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So long after the tsunami, fisherfolk in the east say they have nothing but false promises from the government. Frances Bulathsinghala reports
They come, they go…
The coastal areas in the east - from the Ampara district to Batticaloa emerge like deserts of destruction. The debris cleared, the skeletal foundations of what were once houses yawn forth while their owners battle with bureaucracy, administrative lethargy and empty promises.

A. Rahim was once the proud owner of a multifunctional boat worth nearly Rs. 7 lakhs, a rarity for the fishermen in Sainamaradu, off the coastal belt of Kalmunai who often share one boat among four. He was as those in the area assert, among the richest of the lot. He owned three houses, all within two hundred metres of the coast. On December 26 his boat was battered by the waves as were his houses.

Nearly four months after the tsunami, Rahim is a battered man. His initial elation at the news that the government had given instructions to the banks to grant loans for the re-establishment of the lives of those affected by the tsunami, is now crumpled into anger. He is not alone in sharing this sentiment. His experience is echoed by other fishermen in the village.

Nearly a month ago he walked into the nearest government bank. His step was light with hope. He could, he thought, buy a similar boat to the one he had and move out of the garage of a friend that he, his wife and eight children occupied. But amidst dreams of once again living a dignified life of not depending on charity and moving into at least a room of their own and a restored livelihood, he was awakened to reality. He was brusquely told by an official of the Bank of Ceylon branch in Kalmunai that he had to show assets worth Rs. 60 lakhs to obtain a loan of 20 lakhs.

"If I had assets worth sixty lakhs, would I be asking for a loan?" queries Rahim holding a sheaf of letters that the Ampara Deep Sea Boat Owners’ Association of which he is the treasurer, had addressed to the Minister of Advanced Technology and National Development Rohitha Bogollagama.

"We had 228 fishing boats which were the source of sustenance to over 1,000 families," he explains. "One boat is usually shared by up to ten fishermen. Though Ceynor repaired 192 boats, the balance are completely destroyed. We cannot use even the repaired boats because we do not have an adequate number of nets, all the nets having been washed away by the tsunami," Rahim adds.

"None of the fisher families here want to be treated like beggars. They want their livelihood. For two months we have been pleading with every official who comes here for the essential items we need for fishing. We have told them that it is essential that the deep freezing containers that were destroyed are replaced. We have asked for two lorries to transport the fish to Colombo. Nothing. We have got nothing,"he says.

According to the fishermen the arduous hours spent fishing with the few boats and fewer nets they have, end with them selling the catch at very cheap rates within the district.

Right along the stretch of Karaithivu and Kalmunai, you find desperate house owners attempting to rebuild their battered houses in the same location. The 200- metre rule applicable to the eastern coast is lost on them."Giving us warnings is one thing. Attending to our needs is something else," says Najima who lost three of her children to the tsunami.

When every attempt to get temporary shelter failed, she in desperation bought a tent from a tent 'dealer' with the Rs. 5,000 given by the government to tsunami victims. "It is because of the only child I have spared to me," she says. She and her seven-year-old now live on the government coupon granting dry rations worth Rs.375 a week.

Asked about the 'tent dealer ' there are accusations of a multitude of other nefarious 'dealers' who have sprung up after the tsunami.

'They are tsunami mudalalis. They sell items ranging from bicycles to sewing machines and tents. We do not know how but hundreds of bicycles distributed to tsunami victims by NGOs have ended up with these men," claims I. J. Rashid who was once a fisherman but is now working as a mason, helping some richer men on the coast rebuild their houses.

Asked of reconstruction in the area being illegal, Rashid shrugs his shoulders. 'Yes, the authorities have asked us to clear out. But they do not tell us where to go. They tell the world that we are looked after. The politicians come sightseeing in their Pajeros but they do not ask us if things are done in the way they claim," says another angry resident, Uthumachi standing in the ruins of her house which she still nevertheless occupies, using a room which is less damaged than the rest and improvising with a few sarees that are supposed to act as walls.

The families on the coast claim that they have been given housing alternatives only 'verbally'.

M. Abu Bakker, also in Karaithivu was the owner of an iron workshop, now completely destroyed, claims that they had been told that they would have to relocate in areas of Ampara, Samanthurai and Nindoruwa. No definite location is mentioned.

"Personally I do not mind relocating as I would be able to carry out my business inland as well but these fishermen are devastated," he says. He too having failed too obtain a loan from the bank to rebuild his business (having been asked to furnish assets) is now busy collecting jewellery from his family members that he can pawn to raise funds.

"There are many businessmen now ready to lend money at exorbitant interest. We are desperate and we have no other option. Our biggest headache is that we are not clear where we are to reside. We feel like trespassers as we slink back into our destroyed houses which were our homes for years," he says.

"They come, they go and so do their promises": This is the view these people have of politicians. Never paupers or political stooges, the fact that they face a future of uncertainty coupled with what they see as overall indifference from the authorities, is devastating.

TEMPORARY SHELTER
Away from the coast, one finds that several foreign humanitarian organisations have set up temporary shelters for the displaced. But here too the people have their problems facing a scarcity of water, often with only two barrels of drinking water provided per day which they claim is far from sufficient.

And the descriptions of hardship and struggle continue. Having no livelihood they venture out to do anything just to earn a few rupees, in the belief that it is better than living off charity. Fishermen now work as labourers and so do farmers. They live in shelters that are temporary.

They struggle against multiple difficulties, hoping that this struggle would not drag on, eating into their lives like a cancer, eroding their will to survive.

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