What is it about?
This research note is based on the results of a survey conducted among the tsunami-affected communities in different regions of Sri Lanka, east, north & south (the former two are conflict affected region). It also compares and contrasts tsunami recovery efforts in other affected countries such as India and Indonesia. The major findings of the survey are that the outreach of relief has been good, the government, donors & the civil society have not sufficiently adhered to the five cardinal principles they had agreed upon for tsunami reconstruction & recovery process in Sri Lanka, and it appears that Sri Lanka lags behind India but ahead of Indonesia in terms of quantity and quality of tsunami assistance to victims. The study also enunciates a set of proposals to improve the performance in the remaining reconstruction & recovery work to be undertaken in Sri Lanka.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
This is an empirical research study based on questionnaire-based survey of 3,000 tsunami-affected households in the east, north, and south of Sri Lanka , incorporating 1,000 households in each province, and secondary data & literature. The objectives of this study are: (i) To provide a comparative perspective of the impact of the tsunami and the recovery process. (ii) To assess the socio-economic background of the affected people in different parts of the country prior to and after the tsunami. (iii) To evaluate the services rendered and the disbursement of relief to the affected people in different regions of the country. (iv) To assess the provision of temporary and permanent housing to the affected people in different regions of the country. (v) To identify particular issues and concerns pertaining to women & children. (vi) To find out the expectations of the affected people as regards their future employment, and (vii) To find out the opinions of the affected people about various aspects of the recovery process. The survey was conducted between December 2005 and April 2006, i.e. 12-16 months after the tsunami.
Perspectives
This is a unique research study comparing and contrasting the impact of Tsunami in 2004 on different parts of the country - especially the armed conflict-ridden Eastern and Northern Provinces and the non-conflict Southern Province. It is also unique in the sense that it was a collaborative effort by researchers based in the Sinhalese dominated Southern Province as well as the Muslim&Tamil dominated Eastern and Northern Provinces during the time of ethno-national armed conflict.
Dr Muttukrishna Sarvananthan
Point Pedro Institute of Development
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Recovering from the tsunami: people's experiences in Sri Lanka, Contemporary South Asia, August 2008, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/09584930802312838.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
