Arugam Bay Information

The Government yesterday announced a massive development plan under the Reawakening programme to restore livelihoods through new agriculture and irrigation projects aimed at a sustainable social and economic integration of the community in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Continue reading ‘Massive development plan for North and East’

The well published ‘Environmental Impact Study’ by USAID totally ignored the fact that Hundreds of Thousands of these damaging bags would be introduced into the water as sand bags by defense contractors CH2MHILL.
The cheap bags were used in construction of the new bridge, as shown above.
Hessian or coconut (degradable) bags were suggested by our Arugam.info representative at the time, but the request was totally ignored.
Following recent floods, many bags were dislodged and some have been found washed up on the beaches as far away as Crocodile rock.

Fishing people fear that the unraveled bag strands could be mistaken to glass type worms and swallowed by fish or prawns. This would cause a further environmental disaster.

It is certain that Thousands of bags will never be recovered!
They will pollute the area for many years to come.

Also, one wonders, if such environmental damaging practices would have been allowed to take place in the USA.

Dislodged bags hastily covered up, as shown above.
Photos Copy right: www.sri-lanka-board.de

After the December 2004 tsunami struck, devastating the countries of South and Southeast Asia, the Sri Lankan government moved quickly to announce the launch of a grand plan not just to rehabilitate the affected areas but to rebuild the whole country. They have since gathered commitments of over $3 billion from the international financial institutions and foreign governments to carry this out.

Within days of the disaster, the government had announced that people should not rebuild their houses on the coast. Within weeks, an exclusion zone of up to 200 metres inland from the coast had been announced, displacing fisherfolk and other coastal communities from their land and effectively severing them from their livelihoods. Shortly afterwards, exceptions were announced for tourist businesses, and the government has been talking about the need to promote tourism. In the meantime, non-governmental agencies have been carrying out almost all of the work in cleaning up the destroyed areas, building temporary shelters, regenerating livelihoods and so on.

The Sri Lanka Tourist Board website says, “In a cruel twist of fate, nature has presented Sri Lanka with a unique opportunity, and out of this great tragedy will come a world class tourism destination.” However, this “unique opportunity” seems to be reserved solely for developers and those who can afford a “world-class tourist destination,” but for the majority of tsunami survivors, the opportunity for rebuilding their lives with dignity and sustainability will be lost. For them, the “cruel twist of fate” was not in the tsunami, but lies in the government’s tourist- and business-oriented rebuilding plan.

The Master Plans: Arugam Bay, a Blueprint for Sri Lanka

Plans are now being developed to transform 15 coastal towns all around the island into tourist resorts as part of the post- tsunami rebuilding process. The 15 towns under discussion, Wadduwa, Beruwala, Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Unawatuna, Koggala, Matara, Hambantota, Tangalla, Yala, Arugam Bay, Passikuddah, Nilaweli and Kalpitiya, have been singled out for redevelopment according to different themes.

The first plan to emerge was that for the redevelopment of Arugam Bay, a small town nestled on the edge of a 300 hectare lagoon on the east coast of Sri Lanka, which just happens to be one of the best surfing spots in the world with beautiful beaches. There are indications that this will serve as a model for all the other areas.

Redevelopment Plans “ Grandiose and Inappropriate”

The Arugam Bay Resource Development Plan covers a stretch of land 17km by 5km between Komari and Panama, including Pottuvil Town. It envisages the total reorientation of the area away from the current fishing and agricultural communities, supplemented by seasonal guesthouses, into a large development of hotels (“low cost budget windsurfer to 5-star tourist”), a commercial centre (“shoppers’ paradise”), a yachting marina, floating plane pier and helipad. According to the plan, while only 9 out of 25,000 hectares are currently being used for tourism, this figure is set to increase exponentially through the redevelopment.

Consultants contracted to work on the redevelopment admit that they, “have drawn heavily upon past plans (esp. the Tourism Master Plan)…which was widely recognised as being ‘ grandiose’ and ‘inappropriate’,” referring to a report of the Asian Development Bank. The disconnect between the planned development and the interests of the people is illustrated in the following quote, ‘the location of the helicopter pad near the new pedestrianised road will bring a new vibrant life in to Arugam Bay town centre’.

Government Coercion Forces Out Coastal Communities

In the name of “ redevelopment,” the Sri Lanka Tourist Board is ready to acquire not only all the land within the buffer zone declared by the Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN) of 200 metres from the high tide line, but also a stretch up to a kilometre wide running along 3 kilometres of the coast beyond the buffer zone, as well as a belt of land over 600 metres wide in places around the edge of the lagoon. In addition, an area of sea next to the lagoon entrance will be appropriated for the yachting marina and a strip across the middle of the lagoon for the floating plane landing pier.

