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Tsunami
aid: Angry Eastern Muslims blast Govt. They complain that little or nothing has been done to alleviate their sufferings while foundation stones are laid on a daily basis for various rehabilitation projects in the south. Thousands of angry Muslims demonstrated in the mosque grounds in a number of villages in and around Kalmunai this week, protesting the government's alleged indifference towards their plight and the discriminatory manner in which the tsunami aid is being distributed. "Where are the state agencies, politicians and the much talked about relief assistance? Massive aid started flowing into the country from the first few days and plunged the dollar almost overnight from Rs 105 to Rs 98, but we are yet to receive even a cup of tea," said a middle-aged man who had lost his entire family in the December 26 catastrophe at Marudamunai. Even top government officials have admitted that only around 30 to 35 percent of the relief items have been utilized while victims continue to languish in refugee camps. It is against this backdrop that Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi emphasized the need to distribute aid in an equitable, transparent and accountable manner without any corruption or inefficiency. Speaking to survivors in the worst-hit villages such as Akbar, 40 House Scheme and Islamabad around Kalmunai, one could realize the growing anger at all levels. They all accuse the government of ignoring them and concentrating relief and rehabilitation activities in the south. "We do agree that south and other areas devastated by tsunami need to be helped and developed. But why neglect the worst-affected east coast villages?" asked a victim who, like other villagers, is yet to recover from the shock of this unprecedented tragedy. The villagers said they managed to survive the early days only due to the generosity of some Muslim individuals and organizations that rushed there with food and used clothing. Losing almost everything, they found shelter in the homes of relatives and friends and in temporary refugee camps, but they do not want to be a burden to anyone and are impatient to restart their lives. This is the time they need help and guidance. But the question is: where is the much-talked-about and widely-publicized aid that flowed into the country in the form of grants and donations both from abroad and local sources? It is more than a month and half since the tragedy yet there was hardly any initiative to deal with their problems. They are fast losing confidence in their own politicians -- one of whom was prevented from addressing a gathering in a mosque at Sainthamaruthu. According to the villagers, there is hardly any government assistance even in clearing debris. The debris was cleared by Muslim social and religious organizations with the active support of the JVP. Highlighting their plight they pointed out that though no final agreement was reached the government and the LTTE continued to discuss about a mechanism to deal with relief and rehabilitation efforts. Representatives of foreign countries even visited the north and held discussions with the LTTE. But who represents the Muslims in all these discussions. Where do the Muslims, who lost almost one percent of their population in the tsunami stand now? Unfortunately the government has so far not involved the Muslims in any of these discussions that should be attended by affected people and not the officials who know nothing about their sufferings. Mr. Akashi said last week in Colombo that he would be happy to see the government and LTTE working on a joint distribution mechanism with 'some Muslim' participation. Why 'some Muslim' participation? As the third most important community in the country and the worst-affected community in the tsunami, Muslims should be given full participation. Perhaps Mr. Akashi, who was busy in the Balkans as UN envoy while Serbs freely slaughtered Bosnian, Kosovo and Albanian Muslims, may not be aware that it was this discriminative treatment which forced Tamils to take to arms which turned this paradise of an island into one of Asia's worst killing fields. Under the circumstance, judging from the feelings of east coast Muslims, ignoring their plight may sow the seed for future conflicts and unrest. Foreign leaders and others visiting the country were taken to the south and, so far, no one visited the east coast that, according to them, even government officials from Ampara are yet to visit. Citing examples, they pointed out that the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan visited Hambantota and Trincomalee, the government of Netherlands is to help rebuild Galle city and already 100,000 euros allocated for the master plan was handed over to southern province governor, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid the foundation stone for a 500-unit housing project at Midigama, Matara and the government plans to restore the day-to-day life of the people of Matara, restructure the Matara town and initiated resettlement schemes in Hambantota. But no attention was paid to develop the worst affected east coast villages. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress -- battered with internal conflicts and not favoured by the government and helpless in the opposition - has also accused the government of favouring the south. Meanwhile the Coordinating Center for Relief and Rehabilitation, CCRR, an umbrella body of more than 50 Muslim organisations, had also voiced its concern over lack of Muslim representation at decision-making levels in the rehabilitation and rebuilding effort, drawing a parallel to the Tokyo Conference which it said had failed to deal with the importance of the Muslim dimension. Meanwhile, Alastair McKechnie, World Bank coordinator in the reconstruction process, has warned that political tension is likely to increase in Sri Lanka if aid is not distributed equitably. By sheer scale of destruction to life and property, Ampara district has been the worst affected. In the Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee areas around 37,000 Muslim families were affected, 16,355 houses completely destroyed, 10,801 houses partially damaged, 138 mosques, 36 schools and eight hospitals destroyed and damaged. In the Ampara area alone 20,980 Muslim families were affected and 11,376 houses completely destroyed and 5,970 houses partly damaged besides destructions to 23 mosques, 20 schools and four hospitals. More than 11,000 people died in the coastal area between Neelavani and Pottuvil and 95 percent of them were from the six villages of Marudhamunai, Pandiruppu, Kalmunai, Kalmunaikudy, Saithamaruthu and Karaitivu. More than 30,000 survivors were treated in the hospitals, an equal number of houses were fully or partially destroyed and more than 200,000 displaced. Therefore, this district deserves the attention of the government, donors, NGOs and all others involved. Emphasizing the urgent need for special attention to the east coast Prof. M.A.M. Nuhman who hails from Kalmunai said: "These six villages, located in a ten square kilometre area between the beach and the main Kalmunai road, each with a population of around 30,000, had been some of the most densely populated areas in the island. With no more land for expansion for people in the area an inch of land is more precious than even a kilo of gold as they cannot move into adjoining equally-crowded Tamil areas. "People are reluctant to move to the Ampara town, because they feel they are not welcome there due to ethnic reasons and their inability register transfer deeds. As a result these unfortunate victims of the tsunami were forced to build houses closer to the shore especially in the villages of Marudamunai, Kalmunaikudi and Sainthamaruthu." Dearth of land and population density have been the two main burning problems and source of ethnic friction in the Kalmunai area. Speaking to them, one gets the feeling that they are not going to leave this area and it is not going to be an easy task to remove them from the 100 metre buffer zone from the seashore. "Where else can we go and what is the guarantee that life is going to be safe beyond 100 or even 500 metres away from the sea as disaster could come in the form of earthquakes, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, landslides and other worse natural disasters?" they ask. The survivors, both fisherfolk and others alike, suspect that quick moves to settle them away from their traditional land is a move to grab their land. They also point out the questionable actions of the Urban Development Authority. The UDA, they say, had acquired private owned lands and alleged to have distributed among influential people. This is the reason why Muslims in the Ampara district have warned the authorities that they would fast unto death if they are not allowed to settle in their own lands most of which were located within the 100-metre buffer zone. Under the circumstances, it is better to initiate discussions with the people involved to find a peaceful solution as the 100-metre buffer zone cannot be implemented forcefully in these seaside villages where survivors have even prevented officials from removing debris without solving their land and housing problems. Even experts familiar with the environment issues in the east have warned that relocation plan for tsunami victims in the east will trigger environmental hazards. Eastern University Senior Lecturer Dr T Jayasingham has pointed out that overnight decision to fill marshes is not advisable as these areas in the east are vulnerable to floods during rainy months and filling them would only aggravate the problem. The task ahead is enormous and complex. This is a national tragedy of unprecedented proportions and destruction affecting all communities. Thus all affected people need to be treated without any discrimination unlike in the past when decisions were taken with eyes clearly fixed on the next general election, and not on the next generation - a policy which brought the country to what it is today. |
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