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The
Sunday Times Guest Column At one point in our trip, we were at a meeting with a group of local UN agency and NGO staff in the village of Peraliya in Hikkaduwa, when our conversation was loudly interrupted. The Colombo to Matara train was back on track, churning past us, just behind the busy Peraliya volunteer medical clinic and some newly completed transitional houses. The train was filled with waving passengers. A group of school children in smart, new uniforms came out of their tent classrooms and leaned against the protective fence, watching and waving back in delight. Like many areas in the country, Galle District was thoroughly devastated on December 26, 2004. We shouldn't forget the extent of the damage, nor the immense challenge and patience it will take to make things right again. At a meeting, Galle's Government Agent Gunasena Hewavitharana showed us film footage and still pictures of the extraordinary destruction. He shared with us how he had lost close relatives in the Peraliya train wreck in which more than 1,300 people had perished. Because of the destruction of portions of the road and the debris, he said, "it was three days before I could get to the train wreck, and that was only by helicopter." Revisiting those pictures and hearing his comments help put things into perspective. The train is back on track. It is a remarkable symbol of some commendable progress that Sri Lankans have achieved with the support of the international community in a few short months. Not only have the principal components of the emergency relief effort been effective - with virtually all tsunami-affected people fed, provided with shelter, protected from illness and disease and with most kids back in school -- but much basic infrastructure in tsunami-affected areas is restored as well, including roads and electrical power and shops and hotels that have been patched back together and are ready for business. Needless to say, conditions in many tsunami-ravaged Sri Lankan communities like Peraliya are far from perfect. In nearby Seenigama village, for example, we saw people remaining in tents and makeshift shelters, uncertain of their future and growing increasingly wary as the monsoon season fast approaches. Fortunately, local authorities, with the support of Sri Lankan and international NGOs, are doing their best to improve a poor situation by upgrading drainage around tents and other shelters, protecting them from potential flooding, as well as providing shading to shield them from the intense mid-day heat. With the government continuing to grapple with complex issues such as the allocation of land for resettlement the pace of reconstruction is just getting under way. During this transition stage in which the emergency relief phase is winding down and the recovery stage is yet to get into full gear, it is critical that we maintain the sense of urgency and concern regarding the continuing plight of the tsunami survivors, particularly those who face such uncertainties regarding their future living and employment arrangements. From his consultations with Sri Lankan government representatives, the international agencies and NGOs and the Sri Lankan people themselves, Mr. Bowles received several clear messages that he will now convey to Mr. Clinton. One is that to fully rebuild the lives and livelihoods of tsunami-affected Sri Lankans to something better than it was before the tsunami will be a three-to-five year process. Another is that donors and the international community will need to be highly flexible in the way their resources are ultimately used as the government, with the support of international agencies and NGOs, define and refine recovery strategies and begin to implement them. That process is already well under way with the international financial institutions, UN agencies, the government and donors undertaking their phase two assessment of needs and a mid-term-review of projects. In the near future, the Sri Lankan government itself is expected to issue its National Reconstruction Plan. Critical to the entire relief and recovery process, of course, is that it be transparent and accountable across the board. That's a view the UN and its agencies take to heart. On April 6, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will be making available the mid-term review of the Flash Appeal which documents the precise levels of funding and expenditures to date, as well as project implementation by sector for all UN agencies involved in the relief and recovery effort. The UN agencies are committed to supporting the Sri Lankan people for as long as it takes to overcome the damages caused by the tsunami. In the process, one clear objective will be to contribute to developing capacity in all sectors of the Sri Lankan relief and development community, particularly at the local level. Empowering people to take control of their own recovery, reconstruction and development agenda is, after all, a critical element of the UN's work the world over. And in Sri Lanka, there could be no more enduring legacy of our support to the tsunami-affected community than that. (Miguel Bermeo is the UNDP Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka) |
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