This is a true account our own experience with the “Great” Red Cross.
Sadly it is a story of failure, wasted resources and misused donor’s cash as well as a report about broken promises and total incompetence.
Arugam.info was originally set up locally to promote just tourism.
Assisted by resident expats with a Sri Lankan connection of more than 30 years.
However, a well known event at the end of 2004 and global reaction since have changed some priorities of AbHa.
Foreign organizations (in Tamil language known as: ENJOY’s) came and pretended to help us all – but many feel that they are only here to help themselves.
For future reference and as entry into East Coast History books, here is an extract of a recent press interview with a well known local professional resident of Arugambay:

Question:
Some say that you are prejudiced towards organizations. Why is that?
Answer:
Indeed, we are, and we perhaps always have been.
The Red Cross, for example used to be the non-plus ultra in all of our minds.
I personally always had a good opinion and very high regard for this global organization. Shocking events since 2005 totally reversed that, however.
Question:
It sounds like something has happened? What has changed your mind?
Answer:
We never knew that there are so many, totally uncoordinated Red Cross and Red Half Moon organizations – many of which seem to be able to do whatever they want, where and when and regardless of costs.
The Swiss leadership seems totally incompetent or unaware of facts. The staff they where sending into a disaster area turned out to be totally unqualified and unfit for the task.
One day alone, in a popular AbaY restaurant there were 4 Red Cross teams from 4 different, but very much underdeveloped Countries, such as Kenya, Somalia and the former Yugoslavian region. In discussions it emerged that the African ladies, sporting their flash Red Cross Jackets, all had similar tasks, such as ‘teaching hygiene to the natives’.
They were in Sri Lanka for just 2 weeks, could speak no Tamil or Singhala and knew nothing of each other’s group doing the very same thing it seemed.
2 days in Colombo, 2 days local transfers, just 10 days on the East Coast, and again two days to recover from the grueling tasks in a plush hotel in the capital city.
Privately they agreed that there was a lot more to do at home, in poor Africa, where help is actually needed. It was simply an expensive vacation for them and nothing was achieved in Sri Lanka to speak of.
The wasted airfares alone came to more than our self-help budget for the past 2 years.
Q.:
That sound terrible; please tell us more of your own experiences, step-by-step. Do not add any hearsay or rumors please.
A.:
On New years day, 2005 the French Military Formations completed their impressive two day task in the Bay. Highly trained experts in their chosen field, very competent guys indeed. They achieved more in a couple of days of duty than the French Red Cross did in two full years.
Q:
Slow down now, what happened exactly?
A:
The Formations Militaires Francaise were the first foreign team to arrive in our, beyond doubt hardest hit area of Sri Lanka on New Year’s eve 2004. They indicated that the (now: in-)famous Red Cross would soon follow (once they completed their 4 Star hotel stunt in Colombo).
Q:
This is hearsay! How do you know the Red Cross spent time in a top hotel?
A:
Please look at this photo album, all shots are dated and the camera belonged to Red Cross Members.
Q:
OK, Accepted! It looks like they had a jolly good time – when the rest of the island was waiting for this so-called ERU (Emergency Response Unit). Continue to recall events in your own words.
A:
Please accept that we can only speak of events in OUR area. We do not know how brilliant ERU, EMU or the Reds performed elsewhere. The first team to reach our remote, but accessible area was from France. They were actually quite nice, pleasant people. We formed a good relationship with them and as they came to help us, we decided to give them (the Red Cross) all of our remaining facilities and offered our full support.
Q:
Was a contact signed? How much did you charge them for the use of your hotel, rooms, food & drink?
A:
Money never entered our thoughts! All our facilities and remaining resources where given away free to EVERYONE. It was a matter of pure survival and we had after all about 2 weeks of real hardship behind us – left entirely, but very successfully to our own devices and resources.
Q:
Where did the teams come from?
A:
The so called ERU team came from France, it was the French Red Cross.
Q:
What was their task at Arugam Bay?
A:
A medical clinic was set up in the former SVH business centre, as well as a very well equipped pharmacy and a huge water purifying plant operated by Red Cross Water Force – or was it the “Water Farce”? I can’t recall the correct title
Also all remaining rooms, mainly our luxury apartments were donated free of charge to the staff.
The Red Cross also benefited from our well stocked bars, remaining wine cellar and stock, our famous draft beers and our Thai catering facilities. Power was also supplied by us, hard hit Tsunami victims for the Red Cross installations until their own 15kVa Dutch generators arrived somewhat later.
Q:
Did it work out well? How did they perform?
A:
As mentioned, the first team was nowhere near as perfect as the French Military, but overall OK. They entered certain contracts with translators, drivers and so on. Sadly they were soon replaced by a second, terrible team, also from Paris.

Q:
Why terrible?
A:
Because just about everything agreed upon a few days earlier was canceled, ignored or turned around. Hired new local staff was fired without reason, agreed wages reduced to totally unrealistic levels. They even fell out with a local Judge, a Mr. Amarasinghe who was employed by the earlier team as driver, coordinator and translator. He was fired.
