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.
By Patrick Fuller, International Federation Communications Coordinator in Sri Lanka.
Flooding in Sri Lanka is a perennial event. Each year weather related hazards such as floods, landslides and cyclonic storms cause misery for thousands of families who are forced to leave their homes to find temporary shelter.
At the end of 2007 the onset of the north easterly monsoon brought widespread flooding to districts across the north, east and central areas of Sri Lanka, affecting 250,000 people at their peak in late December. Over the past few days further heavy rains have lashed the district of Ampara affecting over 100,000 people. Eleven district branches of the Sri Lanka Red Cross have been at the forefront of relief efforts distributing cooked food and relief items such as bed sheets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, hygiene items and hurricane lamps.
Responding to natural disasters and reducing the risks faced by vulnerable communities is one of the foremost priorities of the Red Cross’ disaster management programme. Since the middle of 2006, the Red Cross has been steadily building up a network of Branch Disaster Response Teams (BDRTs) across the country with the aim of improving the skills of staff and volunteers to manage emergency relief activities. Each BDRT comprises between 25 – 30 volunteers and staff who undergo a week-long intensive training course.
During the recent floods the BDRTs have played a pivotal role. The teams were deployed to conduct rapid and detailed needs assessments. They have been involved in local relief efforts and are now looking at conducting post floods rehabilitation activities in some districts.
“The main role of the teams is to carry out needs assessments during an emergency and then lead initial Red Cross relief efforts to help affected communities in coordination with key stakeholders in government and other agencies,” explains Susil Perera, executive director of disaster management with the Sri Lanka Red Cross.
The week long BDRT training course focuses on three core areas: relief management, coordination and needs assessment. It also covers Red Cross history, tracing of family members, basic search and rescue, security, pyschosocial support training, emergency health and professional codes and standards for relief.
“We combine theory with practical simulations and field work sessions. We also invite members of the government’s disaster management centre to join the training,” explains Susil Perera. “We have already seen positive results in the levels of professionalism amongst our field staff. There is much better coordination with government counterparts and the standard of field reports has improved.”
Twenty-seven year old Nirumithan is project coordinator of the Danish Red Cross supported community based disaster management programme in Ampara. He took part in the first BDRT training in 2006 and has since participated in over 30 deployments of the Ampara BDRT.
“We’ve been involved in a variety of different relief actions,” he explains. “Right now we are responding to the floods but we have also helped people who have been displaced from their homes due to the conflict. Last September we were involved in the evacuation of people from coastal areas when the government issued a tsunami alert after an earthquake struck Indonesia.”
The decision to set up a BDRT is based on a district’s ‘risk profile.’ So far seven BDRTs have been formed in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Monaragala, Hambantota, Nuwera Eliya and Ratnapura. The first BDRT was set up in Ampara district in June 2006 and the plan over the next year is to have teams operating out of 16 Red Cross branches across the country. Sponsors of the programme include the International Federation, the British, Danish and Spanish Red Cross Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
source:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/AMMF-7AUHXC?OpenDocument