August 31

Government Favourtism with 100 Meter Set-back restriction

Beyond the human toll, the tsunami provided a pretext for evictions, land grabs, unjustifiable land-acquisition plans and other measures designed to prevent homeless residents from returning to their original homes and lands. Thailand, India and other affected countries have restricted the right to return but Sri Lanka stands out as the tsunami-affected country which has sought most dramatically to re-shape its residential landscape through the reconstruction process.

Government policies now prohibit new construction within 100 metres of the mean sea level (in some areas 200 metres). The overwhelming majority of the more than 500,000 people displaced lived within 100 metres of the coast when the tsunami struck. The government has promised to rehouse those affected by the construction regulations and has undertaken to build a house for every affected house owner. While privately owned land within the 100-metre zone will remain the property of the original owners - and the government states that it will not claim ownership to such property - the 100-metre rule will permanently prevent hundreds of thousands of people in fishing communities and others who lived and worked on or near the shore from returning to their former lands. Understandably, those affected are not happy.

This desire to protect the coastline and former residents from any future tsunami may appear entirely reasonable and consistent with human rights standards. However, these manoeuvres to change the demographics of the Sri Lankan coastline can be criticised on several fronts:

First, the people themselves do not want to move and generally long to return to their former lands.
Second, there has effectively been no consultation on the 100-metre rule in Sri Lanka.
And third, the exceptions to the 100-metre rule now being allowed - for hotels, wealthy property developers and other privileged groups - raise serious concerns of favouritism.

The above is extracted from an article by Scott Leckie - The great land theft which is available for download at http://www.fmreview.org/text/FMR/Tsunami/contents.htm

Scott Leckie, Executive Director of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE www.cohre.org ), worked on housing, land and property rights issues in Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. Email: scott@cohre.org . COHRE recently established an office in Colombo (contact bret@cohre.org ) to monitor human rights abuses in reconstruction programmes in all tsunami-affected countries.

Sri Lanka - Articles for download on the topics below can be ascessed HERE at the website Forced Migration Review

Ethnic conflict, the state and tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka
by Jayadeva Uyangoda

Reflections on post-tsunami psychosocial work
by Ananda Galappatti

Livelihoods in post-tsunami Sri Lanka
by Simon Harris

Six months on: facing fears
by Lyndon Jeffels

Logistical challenges
by Steve Matthews

Small fish trampled in post-tsunami stampede
by Irene Fraser

June 27 2005

Update from the Sri Lanka Network established during the Survivor's Dialogue in March 2005

We have had several meetings to establish a system to support those who joined our network. It is true that beginning of this process is slow but now we have our own established groups to work in Colombo, South and East. We held our latest meeting last Friday in Galle and decided to support several projects  Next meeting we are going to have in the East and our team is going there.

- Already we have conducted many activities for affected community members and HELP O staff on Community Action Planning. Those returning to the south have requested assistance for sanitation, housing and livelihoods ( and have begun with 30 houses and 32 toilets)

Exchanges - People to People

- Community members from the Eastern region have taken part in exchange visits to Colombo and Galle last week to learn from the experience of a Southern community project. This visit was facilitated by HELP O and Women's Bank with Sevanatha and SL Network support.

- Next week a group from Colombo will be going to East and assist them to organize their communities and our SLN support will be available immediately for community projects.

Livelihood

- The Women's Bank has started livelihood development for in the Matara area in the South with support from the SL Network

Housing

The first permanent houses - Sevanatha has already started to build five permanent houses in Moratuwa. We have already established the procedures with relevant authorities to shorten the approval process. We need to build more permanent houses in this area and ask ACHR assistance for this soon.

- We are now working very closely with Municipality, Divisional Secretary and Urban Development Authority   (UDA) and the Ministry to prepare a community based area development plan for the entire area where about 1000 families have lost their houses in Moratuwa.

Advocacy the 100 meter buffer zone

Very soon many people will have land for permanent house building and we are trying to build the basic infrastructure at the same time getting all parties involved in the process. Our team is playing an important role in the exercise and advocating to change the strict regulation of 100 m buffer zone .

We have already influenced UDA to change its plan for proposed green belt on the buffer zone in Moratuwa.

- I have participated in a workshop organized by Housing Authority last Monday to refine the guidelines prepared for Housing Development in Tsunami affected areas. Here also we brought to them the idea of people based development process and made recommendations for relaxing house building regulations for allowing people to decide locally what they feel good for them.

This is another strategy of our team to make the development process more people's friendly through interacting with government while direct supports are made available for people to implement their own initiatives.

- I will be having a meeting with 450 families in Trincomalee in East on 5th of July to initiate a project with people on self help housing. Red Cross is assisting us in this project to go trouble areas in the East.

- I will be making a presentation tomorrow at the Habitat workshop on Sustainable Human   Settlements. Here again we will be emphasizing the people based approach as we agreed at the ACHR workshop in March.

As you see from the above activities, there would be many projects to be assisted through our process.    financial support may be quite flexible, however we need to maintain the principles of transparency and accountability as we move to reach more families. Our money will be handled by three members who present Women's Bank, HELP O and Sevanatha respectively.

Reported by Jaya from SL Network of Tsunami Survivors

 

Sri Lanka Policy Issues and Concerns   - March 2005

Read on this site

Update May 13 Women's Bank Tsunami Rehabilitation Activities HERE

By the 3rd Month - March 2005

in   Sri   Lanka

Teams from Thailand, Indonesia and India discussed the issues on site with Sri Lankan survivors -

Survivors from Tamil Nadu India visited Kalutara and Payagala communities in Sri Lanka where over 500 houses were swept away.