Q:
Why did they fell out with him?
A:
I don’t know for sure, but there has been an issue about some highly pregnant ladies which were refused help, some theft matters and so on. I have seen a police complaint against the Red Cross filed by Mr. Amarasinghe. Please ask him for details.
Q:
It seems there was no real hand-over or documentation, OK, so what?
A:
The real problems emerged within hours, or days. The new team was totally incompetent. Many members had personal problems and could not really sustain themselves in a tropical Country. They were unfriendly. They had a strict lunch break of about 3 hours and refused to attend to any emergency at that time.
There were at least two serious cases where the team leader denied help to seriously ill patients. Requests to allow one of their luxury Jeeps to be used to ferry patients to a proper hospital were denied on the grounds that they are ‘No ambulances’ and the new seats might get blood stained.
In our ignorant little world a Red Cross symbol used to mean ‘First Aid ‘or so – it no longer has such meaning.
Q:
Was the clinic popular with the locals?
A:
At first, yes. But when DEMIRA (German Mine Clearers) set up a tiny field hospital nearby on a mini budget (100,000$/year) at the end of January, 2005 just about every patient voted with their feet. Hardly anyone wanted to see the Red Cross again.
One monitored day, DEMIRA treated just under 100 patients; the Red Cross had not even 10; less than their own staff numbered at the time.
Sadly DEMIRA run out of funds and received none of the huge donations given by kind people to a situation such as this.
Q:
I heard some mention “Red Vomit or Rote Kotze”. What is that?
A:
It stems from a word pun following one of many wrongly diagnosed medical conditions at the time.
A patient complained of blood in his spit or vomit.
The Red Cross ‘experts’ from Paris sent him away unaware of a very serious condition advising him to chew less beetle nuts. The case is well documented, (the Red Cross diagnosis file was left behind by ERU when they hastily departed). The patient barely survived, after he found a real doctor. Some did not.
The Red Cross lost a good name in a matter of days due to such ignorance and total incompetence. Such and many other stories can’t be kept quiet in a small community.
Q:
Whom did they treat then, thereafter?
A:
Hardly anyone wanted to see the Red Cross. Just to prove a point, a brilliant water engineer, a Herr Matthias Bock injured his Hand operating a water pump. Although he worked for the German Red Cross – did he seek treatment with his French counterparts?
No! He trusted DEMIRA and qualified people with his condition.
I am informed that Herr Bock also left the Red Cross in disgust – most good people seem to do just that. Why I wonder?
Q:
Did the ERU water plant work well?
A:
No, not at all. It was a brilliant huge, brand new plant together with a swimming pool size reservoir.
The team however was unable to operate it properly, the water was saline and nobody ever drunk any of it. The whole thing took a week to erect and was taken away without ever having been useful.
Apart from the usual public relation stunts of course to show gullible French donors how good the Rouge Crusaders are performing in the tropics.
Q:
How long did they stay at Arugam Bay?
A:
It seems that the maximum a French EMU team was expected ‘operate’ under such ‘duress’ was about 2 weeks before being repatriated for recovery or treatment.
Q:
What is the story behind ERU’s moving out of your premises?
A:
The French Red Cross gave us a very bad name. Not only did they treat us as their catering offshoot or a Red Canteen, but they abused our hospitality. We operated a donations only policy, provided all services for FREE to anyone in NEED. This was also abused by these highly paid “experts”. When I mentioned our discomfort to the team leader, he snapped, got angry and he was incapable of any improvements or compromise.
He (wrongfully) told his team we evicted them and they packed their bags and tried to find alternative locations nearby.
Nobody really wanted them, and they eventually, in desperation set up camp in the old mortuary on famous “Heroes Hill” – the worst place to chose for a hospital in our kind of society and our beliefs.
Q:
There is a report filed with the local police station against the French Red Cross?
A:
Yes, there are a number of legal complaints filed locally as well as elsewhere. Our own case centres around willful damage, sabotage so to speak, caused by irritated Red Cross members when they vacated our own premises
Q:
The Red Cross SABOTAGED premises of Tsunami victims and survivors?
A:
Indeed, they did! They stole a local electrician’s tool box, broke all of our low energy lamps, cut off all cables so short they they could not be reconnected, willfully blocked our sewage systems with our new towels, vandalized the apartments. They even caused a fist fight between the police and our contract staff and so on.
Q:
Has there been a Court case?
A:
The Red Cross in Genevra sent us messages threatening legal action against us if we don’t withdraw comments on this web site (www.arugam.info). We simply reported our observation at the time. They called it slander and defamation of their famous institution.
We replied and we were looking forward to such legal action, because everything was well documented and we have ample proof of our statements.
Q:
What happened next?
A:
A long time nothing, then a Mr. Robert Mayhem (or similar, sorry I lost his card; he came from Darwin and said he is 2nd in command) contacted us, arranged a meeting, came on time, was jolly and friendly. We sat down in the very same ERU building, had a cup of tea and agreed to withdraw our comments in exchange for $5,500 in cash.