This proprietary sentiment was reflected in statements made by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Chairman at a meeting organised by Sewalanka Foundation between the community and the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. Saying, “The land belongs to the government. Maybe your forefathers lived in that area, but the 860 acres belongs to the government. It will be developed as a tourist zone. We will put up buildings and develop the area and we will ask you to come and work there… After I became the Chairman I captured 5,000 acres of land for the Tourist Board. My target is 15,000 acres,” the Chairman left no room for doubt about the true nature of the plans for reconstruction.

There are plans for new housing for the estimated 5,000 displaced families in 5 separate inland locations, in all cases behind areas zoned off for tourism. These resettlements are located well over 1km from both the sea and the lagoon, which are rendered practically inaccessible by the new tourist infrastructure. The plan proposes to allocate houses in the resettlement districts by drawing lots, and there is blatant coercion to move from the government, saying through the Tourist Board that “these houses will be given to people who support our program.” Further threats from the Tourist Board hint at state oppression of non- compliants, threatening communities that “if you built any illegal structures in Arugam Bay, the army and the police will have to come and remove them.”
The document also says that the over 70 existing guesthouses and numerous other small enterprises that will have to be relocated would, if they were already registered businesses, be given the option of leasing land within the zones for a period of up to 30 years, while unregistered businesses would have no such rights. None of the businesses will receive compensation.

$80 Million of Tsunami Funds Spent on Creating a “Tourist Paradise”

The initial investment in the planned development is estimated at $80 million. Of that, $50 million is earmarked for a bridge over Arugam Lagoon, which according to the plan “will stand as an inspirational symbol that shows progress towards the achievement of prosperity for Arugam Bay” as “the gateway to a tourist paradise.”

Another $5 million is allocated for a new road around Arugam Lagoon, and $20 million is proposed for the construction of the new inland townships of 2,500 houses each. The remaining $5 million is slated for water supply and sanitation systems in the new townships and the tourist zone. The cost of the other proposed infrastructure, such as the floating plane pier and helipad, is not yet included in the overall plan, although it is stated in the document that such amenities will have to be funded either by investment by the government or from NGOs.

================================

What else could $80 million do?

The government has decided to stop the weekly food grant of 200 rupees in cash and 175 rupees in rations for the 881,000 people affected by the disaster. $80 million would be sufficient to extend this relief for all for another 6 months.

The government has only started to build 1,659 permanent houses to replace the 41,393 that were completely destroyed, a mere fraction of the housing desperately needed by tsunami victims. $80 million would be enough for 32,000 families to build houses.

================================

Redevelopment Plan Conceived in Isolation

The plan was apparently initiated independently by the Rebuild Sri Lanka Trust, which was set up in the aftermath of the tsunami by 4 individuals and started working in the Arugam Bay area as a “non- political private sector initiative.” The Trustees include the managing director of Maxim Ltd., a garment manufacturing company; a senior partner in a Colombo law firm, specialising in foreign investment, infrastructure development advisory services and real estate; the Managing Director of Expolanka Freight Ltd, a transport services company; and a retired doctor.

The Rebuild Sri Lanka Trust had within a month of the tsunami contracted a series of consultants to work on the plan. These are Dutch engineering consultants Arcadis; ECOPLAN-Z Limited from New Zealand; and EML Consultants from Sri Lanka. All of these consultants are involved in or are directly linked to work on large Asian Development Bank or World Bank infrastructure projects. The local company, EML Consultants, according to their website, normally works in facilitating US investment in water and environmental services, in carbon trading and in the promotion of plantation agriculture and floriculture.

The plan was finalised in late April of this year, and states that at the time of writing the President had already given approval, and was “keen to see the action projects proposed in the report are implemented without delay.” In fact, USAID had already published a presolicitation notice for a contract to construct the bridge, road, water supply scheme and wastewater system in Arugam Bay by 8th April 2005, and hosted a pre-bid conference for potential contractors in Colombo on 10th May 2005.

The first the residents of Arugam Bay heard of the plan was at a meeting organised by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and Sewalanka Foundation in Colombo on 17th May 2005, nearly a month after the plan had been approved and finalized by the government, and more than a month after the USAID presoliciation notice was issued.

An assessment of the plan carried out by Arcadis said “the most important shortcoming is that it has largely been produced in isolation in Colombo, with little or no stakeholder involvement. It is evident that the team spent only two days in Pottuvil – Arugam Bay, and apart from the GA officer in Ampara and the DS in Pottuvil, they met only with INGO staff.”

================================

Business Interests at the Top

The plan falls under the remit of the Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN), an extra-governmental body functioning under the authority of the President. TAFREN is headed by 10 business leaders, at least 5 of whom own or manage companies that operate beach hotels.

================================

For Tsunami Victims, Another “Cruel Twist of Fate” In Store

The picture that is becoming clearer by the day shows that the direction being taken in the post-tsunami rebuilding is completely counter to the interests of those people who have suffered in the disaster. They are being driven off their land and out of their livelihoods in the name of a grand plan for the ‘modernisation’ of the country.