The Indian teams reported that
In these communities the people are living in camps after 3 months, with no construction permitted in the '100-meter setback zone' - this has an adverse impact on livelihoods and has created uncertainty as the community cannot make decisions on whether to rebuild or not. The people in this community reported there has been no support from government, as yet, but the Women's Development Bank of Sri Lanka ( a grassroots CBO previously focusing on women and savings ) has given support. The people here wish to live very close to the sea as it is the basis of their livelihood.

The Indonesian team from Aceh visited Telwatta, Thotagamuwa and Hikkaduwa
They reported that in these communities:

There was a real lack of information about government decisions amongst the communities visited in this area. Distribution of assistance was not being evenly spread across communities. In Hikkaduwa the team experienced first hand, panic amongst women and children as rumours spread of another tsunami coming. They say this is happens frequently. Some said that the rumours are deliberately spread to increase anxiety about staying close to the sea.
Many of the people who were living in the village were not there to talk to as they had left to stay with relatives after the tsunami - this makes it difficult for communities to make collective decisions about rebuilding.
The Indonesian group was able to sit with communities and discuss rehabilitation strategies. By the end of the meeting the group had collected names of 40 families who were ready to start rebuilding, but needed equipment. A team of men and women from Thotagamuwa was invited to join our meeting next day at Subodhi.

Comment on the situation in Sri Lanka from the Indonesian team:
People are not organised yet and they need to be able to negotiate but there are no links with government. The initial organising can be done with a survey to identify exact details and information. In the Sri Lankan communities we visited, there appears to be no appropriate leadership in villages and the traditional organisations are not active.
People are still thinking that a tsunami will come again. Community organisations can help alleviate this fear, particularly if the women are involved in the organising.
Once information is collected, the community can discuss and can be clearer about what they want and how they can negotiate solutions.

The Thai group later added that people needed to identify their needs to undertake work according to different tasks or employment groups. Each community needs to establish who wants to stay and who does not, and try to organise themselves to address their needs.
Psychological (trauma) aspects also need to be addressed.

The communities of Katugoda and Magalle
It was reported that in these 2 communities:

With the new 100m set back regulations morale is low, which compounds the level of uncertainty;
There is to be a protest on Sunday, 13 March (next day) in relation to the food system (distribution not being done properly or effectively) and also with respect to the government taking too long to respond effectively . The people are still living in camps, which is preventing families being able to live together.
The Community is quite well organised; and
Katugoda has been fully surveyed with an inventory of damages, injury, deaths etc being compiled. There are also complete lists of employment types and economic statistics along with records of all welfare that had been received and distributed.
The people on this visit had a long and productive discussion with the community at Koggala.

All Groups strongly felt ...... this is an opportunity

• to test people-centred processes.

• to learn from each other.

• to build peace in countries that have experienced political tensions in the recent past.

Sri Lankan Survivor's Plans for April - May - June

Southern District
1st month - The collection of data and the transfer of information on rights proposed plans, community rights etc.
Formulate action plans for each community addressing land rights, education, housing design and specific group needs.
2nd month - Organised groups will implement action plans including the construction of housing with the available resources and then present results to government authorities in order gain support.
3rd month - Develop networks between communities to share information with other groups as examples and learning experiences. Use the media to explain their action plans to others in the country.

Western District
Establish a system to register effected people and households at all levels; Begin arrangements to relocate people from temporary camps; Improve livelihoods. Specific attention to children and schools in order to return to a normal life. Undertake a special survey of the people living in the 100m setback zone to establish who wishes to stay or to leave the area and devise different programs for each group. Provide technical assistance for housing construction; and effectively network the different population groups.

Eastern district
Strengthen CBOs and network with others throughout the country; Set this network up at district level to establish a dialogue; and establish a donor assistance management system for effective community participation in the equitable deliver of assistance.

At the end of the dialogue the 138 participants adopted a resolution expressing that:

We ....

speak as survivors not as helpless victims

are deeply grateful for the solidarity shown at home and around the world

realize that the recovery and reconstruction task cannot be done for us

are ready and willing to help ourselves rebuild our communities

call upon our governments to support people based solutions

need to return our former land (or land in locations that will not destroy our livelihoods) and rebuilding houses is our most urgent priority

know that restoring our livelihoods is the other vital step to our recovery

question arbitrary and inequitable policies that have been invoked without consultation

believe that there are no tenable environmental reasons for such setback zones which vary widely from country to country

urge the rapid establishment of reliable early warning systems rather than setback zones

hope that the reconstruction process can help to bring peace in areas of conflict

commit ourselves to work wholeheartedly with our governments and fellow citizens to overcome our loss and rebuild our devastated villages and settlements.

 

Read the FULL Resolution Adopted by the Survivors of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia
from ACHR and friends at the regional meeting in Sri Lanka 13 March 2005 .
Download or Read on this site

MARCH    COLOMBO    SRI LANKA       Posted March 17
Policy Issues and Concerns - Background paper on Sri Lanka and the Tsunami Download or Read on this site HERE

Tsunami Survivors Dialogue
A Regional Meeting on the Post Tsunami People Centered Recovery Process was held in Sri Lanka March 11-13 - We brought together survivors from affected communities in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka to explain their needs and share ideas on how to strengthen a people centred and community-driven recovery process. There were opportunities for the people themselves to put their views to the large agencies, governments and NGO's involved. There was also solidarity visits to affected communities in Sri Lanka to discuss strategies and needs.    Program Outline      
See Sri Lanka the ealy weeks after the tsunami HERE