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| Sunday, 13 February 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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What relief ? by Vimukthi Fernando She is 20 and has been lookingafter her sick mother and two younger siblings since her father's death two years ago. The meagre income they received, had been from her coir rope making, but even that was washed away on that fateful day, she says in a voice barely audible.
Chathurika had been standing in the queue the whole day to get provisions (dry rations worth Rs. 375 per individual) provided by the government for tsunami affected people. "I was here early morning," she says. This is the fourth consecutive day that she had to stand in the queue to get provisions. But even then, "the effort was futile," she says. "It is only rice that is available in the cooperative shop, but we could not purchase even that ." Hopelessness creeping into her voice she says that she does not know when they will be able to get the provisions. Her family depends on their paternal aunt, and Chathurika says she wants to pay back at least with the provisions due to them. But living five miles away from the temporary shelter for the displaced at the Sri Rahula Maha Viharaya, Thelwatte poses a problem. "We cannot stay the night in the camp. My mother suffers from a mental deficiency since my father's death, and she needs proper care. And the two of us young girls simply cannot stay here without the protection of a male," she tells pointing at her sister, Lakshika. Life could have been a little better for Chathurika and her siblings if they had received some help, at least the Rs. 2,500 grant offered to those who have settled away from the camps, to purchase kitchen utensils. But, no one from this shelter had received the grant. "Over 2,000 from five Grama Sevaka divisions, Daluwatumulla, Thelwatte, Hingurana, Midigasthuduwa and Boyagoda were here at the beginning, and we tolerated the discrepancies because of the crowded atmosphere. But it is still the same. We have not received any relief except the coupon for dry rations," say Nalini Thilekaratne, L.G.Banduwathie and H.N. Seethamanie. Their day is spent in queues, attempting to get something to eat for their basic survival, they complain. You hear the same story, with a few variations from the coastline settlements in Moratuwa, 18 km away from Colombo where less than a 200 metre line was damaged, all the way to Kahawa, Thelwatte, where the tsunami flattened everything on its way for over 500m from the coast. People expresse their grievances with their voices rising and falling in a mixture of anger and self-pity to a fact finding mission of journalists from various newspapers organised by the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG). While assistance, be they from the government or other private parties, goes to those who have not been much affected, those truly affected do not receive anything, they allege. Anxiety veils the future of their families and they question "How can we even get a loan from a bank to build our houses?" For, all they had owned and everything which supported their authentic existence - birth certificates, marriage certificates, identity cards, bank books, passports, driving licences, school certificates, and deeds had been washed away. But, idling had never been their pastime. These women have been income earners prior to the tsunami. They had been working either in the coastal hotels closer to their communities, or been involved in some form of self-employment - coir rope making, providing labour at more affluent households or managing boutiques/tea kiosks, to support their families. Chandrani from Guruniwasa Road, Wellabada, Balapitiya says that she can start her business of coir rope making if someone assists her to purchase a lorry load of coir, costing about Rs.35,000. A further assistance of 11 rope making machines costing about Rs. 1,500 each would restore her business completely. "I was making coir rope and had 10 other coir rope makers involved in the business. I provided them with coir, bought the finished product and supplied it to the factory. My husband is a fisherman. The boat he worked in with two others was completely destroyed by the tsunami. Now we are destitute living with the assistance of relatives," she says. "We are not beggars and we do not like to depend on others all the time," says Padmawathie Wijesekera, a mother of two school-going children from Balapitiya. Her labour of eight years in Kuwait had all been turned to smitherens by the tsunami. Since the hotel I was working in, (Saapo Villa) was also flattened by the tsunami, I have no work either. And now we are at a point where we have to get some outside assistance. If we are helped to start up our employment - coir rope making and fishing, then we can fend for ourselves. We do not have to beg from anybody for our keep. We know that there was a lot of aid flowing in from different sources. But, the only aid we received so far, is the family package that was given by the Sri Lanka Red Cross. Our question is why is the assistance announced by the media as already given to people, is not being distributed?," she questions. So does Asoka Pushpalatha, a mother of four from Modarawella, Moratuwa, living at Madupitiya, Panadura, at a relative's house since the tsunami. Asoka had been the sole breadwinner of the family, her husband a painter of vehicles, not getting any work most of the month. Her tea kiosk brought an income of over Rs. 5,000 a month she says. Though the family registered with the Grama Sevaka of their division all what they received so far is "the token for Rs. 375 once," she says. |
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