When the help dries up

摘要

If a few small gold earrings escaped the cyclone the villagers pawn them, otherwise they pawn their clothes. They complain that moneylenders advance only a fraction of the item's value. And, with an interest rate of 30% a month, they can rarely afford to redeem their collateral. Life is still desperate for the survivors of cyclone Nargis, which crashed ashore a year ago killing at least 140,000 in Myan-mar and devastating the lives of 2.4m others. In the village of Kyaunda, near the mouth of the Irrawaddy delta, almost every house was lost. The process of replacing them with inferior bamboo shacks is not yet complete. Paddy fields and aquifers are still contaminated with salt water.