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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Tsunami - its aftermath
Three weeks after the catastrophe, their focus hasn't changed. From the misuse of aid donations to political scandals and developing the mindset of the surviving victims, they have been keeping a close watch on Sri Lanka throughout. Here are some of excerpts had to say about the crisis and its aftermath. Pupils step back into a world of books, blackboards, and hope (New York Times) Across Sri Lanka and Indonesia, schools reopened on Monday in an effort to restore a semblance of normalcy for the children. But on this devastated coast, the first day of school served as a warning of the complexities ahead as communities seek to normalise the lives of hundreds of thousands of children traumatised by walls of water. Clusters of students told tales of narrow escapes from raging waters. A teacher recorded the names of students who had parents, siblings or friends who perished. School authorities reassured students who had no school uniforms or books that they need not be ashamed. From sluggish government machinery, to long-running ethnic conflicts, to poor coordination of aid, a host of pitfalls can complicate the task, according to aid workers. Only about 25 per cent of students showed up for classes. Few seemed ready for a strict regiment. Instead of swarming the playground at recess, many children stood talking in small groups. Chris Watkins, a child protection officer for UNICEF, said the immediate goal should be to improve children's "social well-being". Ms. Watkins said a critical first step could be the reopening of schools, where children are able to talk to one another about their traumatic experiences, or simply play games. Government officials and aid workers face a staggering task trying to normalise the lives of children here in the country's worst-hit area, a stretch of the eastern coast dominated by Muslims and ethnic Hindu Tamils, Sri Lanka's two largest minority groups. Will disaster stir Sri Lanka peace? (BBC News) There has been some optimism in the South of Sri Lanka that relations between the government of Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Tamil Tiger rebels might improve. People were encouraged by the fact that the rebel leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, offered his condolences to the people of the south. They also saw it as a positive sign that the Tigers were willing to accept aid from the government, so bad had relations been. On the ground though there has been sporadic tension; the Tigers have complained to the government that one of their aid convoys on the way to rebel territory from the capital was turned back by the army. And the army has accused the Tigers of setting a refugee shelter on fire - something the rebels have denied. The Tigers meanwhile blame the army for torching the camp after the survivors of the tsunami refused to accept relief materials from soldiers. The crunch point will probably come when large amounts of medium and long-term aid are discussed for the north-eastern coastal belt. The government will be reluctant to allow this money to be channelled directly through the Tigers for fear that it entrenches them further. For their part, the Tigers will see this as a denial of the ground reality - that they run a parallel state in the north-east. They will not want the government to take control of reconstruction in the area they fought so hard for. The perception of both sides is that the flow of money brings control over territory. But the tsunami did not discriminate along ethnic lines. It devastated Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala villages alike. This tragedy could be an opportunity for reconciliation if aid is fairly distributed. If not, it will only serve to deepen existing grievances. Sri Lanka investigates alleged case of tsunami child sale (The Morning Star) A 60-year-old man tried to sell the children, aged 12 and 13, in Balapitiya, near the hard-hit southern city of Galle, said police officer W. D. T. Wijesena. Police, however, were tipped off about the sale and arrested the man on Tuesday, he said. The suspect was released on bail, Wijesena said. He didn't give details about the suspect or the attempted sale, and said the authorities were still investigating the case. The fate of the children was not immediately clear. The children are among scores who have lost their parents in the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed about 31,000 people in this island country. The United Nations and international aid agencies have expressed concerned that child traffickers could take advantage of the situation, and try to sell orphans into forced labour or the sex trade. Sri Lanka, like neighbouring India, has strict rules on adoption, and has said it will not change those regulations despite the tsunami. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
After the devastating tsunami incident many countries responded
empathetically and generously in the rehabilitation of the affected areas.
The foreign media played a crucial role covering the news just as quickly
and efficiently as the local media.
