Guys, there are a lot of comparisons being drawn between Aceh & Pakistan, noting similarities etc. this are very misleading. Aceh was unique in terms of disaster response, and not just in terms of finance.
The single greatest constraint normally faced (in a country with a government that is…) is officialdom and the corresponding ego massaging, bribing, cajoling etc. Someone who has never dealt with this will perhaps find it hard to understand why people can impede assistance to their fellow countrymen for their own petty reasons but this is a fact of life. Any of you guys working in certain areas of the “Dark Continent” should have a fair idea what I mean.
In Aceh there was no officialdom – they got washed away. It was a free for all.
In terms of air ops it took several weeks for the Indonesian military to get a handle on the situation, even then it was pretty limited. They brought in approved LZ’s and limited pre-approved flights for all helos, the latter was ignored once it became obvious that they weren’t monitoring – in fact for the first few weeks no one was – there were estimates of over 400 movements a day from BA. (this figure was later exceeded – officially this time) The ramp at Banda was complete chaos – look for a clear spot on the ground/patch in the sky & go for it…
Then you’ve got the cowboys, how about one crew doing an offshore trip (no floats etc) to an island, complete with ferry tanks which were refuelled by hand pump from 205 litre drums mid flight by inexperienced tree huggers… who “had” to get there…
The only efficient way to mount an air ops response is to centralise tasking of all assets and prioritise what machine goes where, with what and when. This tasking should be agreed by the aid actors involved. This is what the UN in various guises (UNOCHA/UNJLC) attempts to do. With the plethora of aid agencies and their differing priorities, donor pressure to make an impact etc this becomes almost impossible, and this doesn’t take into account the VIP/press trips that soak up your capacity. Don’t for a minute underestimate the inter-organisation rivalry that happens in these circumstances either – I may have a helo idle but I’m buggered if I’m giving it to you… even on a cost sharing basis.
Meanwhile the suffering continues…