This process started long before tsunami, but it is now being pushed with the weight of the $3 billion the government has gathered in the name of the tsunami victims. If all of the 15 tourist townships require an investment of $80 million, the cost will be $1.2 billion, or a massive 40% of the total amount committed. If all of the 15 tourist township plans follow the model of Arugam Bay, the number of families pushed out to make way for hotels, yachting marinas, helipads and floating plane landing strips could be well over 75,000.

source:

http://www.50years.org/cms/ejn/story/274

published September, 2005 – but only found on the net now, January, 2008

Salut,

Le petit billet du jour aura pour thème mon boulot au Sri Lanka.

J’ai été recruté comme responsable de programme par Sport Sans Frontières (SSF) (www.sportsansfrontieres.org) pour une durée d’un an. La mission existe depuis maintenant 3 ans (mission post tsunami).

 

Pendant un an je vais habiter avec Valentine (enfin déjà surnommée violette pour des raisons dont je suis innocent), chef de mission, et Guillaume, responsable de programme (il s’occupe de 22 écoles de la ville de Pottuvil, et coordonne et forme les animateurs de l’équipe et des instituteurs locaux). La première est de Aix en Provence, le second palois.

 

Mes missions sont multiples car je suis responsable de 3 programmes différents.

Ø      Le premier, appelé « Youth Club ». Ce sont en fait des centres sportifs créés par SSF, et encadrés par des animateurs locaux que nous encadrons et formons. Ils sont au nombre de 6. Ces centres sportifs sont ouverts 4 jours par semaine. Mon rôle est donc d’en faire le tour, d’évaluer les séances des animateurs, et de faire une réunion une fois par semaine afin de continuer leur formation et de rebondir sur ce qui a été fait (en bien ou en mal). Notre but sur ce projet est la pérennité des youth club pour 2009, mais également leur autonomie, tout comme celle des animateurs.

Ø      Le second, appelé formation « Akkarapatu » (du nom de la ville où se passe la formation, à 1h30 de route d’ici). Il s’agit pour moi de former des instituteurs déjà en poste, et cela une après-midi par semaine pendant toute l’année. Mon but est de leur faire intégrer le sport comme outil éducatif. La tache n’est pas aisée dans un pays où le sport n’existe que par le cricket et la compétition de haut niveau. Point de sport à l’école ici.

Ce programme concerne 40 personnes que je dois en plus suivre sur le terrain une fois par semaine (ils sont répartis par groupes de 2). Au final, il y a un examen théorique ainsi qu’une note concernant la pratique.

Ø      Le troisième, appelé formation « Addelachchenai » (du nom de la ville où se passe la formation, à 2h de route d’ici). Elle est plus ou moins la même que la précédente, mais là ce sont es professeurs et instituteurs en formations. Je l’ai aurais une après-midi par semaine (3h) en théorie, et 1h30 en pratique par semaine, et cela pendant 6 mois. Puis les 6 derniers mois, ils seront en stage dans des écoles, avec obligations de faire pratiquer le sport une fois par semaine à leurs élèves.

Ils sont au nombre de 20 et sont répartis sur une surface qui va m’amener à faire beaucoup de route (vraiment beaucoup car 4h de route pour évaluer des élèves, c’a fait vraiment beaucoup).

La encore je dois créer l’ensemble des contenus de cours, et les évaluer.

 

Voila un petit peu de quoi va être composé mon quotidien. Pas de tout repos. Mais ne vous en faites pas, il y a plein de choses que je vais faire en dehors du boulot. A commencer par surfer. Mais aussi visiter ce beau pays qu’à l’air d’être le Sri Lanka (malgré le fait qu’en ce moment, pour raisons de sécurité, nos déplacements dans le pays soient très limités).

tel portable:

source:

http://nicosrilanka.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

One of my greatest wishes and goals in life is to travel around the world and explore. I would like to have what I call little mini adventures. I love the sense of freedom you get when you travel. Like you can leave all the other stuff in your life at home and just enjoy the pleasures and sites of someplace new, try new things, eat new foods and just explore.

Since I can’t just pick up and leave for these great adventures whenever I want, I do still want to learn about new places and cultures and sites. My not so very original idea instead is to read travel guides or watch videos about the places I would like to visit.

Recently while surfing channels on the TV, I found a series called Globe Trekker on PBS. I watched a program last night on Sri Lanka and the Maldives. One of the places the host visited was the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage in Kegalle, Hill Country, Sri Lanka. Apparently when the farmers started taking over more and more land to tea plantations, the elephants were driven out. The orphanage is home to these displaced elephants and also home to many injured elephants due to land mines. You can visit and observe them feeding the elephants as well as watch them go in the water for bath time, which was totally adorable and really tugs the heart strings.

I also found her visit to Arugam Bay in Ampara, Southeast Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia to really interesting. Because of an ongoing civil war with the Tamil Tigers, the region has its share of terrorist activities occasionally. But apparently both sides of this war, don’t have a problem with tourists visiting the area. Some of the most beautiful beaches are there and hard core surfers from around the world go there to surf. I thought their travel advice was pretty practical. It’s like anywhere else in the world, there are good areas and bad, just stay in the areas that are good and don’t just wander around, because you’ll run into problems. They used NYC has an analogy for this.

