Myanmar earthquake: foreign aid is not enough

At 1:10pm local time on 28 March, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, only a short distance from the second-largest city of Mandalay. It was felt in neighbouring Thailand and China, and 12 minutes later a second quake of 6.4 magnitude struck further to the south. Six regions were flung into a state of emergency, with the death toll tragically passing 3,500 as of 7 April.  

Over 70% of structures in Sagaing, the town closest to the epicentre, have sustained ‘significant damage’, hospitals are struggling to accommodate the injured, and an ongoing heatwave is worsening conditions for victims and rescuers alike, according to the Red Cross.  

On 1 April, relief groups warned that “the window for lifesaving response is closing,” shortly before a 20-day ceasefire was announced by the ruling military junta and rebel groups – and yet as of 5 April, ongoing fighting has been reported. The conflict is hampering much-needed rescue efforts as aftershocks continue to sweep the country. Foreign aid efforts are hampered by the conflict, as humanitarian workers find their access to certain areas restricted. Despite this, pledges and support continue to pour in from across the world. 

As of December 2023, external debt in Myanmar reached 12.2 billion USD, with an official debt-to-GDP ratio of 61%

The UK government announced a £10 million support package on 29 March, aiming to provide emergency food, water, medicine and shelter, and to support local relief partners in Myanmar. Since the 2021 coup, the UK has provided over £150 million in humanitarian aid to the country – yet Britain’s history with the country isn’t all so supportive.  

At the end of the third Anglo-Burmese war in 1885, Britain annexed the entirety of Myanmar, renaming it Burma. The colonial period had devastating effects on the local economy. Myanmar was converted from a redistributive, subsistence farming-based economy to the ‘export-oriented enterprise of Western colonialism.’ The traditional economic system fell apart as it was remodelled to bring wealth to the British Empire, not to the people of Myanmar.  

The Burmese economy became largely based on rice exports as international demand rose quickly, until it crashed during the Great Depression. Land value soared and with it, unemployment. Meanwhile, the natural wealth of the country – ruby mines, timber production, and petroleum extraction – was monopolised by British companies, and any profits left the country to fund Britain. After rebellions, uprisings, and Japanese occupation during World War II, the country finally won its independence in 1948. However, after the damage suffered under exploitative colonial rule and in wartime, the road to recovery would be long.  

After the military coup of 1962, the economy stagnated until constitutional reform opened the country back up to foreign aid. In 1974, aid loans were received from the Asian Development Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Japan. As of December 2023, external debt in Myanmar had reached 12.2 billion USD, with an official debt-to-GDP ratio of 61%.  

The 2021 military coup, yet another product of the instability left in Britain’s wake, plunged the country into its current civil war. Tragic death, destruction and displacement have stagnated the economy, and human rights abuses, among them collective punishment and torture, have led to international sanctions, further limiting the junta’s capacity to respond appropriately to the current crisis.  

All of this leads to the question – how effective can our foreign aid packages really be amid the persisting aftershocks of European colonialism – the same colonialism that has left countries such as Myanmar in their current state, unable to respond to catastrophe independently? When money has been siphoned out of developing countries for centuries and continues to flow out through the post-colonial endeavours of globalisation, it is no wonder that Myanmar is disproportionately affected and thrown into chaos by natural disasters.  

Until countries like Myanmar are freed from their obligations to the West, they will continue to suffer

A policy of debt relief to developing countries would far better equip them to rebuild in the wake of disaster, rather than a reliance on the generosity of other states. This is especially crucial as that same generosity comes ever more under threat, as Western nations turn inward and Donald Trump seeks to shut down USAID, whose effectiveness in Myanmar has already been curtailed.  

Unfortunately, current pushes for debt relief are inadequate. Until countries like Myanmar are freed from their obligations to the West, they will continue to suffer. They will require more aid, and subsequently debt, to rebuild from destruction and disasters that could have been mitigated if they had the income to build proper infrastructure and stability, instead of sending it to wealthy countries to pay an ever-increasing interest rate.