TERRA INCOGNITA

For the people of Azerbaijan South-East Asia is a very mysterious place, a kind of Terra Incognita, although in recent decades it has become one of the world's biggest tourist destinations. It is not only picturesque and varied scenery but their unique culture which make Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines so attractive.

So a visit to the Philippines provides quite unique impressions that significantly alter a concept of the country that has been shaped by films, the Internet and school geography and history lessons. Many of us associate the Philippines with Imelda Marcos, the wife of the former dictator, who was well known for her collection of over 3,000 pairs of shoes. It is not doctors who are popular with the population but the local faith healers who allegedly carry out surgical operations without using any instruments. It was here that the American film "Apocalypse Now" was shot.

Typhoon

The airport on the small Filipino island of Tacloban was definitely the most unusual of those that a young Azerbaijani journalist was able to visit. Just under a year ago Typhoon Haiyan (or Yolanda, as it is called here) literally wiped its terminal building from the face of the earth, leaving just a runway in its wake. The building has now been partially rebuilt.

The airport is very small and staff only have to walk a few steps to carry baggage unloaded from the aircraft on to the carousel. In other words, if airports are sometimes called air gates, this would be a mere door. Although, like other small airports, it has one big advantage which people who love open spaces appreciate: the airfield is not covered with planes. In this case just one twin-engine turbo-prop Bombardier graced the tarmac against the background of a beautiful landscape: a clear sky with distant hills draped in tropical forest.

Here was one remarkable detail: as they leave the terminal building, in order to give themselves some protection from the rays of the setting sun, the workers put on cone-shaped straw hats. When you arrive in this part of the world for the first time you can't help thinking that they are rice pickers who have accidentally found themselves on the runway.   

The trip to Tacloban was part of the Asiatic Development Bank (ADB)'s training programme for journalists. The ADB is cooperating with the Filipino government in clearing up after last year's typhoon and is still funding projects to help the people of the island return to a normal way of life.

The meeting with ADB's experts working at Tacloban was held in the building of the local branch of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It is a three-storey building, and it was because of this that the bank workers survived. They spent several days on the last floor, protecting themselves against the onrushing water.

Scientists link the frequency and strength of the typhoons with global warming. We, who come from temperate latitudes, do not take the dangers induced by climate change seriously and they seem illusory and distant. But to the Filipinos they are very real.

Many experts believe that Haiyan was the most powerful typhoon in the history of meteorological observations. The windspeed was over 310 km/hr with gusts of up to 370 km/hr. Over 6,000 people were killed on Tacloban alone. Several large freighters, which were literally hurled by the wind far into the island and now lie next to people's houses, are a kind of memorial to the tragedy.

At the same time, the typhoon, which took so many lives and made hundreds of thousands of people homeless, proved to a good teacher. It taught the people of Tacloban many important lessons: the people in the stricken areas now no longer ignore warnings of an approaching disaster, but leave straightaway for the evacuation centres. The Filipino government is studying insurance measures against the damage caused by typhoons (in the past more attention was paid to insurance against possible destruction caused by earthquakes, another headache for this country). Even more, Haiyan drew the attention of the whole world to the question of climate change.

The smell of napalm

First impressions were not far out of tune with one's impression of South-East Asia which in many ways has been shaped by American films about the war in Vietnam. The outskirts of Manila do indeed look much like a Hollywood Saigon. It is a sea of colour, people and poverty.  The cheerful voice of the radio presenter "Good morning, Vietnam!" which became almost a classic greeting, was not enough to achieve complete harmony in our car.

The "Havana" caf? lies on Burgos Street (by an irony of fate it bears the name of the religious figure, Jose Burgos, who in the 19th century headed the rights movement of Filipino and Spanish priests) in Manila's "red-light" district. Rock-and-roll music is playing. Foreigners drink whisky in the company of local girls. Inside, on the ceiling, the air-conditioning is going full blast. It reminded the hero Martin Sheen of the propeller of a helicopter. In short: ideal props for a Vietnam war film.

Even public transport conjures up similar comparisons: The Jeepneys - American military jeeps turned into small taxis - are widely used in Manila. They can take up to 10-12 people, several more if you want to. Most Jeepneys have been revamped from Jeep-Willy cars which the Filipinos were left with after the war in Vietnam. They are cramped, hot and uncomfortable, but cheap and quick, so they are everywhere, especially in the outskirts of the city. But it is not this that makes them unique, but how creatively their owners decorate them. It is said that you will not find two Jeepneys the same in the Philippines. These nippy little taxis with colourful pictures on any subject - from advertising to religion - create an illusion of moving graffiti.

Another unusual way of getting around is by tricycle - a motorcycle or cycle with a side-car or enclosed cabin which is best suited for sight-seeing.

Jeepneys are not the only testimony to the American past (the Philippines were US territory throughout the first half of the 20th century). The favourite sport here is basketball and not football, and the favourite drink is coffee, not tea. Another American trait is the ubiquitous smile and politeness.

And, of course, the main legacy left to the Filipinos from America's expansion is the English language as one of the two official languages. And it is because the main language of international communication has been familiar to them since childhood that the Filipinos have no trouble getting jobs abroad. As a result, today it is the fourth country after China, India and Mexico in the number of money transfers, which make up about 13.5 per cent of the country's GDP.

The strategy of ADB's development

Talking of the economy, the socio-economic situation in the Philippines was not the main aim of our visit to this country. The few days spent on training at the ADB proved to be very eventful. Being close to the headquarters where a meeting of the bank's board of directors was being held enabled journalists to get news and comment at first hand. They also learned that ADB's board had approved a new Strategy of partnership with Azerbaijan for 2014-2018, which was worth dwelling on separately. "The document is aimed at the diversification of the Azerbaijani economy, the creation of new economic opportunities, maintaining growth and reducing the imbalance between town and country," the head of ADB's office in Azerbaijan, Ollie Noroyono, said.

The bank's strategic approach is aimed at the development of the infrastructure and services in transport, power engineering, water supply and municipal services. As part of its new strategy ADB plans to continue to support the private sector in Azerbaijan, including loans to local banks and funding trade development programmes. During the document's period of validity the bank plans to allocate 752m dollars of credit to the country for the implementation of projects in the spheres of transport, power engineering and municipal services in Azerbaijan.

Another important event was a meeting with ADB's president, Takehiko Nakao, who spoke about the current economic situation in Asia. During the meeting he pointed out that he is planning to visit Azerbaijan on 3-4 November. The sides plan to discuss questions of the preparations for the annual meeting of the Board of Management of the bank, which will take place in Baku in May, 2015.

OUR NOTE

Azerbaijan has been a member of the ADB since 1999. Since then, the ADB has approved credit of a total of 1,637,400,000 dollars for the implementation of 20 projects in Azerbaijan, of which 697,500,000 dollars have so far been used. At the same time, 46.26 per cent of ADB loans have been directed to the sectors of transport and information technology; 33.9 per cent to improving water supplies, the municipal infrastructure and services; 11.42 per cent to power engineering; 7.08 per cent to the financial sector and 1.34 per cent to agriculture and natural resources.

INTERESTING

Once a year, departments of the ADB compete among themselves in singing, dancing and playing on stage. Only bank employees take part in the shows, whereas the jury is made up of professional critics and cultural figures.