In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

The devastation from two earthquakes near the Indonesian city and West Sumatran capital of Padang continues to mount and the death toll has climbed well past 1,000. The neighboring town of Pariaman was destroyed. On Sunday, Typhoon Ketsana struck the main island of Luzon in the Philippines and caused devastating flooding in Manila, killing hundreds. The Philippines now awaits the arrival of Supertyphoon Parma, expected to hit land October 3. Frustration is mounting among victims competing for food and emergency supplies as the government struggles to help the more than half a million people dislocated by the worst flooding in 40 years. Ketsana wreaked havoc as it swept across Southeast Asia, killing many in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Meanwhile, a deadly tsunami, triggered by an underground earthquake, hit the Samoan islands on Tuesday.

In response, Give2Asia, The Asia Foundation’s affiliate, is working on the ground with its network of local partners across Southeast Asia to identify where donors can best provide relief and recovery assistance through local charitable organizations. They are tracking several disasters in the region. To donate visit Give2Asia’s website.

The international media tracked Tropical Storm Ketsana as it moved westward through the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and then into Laos where it was finally degraded to a tropical depression. The impact of Tropical Storm Ondoy (as it is known in the Philippines) on Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces has been severe. Over 600,000 people have been affected, with almost 400,000 at the evacuation centers, and some 246 deaths (including some rescuers who were lauded as heroes). In the welter of continuing stories and the addition of stories from mainland Southeast Asia as Ketsana hits Vietnam and Cambodia, what can we take away from this disaster?

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A new book Engagement with North Korea: A Viable Alternative released in September 2009, by SUNY Press, features a chapter written by The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Seoul, Edward Reed. Dr. Reed’s chapter, “From Charity to Partnership: South Korean NGO Engagement with North Korea,” discusses the contribution of South Korean NGOs in reducing South-North tensions. Reed also examines the scope of South Korean non-governmental humanitarian assistance to the North and concludes that the major NGOs have adjusted their strategies over time to ensure greater impact on the people and improved transparency.

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TIME Magazine‘s recent story, “Indonesia’s Islamic Schools: More and More, Female Friendly,” features Asia Foundation Jakarta-based expert Lies Marcoes, who is credited with developing a course for teaching gender equality in Islam. The piece focuses on feminism in Indonesia and the increasing leadership role that women play in Islamic schools there. Read the full story.

On Monday, September 28, Cambodia’s Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) launched ground-breaking policy concerning protection of trafficking victims. The landmark Policy and Minimum Standard for the Protection of the Rights of Victims of Human Trafficking was unveiled at an event presided over by H.E. Ith Sam Heng, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation. More than 200 people attended, including Secretaries of State from the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice, officials from embassies, the media, and a mixture of government, international NGO, and local NGO representatives.

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As the People’s Republic of China marks 60 years, Asia Foundation Vice Chair Harry Harding and Country Representative to China Jonathan Stromseth will address the World Affairs Council of Northern California, along with Orville Schell and Minxin Pei, on China’s remarkable transformation and prospects for democratic reform. The panel, co-sponsored by the Asia Society, will speak Monday evening, Oct. 5, 2009, in downtown San Francisco. To see full details please click here.

The Asia Foundation, the India Community Center, the Center for South Asia at Stanford University, and the World Affairs Council of Northern California will host Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. an evening of conversation at Stanford University on former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Asia Foundation Trustee Teresita Schaffer’s new book India and the U.S. in the 21st Century: Reinventing Partnership. Also participating is Professor Pradeep Chhibber, Director of the Institute of International Studies, the University of California, Berkeley. To see full details please click here. Seating is limited. Please register by Oct. 2, 2009, to Vishnu@indiacc.org.

As global leaders convene in Pittsburgh to address the global economic crisis for the third time in less than a year, there is cause for both optimism and a heavy sense of responsibility to sustain early signs of a global recovery. Follow-up measures from Pittsburgh within the G20 will fall primarily to South Korea as the chair and host of G20 meetings during 2010 shifts from London to Seoul. This development will mark a significant symbolic turning point in global governance, as South Korea will be the first non-G8 country to hold those responsibilities since the G20 has emerged as a venue for addressing global financial issues at the leadership level. It also places the burden of proof on South Korea to show that an expanded forum beyond the G8 can provide effective global leadership in response to the crisis.

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For a country where job-creation has always been more important than wealth creation, the idea of a jobless recovery just does not exist. To meet the needs of its vast population, 65 percent of whom are below age 35, the government is under constant pressure to create (literally) new jobs and succeeds by bringing in 12 to 15 million jobs each year. Yet, India is running to standstill. Hence the crucial importance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) that assures 100 days employment to every able-bodied person in the countryside. With the economic forecast looking up, the scheme has just been restructured to cover a larger segment of the population.

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World leaders will gather this week for the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh – a city that has re-invented itself, leaving behind its dependence on steel and heavy industry and moving forward into services, information technology, and education.

Last week, the United Nations (UN) called on all nations to honor their commitments to aid in the fight against global poverty, calling attention to a 20-year low in food aid, despite the number of hungry people rising this year to its highest level ever – surpassing 1 billion.

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