Myanmar earthquake: 'One of many emergencies children have had to endure over the last few years'

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00:00Well, we're able to be joined now by our guest today, who is Trevor Clark, who is the regional

00:07emergency advisor for UNICEF. He is joining us from Bangkok. Thank you so much for giving

00:14us your time, Mr. Clark. I want to start first of all by asking you, I don't know if you've

00:20been able to get access to the quake sites in Myanmar, or certainly perhaps in your case

00:26in Thailand. Can you give us some idea of what you're seeing?

00:31So we, yeah, I mean, just to say that this is a devastating earthquake, and an earthquake

00:37that's just one of the many emergencies that children have had to endure in Myanmar over

00:43the last few years. The violent conflict that's raging in the country, Cyclone Mokha, which

00:48is in recent memory, as well as just this devastating earthquake is just one more brutal

00:54assault on children that children shouldn't have to endure. So we have teams that are

00:59on the ground right now. We've had teams on the ground right from the start. Fortunately,

01:04or however you want to look at it, we had an office in Mandalay. So we had a team ready

01:09to go rolling with our stakeholders and other partners as well. And we had another team

01:14arrive late last night as well. And I mean, you see the pictures, the reporting that you've

01:19just done is pretty incredible. I mean, it's devastating. What we're most concerned about,

01:24of course, is the destruction of water systems, of the hospitals, of schools, right? So our

01:30immediate attention is around those areas.

01:33So is that what you would appeal for from outside donors, water to avoid a cholera epidemic?

01:40What about shelter, housing? How can people outside help?

01:44Yeah, I think that's a great question. Thanks for raising that. I think right now we as

01:50a community, we have to really stand up for children here. Obviously, we're also sending

01:55in tents, tarpaulins, mats, those kind of shelter things. We have other UN partners,

02:01other partners that are also looking to bring that stuff in as well and set those up.

02:07And it's going to be a challenging time, definitely. We have staff, some of our staff

02:12members that are on site there, as I mentioned, who lost their homes and they've been sleeping

02:16outside as well. So we are immediately mobilizing makeshift tents and places that people can get

02:22some shelter as well. But keep in mind, there is a fear of the ongoing aftershocks, which

02:27have been very consistent over the last several days as well. So there is a fear. And that's

02:32also one of the biggest fear of children. The stories that we're hearing that children

02:36want to feel safe and they don't. They feel those aftershocks and they're very scared.

02:42And so we have a lot of people that are sleeping outside these days as well.

02:46How much of a problem is it the fact that the Myanmar government is not cooperating,

02:54not being helpful when humanitarian agencies from outside try to get in to help?

03:00How are you getting around that? You say luckily UNICEF already had headquarters or a seat in

03:07Myanmar. How much of a problem is this?

03:11So we do have a cause for a bit of optimism with the fact that very uniquely, the authorities did

03:18call for international assistance. Nearly at the same time, other stakeholders to the conflict,

03:24the PDF, they've declared a ceasefire as well. And so there is, I think, a level of understanding

03:30amongst all stakeholders that this earthquake is such a significant event that we all have to sort

03:36of maybe put children first and really deliver what's needed for them.

03:42I can say we do have a couple of airplanes that are now stocked with supplies that we've received

03:48landing permits from Myanmar. So those planes will be landing in the next couple of days

03:54with also much needed life-saving supplies as well.

03:58And medication, are you in need of medication from outside?

04:02Yeah. So we'll be, as we become more clear on the, you know, I mean, obviously pictures tell

04:08a thousand stories, right? We are still assessing just how much we need, but definitely medicines,

04:17emergency health supplies are going to be critical as things do evolve, that's for sure. I mean,

04:24we did see the pictures that you put up of the makeshift health centers. And so that'll be a

04:30priority for us to get some emergency health kits to those locations as well.

04:34Well, I want to thank you very much. I know it's a very busy time for you. Trevor Clark,

04:38the Regional Emergency Director Advisor for UNICEF, speaking to us from Bangkok.

04:45Good luck with your efforts there. Thank you so much for joining us here on France 24.

04:50Thanks for having me.

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