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Fear
amidst sun and rain When The Sunday Times visited a camp near Kailawatte in Devata, Galle, we saw the terrible living conditions. The camp, which had 48 families, was run by the Sri Lanka Navy. The tents, which had been gifted by an Italian NGO, were pitched on low ground, and thus the rainwater from the Galle Road seeped into them. Mohamed Abdullah Siddi Fathima, a mother of four, lost her husband to the tsunami. She now lives with her son just outside the Kailawatte camp. Her tent, pitched on the foundation of a destroyed home, fills up with water when it rains. "We were given this tent from the nearby church, and we had nowhere else to pitch it but here," she said. "My daughter is now staying with relatives - how can I keep her here in the damp?" she asks. However, Mrs. Fathima says that she does receive the weekly Rs. 375 food stamp from the government. Last Monday night, when the tsunami warning was issued, she ran to the nearby temple. "This is what we do every time there is some scare" she said. "What else can we do when we are so close to the sea?" she asked. The Kailawatte camp is built just across the Galle Road, and is thus less than 50 metres away from the sea. A little further towards Galle, in Siyambalagahawatha, Mahamodara, the refugee camp comprising about 300 residents- whose homes had either been fully or partially destroyed by the tsunami- is built in parallel proximity to the sea. "How can they expect us to live here? It's as bad as living in our original homes across the road, as we're still close to the sea and have to keep running in fear at the slightest sign of danger" said, S.D. Sanjeevani, one of the camp inhabitants. They say that even if they are permitted to temporarily set up their tents in more secure areas further inland, until their houses are rebuilt, they would have little peace of mind. Now, they can hardly sleep at night and spend most of the night looking out towards the sea, in fear of another tsunami, they said. They also complained of the intense heat during the daytime. Many of them, including the elderly are compelled to seek shelter under the shade of nearby trees. Ever since the tsunami occurred, not a single government official had visited their camp and given them any assurances of a speedy solution to their numerous grievances, a resident said. "They only come during election time, when they need our votes," said another frustrated inmate. Furthermore, their camp has even been overlooked by major NGO's such as The Red Cross and World Vision, they added. "Places that get aid, get, and those that don't get aid, don't get anything," they further lamented. Most of them receive their weekly subsistence allowance of Rs. 375 (Rs. 200 in cash and Rs. 175 worth of food stamps) and the Rs. 5000 entitled to every head of the house, whose homes had been completely destroyed by the tsunami. However, some hadn't received the Rs. 2000 given to purchase kitchen utensils, she complained. "I have no money to rebuild my shop which was destroyed by the tsunami and restart my business" said a teary eyed widow, H.L. Mangalika. She also has two children to support and finds it difficult to make ends meet. Many in this camp have a common complaint that due to the changing weather conditions, their children are constantly falling ill and they find it difficult to buy medicine. The camps are also in need of electricity or even a battery-operated power supply, as nothing can be done in the pitch darkness, said Sanjeevani. She said that a pregnant woman had a fall during Monday night's melee because of the poor light. They said although they had informed officials about this matter little had been done. The Matara District however, seemed to be better off in terms of the placement of camps. We did not see any camps situated close to the sea. The Sunday Times spoke to the Matara District Secretary H.G.S Jayasekara about the resettlement process. Mr. Jayasekara said that the data gathering process for victims within the 100m buffer zone had been already completed, concluding that there are 3702 fully and partially destroyed houses in the zone. "Land had already been selected for resettlement and we have signed MOUs with 16 donors already," Mr. Jayasekara said. He said since there was not much government land in the Matara District, they had to look for alternate lands for reconstruction. He said many temples had donated their excess land and private landowners had auctioned land to the government. According to Mr. Jayasekara, the survey of victims outside the 100m buffer zone was almost complete. Those families whose houses are fully damaged will receive Rs. 250,000 while families with partially damaged houses will receive Rs. 100,000. The relief process is almost entirely complete, said Mr. Jayasekara. "We are currently issuing the food stamps weekly to more than 95% of the displaced people," he said. Mr. Jayasekara said the rest were being held back due to various petitions. "We sometimes have trouble investigating these claims, and hold back the relief money till we make sure that the claimants are really tsunami victims," he said. "The Rs. 5000 and Rs. 2500 relief monies have been given to 99.85% and 93.1% percentage of the people respectively," said the District Secretary. "It is difficult to believe people when they say that they have not received anything from the government," he said. "Most civil servants have not even taken one day off since the tsunami struck - we are usually here from morning till night," he said. |
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