Q:
The Red Cross paid you off to shut up?
A:
We had other priorities at the time. The Community was short of funds, we had no support at all. The money was immediately distributed to the most needy and this mini program actually helped a lot of affected residents to recover quickly. Everyone signed a receipt and at the time this seemed a better option than a long drawn out legal case.
Q:
Why do you feel free to reveal this issue now?
A:
Because the Red Cross broke a main condition of our settlement. The pleasant Australian Mr. Robert agreed to help & assist the Community; we discussed many options. Needless to say, we never heard from him or the Red Cross again and NOTHING useful was done by them locally to my knowledge.
Q:
Did you remind them?
A:
Of course! Many letters and mails followed, also to Genevra.
In short, they say: Do what you want, we don’t care.
“What does the oak tree care about the worm crawling on its bark”.
Well, at the very least we feel that we have to leave a slimy, dirty mark on this formerly great tree.
Q:
Are you angry with the Red Cross?
A:
Angry is not the word, more disappointed. They urgently need some reform, they seem out of touch and out of date in present situations. They even refused to carry out their traditional role of locating relatives and mortality’s. We asked them to give us a few men at the time to respond to hundreds or requests of concerned loved ones – Arugam.info, with it’s mini resources was left alone to carry out traditional Red Cross tasks.
Q:
You feel they did not support you or the Community then?
A:
I feel the Red Cross done more damage to us than good.
Because the Red Cross (still) has such a good name, they influenced other organizations against us, just because were dared to voice a hint of criticism. Ever since we were boycotted, obstructed and even threatened.
I have confidential email copies and we are happy to produce all of our material if requested.
Q:
You are looking for revenge?
A:
Our only aim is to improve matters; the next disaster will sure come and the Red Cross certainly will make the same mistakes again. Unless someone looks into internal problems they seem to have.
Q:
Any other events you recall?
A:
There are loads of strange events; we should write a book about it!
Like the American Red Cross action to send truck loads of US toilet paper to AbaY. Enough to fill the entire HangLoose Hotel. All at a time when there was not one functioning toilet in the Bay. And: the locals don’t use paper, but wash. But: The kids loved them as streamers! Sadly the airfreight and logistics may have cost more than Rs./ 36 per roll. A USA roll of shit paper may have cost 10$ or so by the time it landed here, not 36 cents….
This was the price of BETTER quality paper in nearby PottuVille, available at any time. If we had the money to buy one that is.
Q:
We read about neck ties and ball room dresses?
A:
Indeed, we almost forgot. The first consignment dropped off by a chopper contained such useful items, donated by I think, the Italian Red Cross as first assistance to us.
Q:
What about food items?
A:
There never was a shortage of any food at all. Nothing needed to be imported. Remember, only a tiny coastal strip was affected. Life and shopping went on everywhere else as usual. All we needed was the some funds – and we could have purchased our own, traditional food (and other) items in any nearby town.
Q:
Someone mentioned tins of meat?
A:
Again, typical. The Polish (Red Cross?) dropped off loads of unmarked tins of very good pork. Of course we never received one single can, at war with the Reds at the time already. But the local Muslims came to us for translation of the Polish print and wondered how Halal the stuff might be.
Made good dog food though.
Q:
What is your main recommendation?
A:
I personally feel that the larger the organization, the less efficient they seem to be.
Home grown, local, private self-help groups were seen as competition.
They should have been supported rather than ignored or- in our case- obstructed, because we had the local knowledge and experience and managed to work highly efficiently.
Q:
Get away now! How much did you, as Tsunami victims and self-help group receive and who from?
A:
We received, to this very day not one single rupee or goods of any kind from any official sources, organization or government.
AbHa (Arugam Bay Hotel Association) never got anything at all; indeed we were obstructed in every way.
The SVH managed to collect about 20,000Euro from friends, relatives and former guests, who followed earlier versions of this web site. Personal savings of about 40,000Euro were added to this and the total of approx. 60,000Euro was distributed; a quick self help and rebuilding program which worked out well. The signed receipts are here to be inspected (again).
Q:
Would you do it again?
A:
Maybe not. Because we expected to be compensated a little for our efforts. After all, the first and only help locally was done by locals, not any NGO or the Governments. Everyone we know is disappointed in the way most organizations still behave and waste precious donor’s funds.

Thank you for this interview.
Q:
I hear you have just returned from an inspection tour of the entire East Coast.
You took a Swiss Journalist around Swiss Red Cross installations and projects I understand. Can you tell us more?
A:
Sorry, I cannot.
It is a matter of our client to report his findings.
I however understand that a Max Seelhofer is also waiting to see the photos, study the progress and read the full report.
Q:
Who is Max Seelhofer?
A:
I understand he used to be the Country Chief of the Swiss Red Cross in Sri Lanka.
I am informed that he has resigned his lucrative post, being disillusioned and disappointed in his own organization.

Again, Thanks.
We hope to read more.