on the basis of need – and in a way that is not dictated by political, military, or any other interests – is vital for two main reasons. First, and most obviously, it allows aid to be channelled to those who need it most. Second, it reduces the likelihood of aid creating resentment and accusations of bias, and from that the potential for threats both to the humanitarian operation itself, and sometimes to the lives of those involved.
Hawa (80) Refugee
Darfur, 2004
Hawa arrived in Chad on a donkey after travelling for 8 nights. Unwilling to talk about the journey, she said "Things are better now. We have water and …the Oxfam latrine has made our lives easier. Before we [women] had to walk very far to hide from the men…thank you for the water. Thank you for the latrines. We thank you for everything you have given us. We thank you for anything you can help us with."
Identifying and responding to specific needs of vulnerabilities and needs such as gender and age are fundamental responsibilities for humanitarian agencies. For some groups – elderly people, women and girls, chronically ill people – their identity may mean that they are even more vulnerable to the effects of disaster, because their ability to cope may be limited by discrimination, their traditional roles, or their physical health.
Akwang’a Maraka took part in Oxfam's cash-for-work programme
Turkana, Kenya, 2007
"Our problem is the inconsistency of food relief. Now food relief is coming to an end and you can see that we are still struggling…so even what we have started, like these small businesses, once food relief stops, we’ll end up using what we’ve acquired or bought [to feed ourselves]’. For Akwang’a, food is scarce every year, threatening both her own life and those of her family. This happens regardless of whether the world declares an emergency."
Those who manage and deliver humanitarian aid often get caught up in arguments about what constitutes an emergency, when an emergency begins or ends, or whether needs are chronic and require more long-term development Solutions. People like Akwang’a require timely emergency assistance when their lives are threatened by lack of food. But they also need the world to recognise that such food scarcity is for them a persistent and debilitating threat.