As for the Maldives Islands, there are 1190 of them. Tourists can only stay on a fraction of them. I learned they are very careful about conservation on those islands and the sea surrounding them. The host was saying that the islands are a divers paradise and I can believe it. The sea life was really quite amazing.

One of the cool things about learning in general to me is making connections. For example this morning when checking Google news I came across an article about Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers. I can honestly say that normally I would probably have passed over that article and never read it. But now that I’ve watched that program and understand a bit more about the conflict goin on and seeing the people who live there, its a connection.

Anyway, just thought I would share my little virtual journey. Check out the program and links. Enjoy!!

source:

http://gottahavemoxie.org/blogs/2008/01/22/virtual-globe-trotting-sri-lanka-and-the-

maldives/

Viewpoint By Fredrik Erixon Chief economist, Timbro

Sound economic policies, not aid, have lifted millions of Asians out of poverty Fredrik Erixon The case for aid: Jeffrey Sachs

The aid sector is booming. In the last three years, foreign aid has risen by one third and today stands at US$78.6 bn. In 2010, government spending on aid is projected to be above US$125 bn a year.

What are we to expect from this new wave of aid spending? Will it, once and for all, lift people out of poverty or will it most likely achieve very little – perhaps even be counterproductive?

These are the core issues. Hardly anyone opposes the idea that first-world countries should assist developing countries, if that assistance helps countries to develop. The question is: does it?

I am afraid it does not.

Failure of the big push

The new ‘big push’ of development aid has been tried many times before but always with dismal results. The call for redoubling aid to eradicate poverty has been responded to many times over, but it has never delivered what it promised.

In spite of more than US$1 trillion in aid to Africa over the last 50 years, the big push in development has yet to occur.

Between 1970 and 1995 aid to Africa increased rapidly and aid dependency (measured as the aid-to-GDP ratio) stood at nearly 20% in the early 1990s. Measured differently, the mean value of aid as a share of government expenditures in African countries was well above 50% between 1975 and 1995.

As African aid rose, growth slowed. World Development Indicators Online

During the same period, GDP per capita growth in Africa decreased and was for many years even measured in negative figures. The unfortunate fact is that most African countries are poorer today then they were at the time of their independence from colonial powers.

If the idea of aid had been true – in particular the alleged link between aid, investment, and growth – many of those countries would today have eradicated extreme poverty and have a GDP per capita similar to that of New Zealand, Spain or Portugal.

If nothing else, aid to Africa seems to have lowered rather than increased economic growth.

Corruption and bad decisions

Why has aid failed to deliver higher economic growth for developing countries?

AID AND DEVELOPMENT Who are the biggest donors and who are the biggest recipients? In graphics

Partly because aid has not been spent in the way it was intended. Instead of gearing up investments, money was spent on current spending and public consumption – which, in turn, led to a rapidly growing public sector in the economy.

Needless to say, this strengthened other socialist tendencies in the economy and investment became, in many developing countries, mainly a government activity.

In addition, aid boosted fiscal budgets and led to a rapidly growing number of parastatals and state-owned enterprises. Largely supported by the donor community at the time, these soon became arenas of corruption and this corruption spread like wildfire to other parts of the society.

Mozambique and other African countries adopted Socialist policies

The tragedy of aid, as been shown in numerous evaluations and by World Bank research, is that donors are part of the problem of corruption; aid often underpins corruption, and higher aid levels tend to erode the governance structure of poor countries.

In other words, donors have failed to follow the chief principle of the Hippocratic oath: do no harm!

However, the major reason for the low effect of aid has been policies detrimental to economic growth in the recipient countries.

Closed African doors

It is sound economic policies, not aid, that in the last decades have lifted millions – even billions – of Asians out of extreme poverty, and provided the resources to limit the extent of (or in some countries, eradicate) starvation, diseases, and other visible signs of poverty.

Inversely, it is bad economic policies that still keep millions of Africans in deadly poverty.

When several Asian countries started to open up for trade and foreign direct investment, the policies that created the ‘Asian Tigers’ and the ‘Asian Miracles’, many African countries headed for a model of economic autarky, closed the borders, and regulated the domestic economy to absurd degrees.

It is hardly surprising that this strategy of development has failed bitterly.

What is more, donors supported these policies. And many donors are still pouring money into countries with policies detrimental to growth.

Instead of focusing on the quality of aid and how to raise the output through a more productive use of aid, donor countries and others are solely occupied by increasing the quantity of aid.

Regrettably, caution is therefore warranted. Aid to countries that are not performing well tends to strengthen the factors of under-development, and increased aid to countries that have entered the economic reform route runs the risk of derailing the reform process.

Trade in the aid

Do Bono and Sir Bob know how the extra aid should be spent?

