Q&A: Graham Craft on the Central American Flooding

© Mercy Corps

Veteran Mercy Corps relief worker Graham Craft is deeply involved in the response to Tropical Storm Stan. The storm unleashed flooding and mudslides throughout Central America. In Guatemala, where Mercy Corps’ long-term efforts focus on repairing social and economic damage and resolving conflicts still simmering after the nation’s 36-year civil war, the storm’s after-affects are particularly grave. With 3.5 million affected and large numbers of missing, the current official death toll of 652 is certain to rise.

Drawing on more than two decades of history in Central America, Mercy Corps plays a lead role in orchestrating the relief efforts of Guatemala’s government and other international aid agencies. It is also working to provide direct medical, sanitation and water assistance to hard-hit rural areas.

Craft took some time out from those efforts to answer a few questions about Guatemala, Tropical Storm Stan and Mercy Corps’ efforts in the country.

Q: Can you put the damage caused by Tropical Storm Stan in a little historical perspective, given the longer-term issues faced by the affected region?

Graham Craft: Guatemala is the largest country in Central America with a population of over 12 million people. The Peace Accords in 1996 brought an end to over 30 years of brutal civil war. The accords led to some real, significant progress: the government is democratic, infant mortality dropped, primary school enrollment increased dramatically and the economy began a slow expansion. The current government took office in 2004, and has cut government waste and reduced the size of the military by almost half.

All those successes, however, are set against the backdrop of Hurricane Mitch in ’98, a severe slump in world coffee prices that started in 2000 and a series of droughts thereafter. Over 50 percent of Guatemalans live in poverty and a third in extreme poverty. The country ranks among the worst in the region for infant and maternal mortality and chronic malnutrition among children. In parts of the country, the maternal and child health statistics resemble those of Haiti. The majority of the poor work in agriculture, many as seasonal labor or as subsistence farmers. The coffee crisis alone cost Guatemala almost 200,000 jobs between 2000 and 2003. Since then, the situation in rural areas has only gotten worse.

Q: Naturally, this storm disaster is being compared to Hurricane Mitch. What are your thoughts so far?

In short, the storm may have effectively unraveled many of the development gains made over the last 15 years for almost one third of the country. The costs of reconstruction will affect the Government and aid agencies’ abilities to continue development programs nationwide. Stan struck Guatemala in some of its most heavily populated and most productive agricultural areas. The impact on food security for the country’s poor and on the economy in general is still being assessed but will certainly be severe. Mitch, by contrast, hit less inhabited areas, with less economic impact and loss of life. The effects of Mitch were profound but mostly local. The impact of Stan is already being! felt across the country in terms of access to fresh vegetables and the prices of staple foods.

The loss of food security and incomes for the rural poor will be compounded by the extensive damage to the country’s road system, communications networks, housing, drinking water systems and social infrastructure such as schools and health clinics.

Q: It sounds like Mercy Corps' Guatemalan operation is a little bit different than its presence in many countries. Can you explain what sets it apart?

We are based in Alta Verapaz, a rural department over 200 kilometers away from the capital, with only a small office and one permanent staff member in Guatemala City. Of 50 employees, we have only one permanent expat staff member (that’s me) and one on a six-month assignment. The Country Director and the remaining staff are all local.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your history in other countries and how the current situation compares to others you've seen and dealt with.

It’s the first natural disaster I’ve experienced with Mercy Corps. I worked in the field with MC in Kosovo during and after the war there. There is a similarity there, because in Kosovo we also benefited from an established track record and a good reputation with local officials, local NGOs and the donors.

Q: Is there a specific story you’ve heard that you think illustrates what people in the affected region are going through?

In the national paper, Prensa Libre, there was a story today about a village called Chichcoy in the municipality of Tecpán, in Chimaltenango. They have been almost totally cut off from the outside world for the last six days. Floods and mudslides destroyed the bridges and washed away the roads leading to the village. To reach the nearest aid point, the 500 inhabitants have to six kilometers of roadway covered in mud up to their knees and then cross a swollen river balancing on fallen lo! gs. According to local sources, food supplies are completely exhausted. They are hoping for supplies to be brought in by air and/or that the road will be cleared. Aid flights have resumed since the weather cleared on Monday, but there are perhaps hundreds of communities in the same situation so it is not clear when aid will reach them.

Please donate now. Mercy Corps’ efforts to aid Central Americans affected by Tropical Storm Stan urgently needs funds.