By Ajith Lawrence

CHENNAI: Tsunami survivors living in temporary shelters in Chennai will be now shifted to ‘interim shelters’ in two weeks as the state administration has been unable to relocate them at suitable places permanently.

The decision to shift was taken after a meeting between a council of non governmental organisations and the district collector of Chennai on June 9.

The people living in the camps of Kargil and Kannagi Nagar are up in arms against the deteriorating conditions in the shelters. With the onset of monsoon the situation will worsen and most of them have left the shelters and taken refuge in community halls

“People in the camps of Kargil and Kannagi Nagar may resort to violence if something is not done to accommodate them in a better place. The inconveniences and inhuman conditions in the shelters are driving them to it. So far the government has not been able to find a place to rehabilitate them permanently or arrange proper livelihood programmes. There are 2,133 families in the Kargil Ngar camp and 600 families in the Kannagi Ngar camp,� said Alosyious James, an executive with CORDAID, an NGO working for the rehabilitation of the tsunami -affected people.

“These shelters are uninhabitable for human beings. The roofs are leaking, there is flooding whenever it rains and toilets leak due to lack of proper drainage and poor cleaning facilities. It is even worse than a pig-sty,� said a member of the People’s Action Movement.

“It is a step in the right direction by the district collector to call all the agencies together to discuss the problems of the tsunami-affected people. So far the local authority has not made any effort to involve NGOs, other agencies and the people’s representatives to chalk out a solution. A coordination council of NGOs was formed in April to help the tsunami–affected get a decent hearing with the state officials, but it is only now that a government representative has actively responded,� said Fr.Mannual Alphonse, director Social Watch,Tamil Nadu.

“The government has allotted Rs 8,000 each for relocating the people to new shelters. The interim shelters are estimated to cost Rs 30,000 to 35,000. For a permanent rehabilitation structure the government is ready to spend Rs1,0,5000 each,� said the district collector, S Mohan Das.

Nearly 25 agencies and representatives participated in the conference. Representatives from the Kargil and Kannagi Nagar camps also attended and expressed their apprehensions to the collector. (India Disasters, June 11, 2005)

LONDON (AP): Scientists called into question Friday a World Health Organisation World Health Organization’ warning that the death toll from the Asian tsunami could double from disease — a development that never came to pass.

(Yahoo News, June 11, 2005)

HONOLULU — An international team of researchers has found that vulnerable groups including women, children and migrants are suffering human rights problems in areas affected by the December 24 tsunami.

The survey was conducted in five tsunami-affected countries - India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand. The findings, along with recommendations for action, were released following a two-day meeting of researchers and aid workers this weekend in Bangkok, Thailand.

The meeting, “After the Tsunami: Human Rights and Vulnerable Populations,” was sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Rights Center; the University of Hawaii’s Globalization Research Center; and the East-West Center.
The main causes of abuse according to the researchers are- lack of protection for individuals living in displacement camps; discrimination in aid distribution; and arbitrary decisions about relief, relocation and reconstruction without consulting the affected communities. The problem is compounded in Sri Lanka and Aceh with the ongoing armed conflict.

According to the researchers, these are abuses that contravene the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and other international human rights agreements.

The researchers want the aid agencies and governments to focus on¬¬ certain important issues.

They want to establish a human rights monitoring and protection project based in the region for the next two years. This project should work in collaboration with government agencies, local nongovernmental groups and aid organizations to prevent the recruitment of children as combatants. It should also track the status of vulnerable groups as they struggle to rebuild their lives over the next two years.

It should research and monitor several critical areas, including livelihood; physical safety and protection; access to aid; health education etc.

A survey of tsunami-affected areas to assess the process of aid distribution. The survey should seek opinions from those affected by the tsunami about how the process of reconstruction could be implemented to meet their needs and how they could be integrated into decisions affecting their communities. Governments and other agencies involved in reconstruction need to develop a more consultative and transparent process of decision-making. These mechanisms should always include the leadership and participation of women.(Indiadisasters, June 11, 2005)

By Ajith Lawrence

Thiruvananthapuram: With an imminent trawling ban on the horizon, the fishing community in coastal Kerala is caught in a dilemma-whether to support it or not. But one thing they all agree upon; that the fishing sector faces a bleak future.

The traditional fishermen to the trawler owners, all have their point of view. The trawling ban comes into effect from 15th of this month for 50 days. The monsoon season is expected to set in at the same time.

Everyone concerned with the fishing industry is pessimistic about their future. Mariamma, a fish vendor of Neendakara to the trawler owner Xavior Arackal of Kochi, who has spent nearly a million rupees on his trawler, are apprehensive.

These people’s apprehensions are a testimony of the number of boats idling at the shore, the closed down Ice-factories, empty sheds and the fish-processing centres along the Kerala coast. Boat owner Justin John says, “My two boats are here at the shore. I am unable to find money for diesel and engine oil. If at all, I arrange for the oil and the diesel, I am not sure of a good catch. Only two months this season I got a good haul, that also dried up after the tsunami. I have loans to repay.”

A feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction is haunting the traditional fisherman who go for fishing with catamarans and small boats. “We do not get good catches as in years gone by . Now we cannot even meet our daily expenses and whatever we have made in the past years we have plowed it all back into fishing , we are left with nothing now,� says Ouseph Pious who owns a small boat in Shakthi kulangara.

There is another group of people who lost everything in the December tsunami including their fishing equipment- the people of Karunagappalli in Kollam, and Kayamkulam in Alappuzha districts of Kerala State.

The people in Alappad,Azhickal,Sraikkad,Valiyazhickal,Cheriyazhickal and Anthakarnazhi were showered with promises of help just after the tsunami some five months ago. But even after so many months few people have got any help to revive their daily fishing .
“It is now four months since the fisheries minister presented boats, nets and other fishing instruments to a few people here. And that was the end of everything,” says K K Radhakrishanan, a member of the Arya Samajam in Alappad.

Many fishermen are just sitting idle and some who have managed to get their boats and nets repaired are still too scared to go out into the high tide.

Also the government is in a fix over the distribution of relief as many undeserving people have managed to get relief and many deserving people have been left out. Says an official from the State Matsya Federation department, ” In all our offices, we receive complaints of loss and stories of insufficiencies from people of the affected areas even after some sort of help has already been accepted. But there are infightings and disagreements amongst the locals and we are unable to find a way as to how to begin the process of aid.”

The Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilai Union state president T Peter says that a trawling ban of 50 days is not enough. According to T Peter there are 5,000 trawlers, 3,000 Vilnet boats, over 50,000 catamarans. In all there are over a few lakh of people engaged directly and indirectly in 222 villages of coastal Kerala in fishing. This is apart from the inland fishermen in 153 villages in the state.

“The Kerala coast is very rich in sea resources compared to other states. We have had only two months of good fishing last year. After the tsunami we could not get any catch. We lost the whole season due to the tsunami. We will go into the sea after the ban also. There are over 50,000 fishermen families. If we do not provide work now they will all die of stravation”, says Joseph Xaviour Arackal, Trawler Owners’ Association President. (Indiadisasters, June6, 2005)

COLOMBO: The Ceasefire Agreement of 2002 brought about a spirit of optimism amongst the ordinary people of Sri Lanka. A period of normalcy followed during which activities such as resettlement, community development, food security, and the rebuilding of trust between communities began.

The tragedy of the tsunami has brought about sorrow and devastation to the people of Sri Lanka. Yet, it has also provided a fresh opportunity to restore a life of dignity for all Sri Lankans, to reinvigorate a stalled peace process and to bring about reconciliation to rebuild the nation.

It is with deep regret therefore that we, the humanitarian community in Sri Lanka, have noted the steady escalation of violence in the East. Of grave concern to us is that the current insecurity, particularly the killings and disruption in the Trincomalee and Batticoloa areas, could result in further destabilisation of an already volatile region.

Not only has this instability and lawlessness adversely affected community life, but it is detrimental to the speed and effectiveness of the relief operation; hinders access to affected communities and hampers reconstruction efforts. In addition, lasting peace is a prerequisite for human and economic development.

We call upon all concerned parties to immediately bring an end to the spiralling violence. We strongly urge those responsible to remember that every citizen has the fundamental right to life, liberty and security of person. The humanitarian community is committed to ensuring a life of dignity for all. The escalation of violence severely undermines these efforts. We, therefore, urge all parties to seek non-violent options to resolve this crisis and promote peace and security in the area.

This statement is representative of the views of 98 humanitarian agencies working in Sri Lanka.

By Ajith Lawrence

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Matha Amrithanantha Mai Math has suspended construction of houses for the tsunami-hit in Valiyazhical in Alappuzha district, as the local people have turned against them for not building the seawall, according to a press note issued by the Math spokesman, Dhyanamritha Chaithanya,here on Tuesday.

The press note claims that the math was forced to close all rehabilitation work due to the non-cooperation of the locals. The math was supposed to assist in building 150 houses in the area. A total of 1,300 houses were allotted to the math for reconstruction by the government in Kerala.

The state government has requested the Centre to provide financial support for the construction of a sea wall along Kerala’s coastline from the Disaster management Fund.

The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund is meeting the cost of construction at the moment. This ensures that the relief and rehabilitation work does not stall for want of fund clearance and bureaucratic procedures, said the water resources and forest minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.

The construction of a seawall has already started in Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam. In Alappad work has started on a 480-metre stretch at an estimated cost of Rs 3 million. In Arattupuzha, a 2.5 km stretch is estimated to cost Rs.26. 2 million. While in Andhakaranazhi(north and south), a sum of Rs.75 million is needed for sea wall construction.

The minister said that out of the Rs 600 million Asian Development Bank grant, Rs 380 million would be utilized for providing drinking water in the tsunami-hit areas such as Alappad,Klappana,Ochira and Karunagappaly. The government was also examining a Rs 597 million project for drinking water supply in these areas with World Bank aid. (Indiadisasters, June 1, 2005).