Challenges Faced by Humanitarian agency in Emergency Response in Urban areas: Lessons from Haiti and Chile
government sent troops to occupy Concepción and recovery the looting items contrasts with the repeated delays in sending material aid. In the face of widespread discontent, the massive use of troops in conjunction with a hysterical media campaign against “looters” was aimed at suppressing social unrest and polarizing public opinion against the very victims of the earthquake.
6.2.2 The social fault lines The social fault line exposed by the earthquake have been deepened by decades of “free market” policies, first introduced by the Pinochet dictatorship and continued by subsequent regimes, which have exacerbated the chasm separating Chile’s elite from the majority of the population. Notwithstanding the talk in the US media of rigorous building codes, regulations designed to protect against earthquakes were enforced selectively and on a class basis, i.e., for the homes and businesses of the wealthy, not for the dwellings and neighborhoods of the working class and the poor. The shoddily built homes of the poor collapsed or were washed out to sea, while those of the rich withstood the impact of the quake.
6.2.3 Good governance and public accountability Poll taken by the Santiago daily el Mercurio revealed growing anger among the population. Sixty percent of Chileans were critical of the government’s response. Sixty-six percent blame construction companies for shoddy building practices. Despite an intensive media campaign to demonize so-called “looters,” 26 percent of the respondents thought they were justified, given the circumstances. Throughout the week the capitalist media, inside and outside Chile, gave exaggerated accounts of looting and vandalism, condemning in most cases the acts of desperate and hungry working class families. Last of all anger is mounting in Chile over the inadequacy and indifference that have characterized the government’s response to the earthquake.
The way out
7. The emergency response in urban areas is critical in nature comparison to rural areas. The migration caused over population in the cities. As an example in Dhaka city every year 5 lakhs new arrival added with the urban population and going back rate is very less than the arrival rate. This migration process made the city growing in an unplanned way. As a result the whole city almost becomes a vulnerable place for all. In many ways the cities are self-feeding monsters, perpetuating their own growth in some selected areas by devouring the country’s resources. Dhaka perhaps controls about 70% of the country’s money supply. Of the country’s capital investment, more than 60 percent is invested in Dhaka and Chittagong. Most of the other cities and the vast rural landscape remain brazenly neglected. The present urban conditions can easily breed frustration, which may spawn social violence and during disaster it may have horrific impact on overall disaster management system. It is crystal clear to all that unplanned migration causes the uncontrolled urbanization. And the uncontrolled urbanization process causes for the other related matters like socio-economy problem, creation of unhygienic slum and shanty town and it damage entire urban system. And for the solution we have to stop the unexpected migration towards urban areas or cities. The government must change its development policies and to strengthen the local government system to stop the migration.
7.1 Gaps in Planning, policy and legal framework The challenges which are faced by the humanitarian agencies in Haiti and Chile during emergency response. The reason behind that is the output of an uncontrolled urbanization and lack of good governance. In Dhaka we may face the same challenges unless we are changing the following gaps of the government policies, planning and strong the legal framework for that.
7.1.1 Development policies Shockingly, the past governments in the last two decades hardly took any measures to create growth centers beyond the city limits. In many ways the cities are self-feeding monsters, perpetuating their own growth in some selected areas by devouring the country’s resources. Dhaka perhaps controls about 70% of the country’s money supply. Of the country’s capital investment, more than 60 percent is invested in Dhaka and Chittagong. Most of the other cities and the vast rural landscape remain brazenly neglected. This discrimination, even after construction of the Jamuna Bridge, connecting Dhaka and Chittagong with North Bengal, continues to create a great imbalance in income generation of the districts. This sort of pathetic neglect has given rise to tensions and mounting discontent that tend to be devil the good works done in some selected areas. All told, this unrelenting exodus to cities can hardly be stopped, even