President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down America’s international aid agency will have a potentially devastating impact on the first natural disaster to occur since the shutdown.
The effect of the earthquake in Myanmar is expected to be severe. Trump’s choice to close the US Agency for International Development had already been reported to have severely impacted US aid operations in Myanmar, and its worldwide consequences are difficult to assess. American aid had previously provided 40% of developmental aid worldwide.
Trump has promised aid for Myanmar following the earthquake, but in reality, his administration has removed most of the skilled individuals who could organize such assistance and closed the necessary means to provide it.
Rescuers work at the construction site where a high-rise collapsed in Bangkok. Pic: AP
The last of its staff were ironically dismissed just as the president was making ambitious promises to provide assistance.
Latest updates on the earthquake
The US State Department maintains a team of experts in the country. However, former USAID officials claim the system is now in disarray without the means to conduct search and rescue operations or transfer aid.
As they assess the aftermath of this significant earthquake, the people of Myanmar may hope for a silver lining, that the disaster could hasten the demise of their discredited dictator.
The catastrophe unfolds at a ruinous time for General Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a coup four years ago.
Myanmar’s General Min Aung Hlaing. Pic: Reuters
The Myanmar junta is losing its civil war against the opposition forces and has retreated to the country’s major cities. The worst damage has occurred in its urban strongholds.
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The disaster is so severe that Hlaing has broken his government’s imposed isolation to seek assistance from the outside world. However, Myanmar’s inaccessibility will remain a significant barrier to aid efforts.
Myanmar is a highly superstitious nation. The generals who have ruled Myanmar since the end of colonial rule have consulted astrologers and used talismanic objects and animals, including white elephants, to maintain their power.
Earthquakes in Myanmar are believed to foretell significant change and occasionally the fall of leaders. This belief could potentially accelerate the overthrow of the hated junta.
The junta is still powerful, supported by ally China with advanced military equipment. It has used fighter jets to devastate opponents and civilians as the civil war intensified.
However, the opposition is also gaining strength, employing drones and other tactics to challenge a regime that lost all legitimacy. They will be encouraged by the belief that this disaster brings victory closer.