The question then is not if rich countries can afford to give more aid to developing countries. It is obvious that they can.

The question is whether this aid can reduce poverty by promoting economic growth.

Sadly, the history of aid does not show that it can. Nor does it seem that world leaders, not to mention Bob Geldof and other campaigners, have any real idea how the aid given can be made more effective.

So, here is what donor countries should do.

• do not spend any more money on development aid
• withdraw all aid to countries that are not pursing sound economic policies and that fail seriously to build institutions for democracy and transparency
• countries that meet these high standards should, within a limited period of time, be assisted with ‘locking-in’ already accomplished reforms and, in particular, with pursuing additional reforms
• rich countries should immediately open up their markets for exports from poor countries

Trade has proven to be instrumental to poor countries development. Aid has not.

Fredrik Erixon is the chief economist of Timbro, a Swedish think-tank, and author of Aid and Development: Will it Work this Time? (International Policy Network, 2005)

source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4209956.stm

photo copyright: www.sri-lanka-board.de 

It is unclear, however, which Organization might be behind this impressive achievement.
Also, Arugam.info has not been informed how much has been spent on this innovative high tech. project.
Maybe we fail to spot the artistic side of his rare monument?
Is there a well known, international sculptor involved?

Tsunami Reconstruction, Three Years Later

WASHINGTON D.C. – In the days immediately following the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake and tsunami, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other government agencies launched a $656 million reconstruction program. The money was provided by Congress in May 2005 and signed into law by President Bush for the Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction Fund (including $31.3 million to combat avian influenza).

When added to the money spent by the Department of Defense on emergency recovery assistance and relief aid, as well as food aid provided by USDA, the United States contributed $841 million. Moreover, swift action by the United States, in cooperation with other donors and private organizations, prevented another disaster by ensuring critical water and sanitation needs were met.

Americans also responded in great numbers. According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, U.S. private tsunami donations, including both cash and in-kind donations, is more than $1.8 billion.

Today, the United States continues to support programs in affected communities. They include rebuilding roads; helping people rebuild their livelihoods; training (particularly for women) to develop new skills and strengthening community governance and political structures.

U.S. assistance has restarted over 2.6 million businesses; distributed over 11,000 small business loans worth more than $13 million; provided economic restoration grants to over 1.7 million recipients; rebuilt more than 11,600 community buildings; and trained over 22,000 communities in early warning and disaster preparedness. To date, U.S. assistance equals over 2.3 million work days. The following are program details supported by the $656 million Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction Fund.

Indonesia ($405.7 million):

• Continued the construction of 141 miles of new and rehabilitated road from Banda Aceh to Calang, with an anticipated completion date of March 2010.
• Supported community-based birth preparedness and psychosocial protection activities in 49 villages, promoted hand washing with soap in 16 primary schools and installed and equipped community health clinics in 13 markets.
• Trained 97 health center nurses, 33 doctors in mental health nursing, 150 midwives and 150 psychosocial caregivers.
• Built 842 homes, benefiting close to 2,400 internally displaced persons.
• Rehabilitated 4008 acres of coastal forest on tsunami-affected land.
• Constructed three rural clean water systems serving more than 700 households (three water utilities added more than 4,000 connections); built one rural sanitation/clean water system for 50 households.
• Rebuilt 54 village offices, 87 community centers, 44 recreational facilities, 150 wells, and nearly six miles of irrigation canal; planted 34,000 fruit and nut trees; supplied 1,545 goats/cattle and grants for small-scale entrepreneurs.
• Provided $750,332 worth of loans to reestablish or start new businesses. Ensured access to capital for 3,710 female entrepreneurs through community-managed revolving funds.
• Trained 5,000 farmers in organic coffee production and marketing and provided microfinance to help reestablish savings and assets. Due to higher quality and better marketing, the price per kilogram that coffee farmers receive has soared almost 50 percent since the beginning of the project.
• Trained 350 Acehnese youth in vocational education programs.
• Provided technical assistance to key reconstruction agencies; trained over 5,313 local government officials in planning and budgeting.
• Supported peaceful and democratic local elections in Aceh Province as part of a peace agreement signed between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement. Provided election administration and oversight as well as voter education programs.
• Provided support directly to the newly elected governor of Aceh.

