ASIA / PACIFIC
April 21, 2014
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3
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DISCOVERY MUSEUM
Waiting for water:
Myanmar villages left behind
By Esther Htusan
The Associated Press
ALA, Myanmar — Every after-
noon, the long lines start to form,
hundreds of men, women, and
children waiting to dip their plastic
buckets into the lotus-filled reservoir just
outside Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon.
It’s their only source of clean drinking
water, they say, and during the dry season,
April and May, there is only so much to go
around.
“It wasn’t always this way,” says
72-year-old Tin Shwe, one of the village
elders, as he looks at the queue, some boys
as young as eight years old waiting their
turn, yokes at their side. “It used to be only
paddy fields. Only a few houses. There was
enough water for all of us.”
Myanmar only recently emerged from a
half-century of military rule. Nascent
democratic reforms implemented by the
new civilian government since 2011 have
resulted in a development boom, with the
World Bank and others pouring billions of
dollars into the country of 60 million as it
starts to open up to the world. But so far, it
is the big cities that are seeing the benefits.
Even places like Dala township — just a
20-minute boat ride from Yangon — have
so far been left out. Authorities tell resi-
dents that maybe next year the govern-
ment will start installing pipes so water
can be delivered straight to their homes.
The water shortages began with a
population boom in the 1980s, with the
number of inhabitants jumping from a few
D
dozen to more than a thousand, in part
because they wanted to be close to the big
city.
With no restrictions on how much water
each family could take, the natural,
fresh-water pond started running low.
Eventually, just a decade ago, it dried up
entirely. With no offers of help from the
government, men like Tin Shwe decided to
step in, devising a rationing system as
water started seeping back so that
residents could rely on it year-round.
Villagers have only one hour — between
4:00pm and 5:00pm — to get their water
during the dry season to limit its use. They
are charged a tiny sum — 10 kyat for each
bucket, or 10 U.S. cents. With so many
takers it’s enough money for small
upkeeps, like fixing the fence that
surrounds the reservoir or stringing up
electricity for lights.
People walk for up to three miles with
their empty buckets. They are allowed to
fill up two each. If they need more, they can
get back in line. When they are ready, they
begin the long, hard trek home.
“I usually get three buckets,” said 19-
year-old Aye Thu Zar as she neared the
front of the line. “There are seven in my
family, so that’s enough for drinking and
cooking. But the walk home hurts my
shoulders. My legs, too. I can barely sleep
at night the pain is so bad.”
She and others hope the new Myanmar
will eventually reach Dala.
But for now, says Ko Ko, one of the
villagers waiting his turn, “We are like
water shortage refugees.”
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A light-hearted look at
Ch
Schulz’s exploration
exp
Charles
of the natura
natural world
through Peanu
Peanuts comic strips
and interactive
intera
stations.
© 2013 Peanuts Worldwide LLC
WAITING FOR WATER. Eight-year old Ko Thu Ra carries drinking water in plastic containers from a natu-
ral water pond in Dala, in the suburbs of Yangon, Myanmar. “I’m only eight years old and it’s so tiring for me to
carry water,” said Thu Ra. During Myanmar’s annual dry season in April and May, residents walk up to three
miles carrying buckets full of water from a natural pond, the only source of drinking water in the improvised
neighborhood. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
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