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Tsunami survivors in Tangalle air disheartening stories about government aid allotted for re-settlement to the Disaster Relief Monitoring Unit
Hearing their voices
Seven months after the tsunami it was a journey down to the south to get views and also suggestions from the people themselves about the relief mechanism of the government and how it had functioned.

Fifteen tsunami survivors from the Danketiya division of Tangalle, were gathered in a small shop in the middle of the town where Professor Lakshman Dissanayake from the Colombo University and his assistant facilitated the discussion.

Initially, the people were informed of their rights in a disaster situation and told how to obtain relief from the government, non-governmental organizations and from International NGOs. The lectures were arranged by the Disaster Relief Monitoring Unit (DRMU) of the Human Rights Commission.

Explaining their plight, A. K. Galpoththa, a teacher said the people had obtained bank loans and built their houses on their own with the help of relatives, because the Rs. 100,000 for partially damaged and Rs. 250,000 for completely damaged houses were granted only in April. The surveys done by the government on the destruction caused by the tsunami are erroneous as inspections came a few months after the killer waves devastated the area. The government should carry out a new survey incorporating people’s ideas and proposals to rectify the discrepancies in the aid distribution process, he said. In the Danketiya Division, some tsunami-affected families had received Rs. 30,000 – although it was supposed to be Rs. 50,000 -- from the government as the first instalment of the Rs. 100,000–Rs. 250,000 grant, while others had not.

The plea of the affected villagers was that the Rs. 100,000 be given to the affected families as soon as possible. Lal Perera, part of the large business community in the area, who owns an electric shop said, “The government announced that traders will be eligible for bank loans at a six percent interest rate with a relaxed period of one year, and that they were meant to be given without any commitment on the part of the person getting the loan.”
But no trader in the Danketiya Division has been able to obtain loans from state banks, Mr. Perera said adding that the banks wanted surety but the tsunami survivors just could not produce any.

Neither the government nor any other organisation has looked into the damage the tsunami has caused to industries and traders in the area, he stressed.
As in other regions, the livelihood of traders and fishermen in Danketiya, revolves around each other. The fishermen go out to sea and bring back the fish for the traders to sell.

Fisherman Sunil Samaraweera, 25, said that organisations that donated boats had not identified the bona fide fishermen. “They have provided boats and fishing equipment to people who had not been involved in the industry before the tsunami,” he said.He suggested that proper identification could be done not only through the fisheries identity cards but also the national identity cards.

Added Mr. Galpoththa, “The number of boats that the non-fishing community received is so large, that the fisheries harbour may have to be expanded to accommodate them.”

An urgent appeal is that the harbour be cleared of the debris washed to sea by the tsunami and that the government should identify the large net fishermen and provide them with the tools of their trade.
Danketiya people complain that the bureaucracy is not giving ear to their problems.

No briefing
The District and Divisional Secretaries of Kalutara, Galle and Hambantota told The Sunday Times that they are not aware of the programme being conducted by UNDP, DRMU and TAFREN. They have also not received a briefing or a report concerning the people’s views on the relief mechanism.

However, Matara Divisional Secretary W. K. K. Athukorala said that they were informed about the programme but had not received a briefing or a report on the people’s views.

DRMU help for 1140 villages
The consultation of people in 1140 tsunami-hit villages on the relief process is being carried out by the University of Colombo together with the Ruhuna, Eastern, South Eastern and Jaffna Universities.

At ground level, the visits to these villages began on July 5, by 25 professors and unemployed and under-employed graduates, under the direction of the Colombo University Extension Centre.

The programme envisioned by the Disaster Relief Monitoring Unit (DRMU) to be completed on September 15, has already covered around 400 villages in Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota Districts. It is being funded and monitored by UNDP, for which $ 450,000 (around Rs. 45 million) has been set apart.

Professor Lakshman Dissanayake of the Colombo University said, “After gathering the information from the villagers the report is forwarded to the DRMU for analysis and submission to the relevant authorities to implement the common views and suggestions of the affected people.”

Through focused group discussions a link of information is created where the people receive information from the government on their eligibility to relief and the relevant authorities receive information from the affected people to rectify any anomalies in the tsunami relief mechanism, he said.

“With the help of the District Secretaries, the Grama Sevakas and people in each area 15 are selected to represent each tsunami-affected village. Every two weeks the university personnel, TAFREN, UNDP and DRMU meet and share the information.”

DRMU Deputy Head Y. K. De Silva said that after the people’s views and suggestions are sent to the relevant district level officials, they are given seven days to analyse and explain their side. “Within that process we request them to implement the credible proposals which the affected people have expressed.”

He said that if the matters which the people pointed out have to be analysed by the Environmental Authority or the Urban Development Council the DRMU sends a copy of the suggestions to them as well as to the people who reported it.

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