Sri Lanka ($134.6 million):

• Continued the construction of the new $10.6 million Arugam Bay Bridge (more than halfway complete). The bridge will be 607 feet long and link three coastal villages with strong tourism potential.
• Developed a $4.5 million project to upgrade the water supply system in surrounding communities, complementing the bridge project.
• Continued work on a $9.78 million contract to upgrade three fishing harbors. Completion is expected in March 2008.
• Provided $6 million of livelihood assistance to 34,890 households, exceeding the target of 29,000 households. Trained more than 8,800 persons for new employment, provided loans to over 2,000 households and assisted more than 9,000 community organizations and businesses.
• Completed a $2.3 million post-tsunami anticorruption program to train over 250 members of the auditor general’s office and equipped trainers to reach 1,200 staff charged with preventing corruption.
• Continued work on nine vocational training centers in the South and in the conflict-affected East. Two of these facilities will be environmentally friendly “green” schools.
• Constructed 65 of 85 playgrounds. Completion is expected by mid-2008.
• Awarded more than $21 million in small grants in tsunami-affected areas. The grants have rebuilt libraries, wells, waste management systems and marketplaces.
• Neared completion of a $1.9 million reconstruction project that includes desalination plants and distribution pipes. Operator training has commenced and management committees are being formed to distribute potable water to various points on the two islands. The system is expected to be in full operation by the end of January 2008.
• ………………………..
• India ($17.9 million):
• Provided 444,912 days of cash-for-work employment to tsunami family members engaged in relief and recovery projects.
• Created 2,397 new businesses and restarted 1,433 old businesses.
• Enhanced family economic opportunities by providing 3,952 small and micro loans totaling $564,037.
• Provided economic opportunities for women through $872,353 of assistance as well as cash-for-work employment.
• Provided new or rebuilt shelters to 53,600 tsunami family members.
• Constructed, rebuilt or improved 7,590 sewage stations servicing 30,000 families, including 550 prototype Ecosan toilets.
• Constructed, rebuilt, or improved 2,556 water systems servicing 9,700 families.
• Built or refurbished 80 community water or sanitation facilities, including 20 decentralized wastewater treatment systems.
• Started 58 community solid-waste systems serving 12,500 families.
• Provided health treatment and support to 62,059 persons, including HIV/AIDS patients.
• Established eight multiservice centers, providing children with day care, tuition centers, informal education facilities and vocational training support.
• Set up six vocational training centers and 18 children’s parks.
• Provided educational support services to 81,724 students.
• Provided $487,991 of assistance for protection and antitrafficking activities for women and children.
• Provided psychosocial support to 6,000 children in antitrafficking database and linked with government education and nutrition programs.
• Trained 2,813 community-level workers in psychosocial counseling techniques.
• Provided psychosocial counseling to 229,061 persons.
• Trained 22,063 communities in disaster preparedness.
• Conducted 2,277 disaster-preparedness mock drills.

Maldives ($12.0 million):

• Provided funding to install sewage systems, construct a harbor and breakwater, repair power systems and upgrade public accounting systems.

Thailand ($5.3 million):

• Provided micro loans to over 1,300 persons in five tsunami-affected communities to restart and diversify their livelihoods.
• Transformed a microfinance loan program into a cooperative credit union, allied with over 1,300 similar credit unions in Thailand.
• Established 43 new businesses and restarted 235 livelihood activities through project loans, grants, or vocational training.
• Constructed a community learning center to continue long-term outreach and education efforts on community-based disaster management, computer training, sustainable livelihoods and environmental stewardship.
• Identified opportunities for replicating best practices in sustainable community-based management.
• Provided teacher training and community outreach activities through ten new Peace Corps volunteers.

Regional Programs ($31.8 million):

• Provided real-time warning information services to the Indian Ocean region through the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center; these services will continue until regional warning systems are established for the Indian Ocean.
• U.S. government continued to provide important technical leadership in supporting UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission to develop a multi-hazard Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Under this program, the U.S. government team installed and upgraded tsunami monitoring equipment, helped develop programs and procedures for national agencies to transmit warnings to the local level, and launched coastal programs so communities can better prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
• Launched two buoy systems in partnership with Thailand and Indonesia and provided continuous real-time data to warning centers in the Indian Ocean. These tsunami-detecting buoy systems are currently the only operational buoys in the Indian Ocean.
• Upgraded sea-level stations in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives; upgraded seismic stations in Indonesia; and installed Global Telecommunications System linkages in Sri Lanka and the Maldives to enhance the region’s ability to share critical disaster information.
• Developed Tsunami Warning Center guidelines to serve as the template for Indian Ocean tsunami warning centers.
• Created hazard maps and tsunami models to assist regional governments to better understand and plan for future earthquakes and tsunamis as well as update codes and design buildings that resist earthquakes.
• Provided incident command system training, which serves as the foundation for national-level disaster response in Sri Lanka and is being introduced in Indonesia.
• Introduced and institutionalized tsunami early-warning and rapid-alert procedures in Thailand and Indonesia.
• Provided 200 “RANET” satellite emergency radio units and training to Indonesia and Sri Lanka to backup tsunami- and disaster-warning information in coastal communities.
• Supported a full-scale tsunami simulation exercise in Thailand, the first of its kind in the Indian Ocean.
• Launched a regional program to promote disaster planning integrated with efforts to improve livelihoods, coastal conservation and governance.
• Delivered the first accredited training course under a newly established International Tsunami Training Institute, in partnership with the Asian Institute of Technology.

Other ($48.7 million):

• In addition to the amounts listed above, the $656 million in the Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction Fund also includes money for administration and oversight ($17.4 million), support services for U.S. citizen victims and related operations, as well as funds to prevent and control the spread of the avian influenza virus ($31.3 million).

