Ashley Clements
Ashley Clements is World Vision's Humanitarian Policy Adviser and a member of their global emergency response team. He first began working on Myanmar in 2004, and since then has been deployed to emergency responses in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. He is a co-author of the book, World Poverty for Dummies.
Isolation or engagement; What's next for the people of Myanmar?
Visiting the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar is like stepping back in time. Millions of people live in simple bamboo huts above an endless maze of canals which carve up fertile plains. The Delta's residents continue to earn a living from the staples of fishing and rice production, as they have done for hundreds if not thousands of years. This flat and water-sodden region is inaccessible at the best of times - a two day trip featuring boats, cars, and motorbikes is required to reach some parts. These days, some of us are lucky enough to cut out some of the journey by hopping on a UN helicopter, but it still remains a remote home for much of the Delta's 6 million residents. ...