This U.S. government assistance to the tsunami-affected countries also includes the following activities.

Public-Private Partnerships:

• Twenty public-private partnerships leveraged more than $18.1 million in private sector funds for reconstruction in tsunami-affected countries to help rebuild communities, develop livelihoods, promote sustainable timber and build vocational skills.
• Partners in post-tsunami reconstruction include: American International Group, American Joint Jewish Distribution Committee, AmeriCares Foundation, Caltex, Chevron, Coca-Cola, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil. Also, Mars, Mellon Foundation, Mercury Marine, Microsoft, Prudential, Rotary Club of Thailand, Unocal, World Wildlife Fund and the students of Maple Elementary School in Jefferson, IN.
• USAID also advised former Presidents Bush and Clinton on how to spend the more than $13 million they raised from private sources. Projects include: fishing boats in Thailand; playgrounds and a children’s hospital in Sri Lanka; education programs in India; “adopting” an island in the Maldives; helping to rebuild an entire community in Indonesia; and establishing a special Fulbright scholarship program for future leaders from Aceh at Texas A & M and the University of Arkansas.

Coordination:

• Given the unprecedented level of donor resources and the worldwide outpouring of support, coordination was critical to ensure the aid was used in the most effective way possible.
• U.S. government donor collaboration took many forms. For example, several activities are coordinated through regional mechanisms, such as the International Tsunami Consortium convened by U.N. Special Envoy Bill Clinton. The consortium is composed of six U.N. agencies, the World Bank and the International Federation of the Red Cross. An inter-government group as well as the U.S. component for the India Ocean Tsunami Warning System also provided donor coordination-including U.N. and bilateral donors-for relief activities in the entire region.
• The United States continues to be engaged in regular donor coordination through meetings and joint monitoring visits.
• The Multi Donor Fund, which the United States has contributed $10 million, has received $663 million in pledges from 15 donors and allocated $492 million to 17 projects.

Technical Assistance:

• The United States has provided technical assistance in audit and financial management, spatial planning and information and communication technology in helping country governments provide rehabilitation and reconstruction services. For example, it helped establish an online tracking system for the government of Indonesia and donors to monitor assistance and program results.
• The U.S. government provided technical assistance to hundreds of scientists-including geologists, meteorologists and oceanographers-through mentorship, training and exchanges in the United States.
• In Aceh, the United States has provided governance advisors and training; media training; and transportation- and energy-related assistance.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.

source:

http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2008/pr080118.html

Well presently i sit in a nice and breezy mountain towncalled ella. It is about 1000 meters above sea level and the views are amazing. I can werar jeans here because its a little cooler. that excites me. We are staying at a wicked place with amazing food… and at the price of 3$ a night you cant go wrong..

I dont remeber the last time i wrote but i guess ill tell you what weve been doing the last few days. We went to a national park on a jeep safariand saw some crazy cool animals.

We then proceded to the east o fthe island to a place called arugam bay. It was a ghost town since its not peek tourist season. There were no waves for surfing and there was like 1 store open. But we found a sweet place to stay and met 2 girls . one from cali, and the other from the UK. We have been travelling with them the last 4 days. We left there to come here to ella. It was only like 200 kms but we had to take 3 bus’s , 2 tuk-tuks and a train and it took all day. Transport sucks in Sri Lanka.

But ive enjoying being mellow in sri lanka. Ive been able to read and write alot.
The tea is so good here.
The people are very kind.(although they stare alot)
Pray for the people of Sri lanka during the time of this civil war. 2008 will be a bad year for Sri lanka if something doesnt change.

Pray for health and for safe travel. We leave on the 27th.
Miss you all.

reuben
God Bless

source:

http://reubenwurtz.blogspot.com/2008/01/ella-ella-eh.html

Due to the on-going conflict, the SLAF base at Katunayeke could be targeted at any time. The co-located international airport could be closed without warning and commercial aircraft could be at risk, particularly at night. We recommend you contact your airline to confirm flight details.
Passengers on international flights to and from Australia are only allowed to carry a small amount of liquids (including aerosols and gels) in their carry-on baggage. You can find out more information at the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government website. Similar restrictions apply to flights in an increasing number of countries. Contact your airline for further information.
If you have concerns about the safety standards of a particular airline or aircraft, we recommend you research the airline or aircraft through organisations such as Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has published fact sheets on security for air travellers. When staff at Australia’s overseas missions are advised not to use particular airlines due to safety concerns this will be included in travel advice.
The European Union (EU) has published a list of airlines that are subject to operating bans or restrictions within the EU. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through its foreign assessment program focuses on a country’s ability, not the individual airline, to adhere to international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance established by ICAO.
source:
http://joyceheyzer.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!79F27886F50B9A13!1961.entry?wa=
wsignin1.0

A man has been released from prison in Sri Lanka after being held on remand for 50 years without conviction. DP James was 30 years old when he was arrested for stabbing and wounding his father and sent to jail. He is now 80.

He was moved to a psychiatric hospital shortly after entering prison in 1957, and returned to jail in the mid-1980s, where he seems to have been forgotten.

Mr James was released on bail with the court’s apologies. His lawyer hopes the case against him will be dismissed.

Mr James is due back in court next month. A claim for compensation is now being considered.

Stroke of luck

It was an extraordinary case for the Magistrates Court at Kurunegala in Sri Lanka – an 80-year-old man appearing for a bail hearing 50 years after he was remanded in custody.

The lawyer who organised his defence in court, Dharmawijaya Seneviratne, says his client did not complain because he was from a village and ignorant of the law.

DP James might have ended his days in prison, but in December he was taken to hospital again for medical treatment.

Prison officers who went to collect him after his recovery checked his documents and realised the error.

source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7186063.stm

Arugam.info has been asked why we do not report ‘The floods” on the Eastern front.
This year, for a change, the annual event has received certain global coverage.
NGO’s are said to be ‘active’.

The answer is:
We tend to report actual NEWS.
And there is no real problem at Arugam Bay!

Arugam.info does not wish to belittle the plight of the thousands of wet people on the East Coast.
However, for many years, if not Centuries, all low lying areas have always been under water.
All the people who live there know this very well.

After all, it is a natural fact of Eastern life:
When it rains up country, the rivers carry the extra water to the sea:
And fields and some dwellings will always be under a few feet of water.
So what?
Families, living in such, much cheaper areas have adopted quite well:
In the rainy season they usually pack their bags and belongings and move to Uncle X or Aunty Y on the hill nearby. The kids look forward to this annual event all year long….

The paddy fields get watered. The rubbish washed away, for a change.
When, after a week or two the water levels are acceptable again, they simply return back home from their camping trip.
Of late, however, with NGO’s ‘active’ in such “Fields” there seems to be unprecedented media coverage of this yearly event. Here is a way to make guys even more greedy and dependent on hand-outs. And NGO’s job is more secure again…

Why?
Some of the clever guys have learned that it gets you nowhere, if you try to help yourself and make ends meet. Like most families have done for Centuries, without international focus or interference.

So some have learned not to visit Aunty Y this year, for a change.

Instead they climb on top of their little shack, waving a white rag at a passing chopper or Land Cruiser:
And presto: They get help.

Lunch packets are promptly delivered, dry rations and dry sarongs. But the real target of such guys is to get re-housed, for free. There are some reports that a few clever business men actually purchased property in the dry season for “A Mango & an Egg” (very cheap) knowing full well it will be flooded. So that they can wave their little white handkerchief and claim compensation. Six months on, as predicted.

Maybe one can understand such behaviour.

But it is totally unfair on the thousands of honest people, who are simply too proud for this kind of deception.

Present floods’ cannot be compared with the huge unexpected swell we seen 3 years ago!

Then we did not know what was coming – and when.
And to switch assistance to ‘flood victims’ might be OK – if it would not be for the fact, that some real Tsunami sufferers are still waiting for their first rupee or hand out of any kind; 3 years after an event which -at the time- could not have been prevented or foreseen.

Floods devastate lives across globe (11 January 2008)

Floods have wreaked havoc across the world this week as heavy rain hit Southern Africa, Australia, the US, Sri Lanka and Britain.

An Australian woman was killed after flood waters in New South Wales swept her car from a causeway on Saturday.

Thousands were left stranded in eastern parts of the country after some of the worst flooding the country has seen in more than 20 years following a long period of drought.

Aid agencies warned of the risk of diseases from dirty water after floods devastated parts of Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe at the beginning of the week.

Chris McIvor, Save the Children’s director in Mozambique, said: “The warning bells have been ringing for two weeks. The flooding could get a lot worse very quickly.

“We know that what children will need most urgently is shelter, clean water to drink and enough food to eat.”

Officials estimated that millions had been forced to flee their homes and several people are believed to have died.

The downpour has also drowned livestock and left many fields waterlogged, raising the prospect of food shortages in the months to come.

Monsoon flooding forced about 30,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka to take refuge in temporary shelters, according to officials.

Homes in the eastern district of Ampara, a largely flat agricultural area that was hit by the 2004 tsunami, had to be abandoned after heavy rain began on Monday.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in several parts of California after heavy rain and strong winds lashed the state, causing flash floods, mudslides, heavy snow and power cuts.

Torrential downpours also came to Britain at the end of the week, leaving homes and businesses in Ireland and north Wales hit particularly hard by floodwater.

Kate Martin

source:

http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=14035&channel=0

As the first full week of the new year kicks off, self-improvement is at the forefront of most people’s minds.

Instead of the usual resolutions to give up smoking, eat less and go to the gym, my plea for aid agencies and journalists is: rethink your relationship.

Continue reading ‘A new year’s resolution for aid agencies and broadcasters’