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by Prof. S. T. Hettige, University of Colombo

As is already well known, the devastation caused by the tsunami is overwhelming. The challenge that the country, faces today in rehabilitating the lives of thousands of people affected and the reconstruction of the towns and villages destroyed by the tidal waves, is enormous.

Yet, given the unprecedented goodwill and generosity shown by the local people and the international community, the country is in a strong position to face the challenge.

It is also encouraging to note that the country's political leaders have also been humbled by the events and appear to the willing to shed their differences to forge a collective front to meet the challenges ahead.

When a humanitarian disaster occurs, it is natural for everybody to concentrate on immediate relief efforts of the kind we have witnessed over the last several days. These relief activities need to continue until the displaced people are resettled in their habitats.

It is also necessary to develop and implement reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement plans as quickly as possible, to avoid further disorganisation of the lives of the affected people and adverse effects on the economy, and society.

In this short article, an attempt is made to identify certain critical components of the national effort required to meet the enormous challenge posed by the disaster.

Given the extensive nature of the devastation, attention should be focused on the larger picture and this could be done at the national level. In this regard, national level coordination is critical. On the other hand, the already established Natural Disaster Management Unit cannot take care of all aspects of the problem.

While the ongoing relief operations constitute a major component of the national effort, rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement will soon emerge as critical areas of intervention. Before these activities commence, it is necessary to develop guidelines and policies to guide the interventions in each of the areas.

This would naturally require the establishment of working groups dealing with different components. On the other hand, national level working groups cannot go beyond coordinating, and monitoring functions.

To implement activities in various spheres, an effective organisational set up at provincial, district, divisional and local level needs to be established. At each of these levels, coordination of efforts of various organisations and individuals is also critically important to avoid duplication, confusion and waste of resources.

Reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement are interconnected yet separate activities. Reconstruction primarily involves the restoration of economic and social infrastructure.

Rehabilitation and resettlement involve restoration of communities, social networks, planning and implementation of resettlement of affected people, rebuilding of cities and towns.

Resettlement and rehabilitation of affected people will not be an easy task. It will provide to be a very complex process, requiring careful planning and mobilisation of an enormous amount of material and human resources.

Restoration of livelihoods should be given priority in the resettlement process, as people could remain dependent on handouts until they are fully resettled in their old or new habitats.

Resettlement and rehabilitation process should be guided by a national policy and a clear set of guidelines. This is necessary to ensure objectivity, equity and a certain degree of uniformity. People in different parts of the country should be treated equally so that there will not be allegations of bias, unequal treatment and favouritism.

Once the State policy and guidelines are clear, implementing agencies at lower levels can be guided by them. This will also facilitate monitoring and evaluation of progress in the implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement activities.

As mentioned above, implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement activities should be delegated to lower level administrative mechanisms, to be established for the purpose.

In this regard, existing structures such as Provincial Councils, Local Government Institutions and Divisional Secretariats can play both catalytic and coordinating functions.

At community level, committees consisting of officials and civil society representatives can be entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating and overseeing the various activities.

Mobilisation of human resources

Given the magnitude of the task of reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement involved, human resources and the expertise needed are enormous. The needs can vary widely across different spheres of activity.

It is doubtful whether the country has at its disposal all the necessary human resources and expertise in a readily deplorable form.

In this regard, what is urgently needed is a quick assessment of the resources required and take necessary steps to mobilise them.

Foreign countries and international agencies assisting the country in its reconstruction and rehabilitation effort will have to pay as much attention to human resources requirements as to material resources needed.

A large number of cities, towns and villages, have been devastated by the tidal waves that swept through them. Some of these cities and towns may have to redesigned, taking into account possible future national disasters.

Urban planners, resettlement experts, structural engineers, architects, civil engineers, etc. required to plan and implement a large number of projects simultaneously cannot be mobilised from within the country.

On the other hand, it is necessary to make an assessment of the expertise needed, the availability of such expertise in the country and identify the shortfall to mobilise technical support from external resources.

Apart from the highly technical expertise needed to plan and implement reconstruction and settlement programmes, the country need to mobilise human resources to address social and psychological problems faced by the affected people.

These include social workers, community development workers, counsellors and volunteers of various kind. These functionaries are required in large numbers over a long period of time.

Once again, it is necessary to make an assessment of the requirement and take immediate steps to mobilize them. In this regard, there are at least three possible causes of action that we can take. They are:

a) Establishment of a national service involving youth and secondary school children.

b) Establishment of a volunteer service with the support of the United Nations Volunteer Programme.

c) Mobilization of school teachers and retired public servants in the localities affected by the disaster, to be trained and deployed as counsellors.

A national service can mobilize thousands of youth from around the affected areas and elsewhere. They can be deployed to provide various types of assistance to affected people. Ministry of Youth Affairs can take the lead in this regard.

United Nations Volunteer Programme can play a catalytic role to mobilize volunteers from with in and outside the country to perform various tasks. These may include rehabilitation and resettlement work as well as to provide various technical expertise needed in the resettlement process.

Thousands of teachers and retired public servants can be given a brief training with the involvement of the universities and other relevant institutions, and sent to affected communities and refugee camps to provide much needed psychological and other support services to people.

Particular care can be taken to pay special attention to children, the elderly, the injured, women. and the psychologically traumatized.

If the teachers and retired public servants enlisted can be mobilized from the areas in the vicinity of the affected settlements, not only the cost of deployment can be minimized but also ensure the continued availability of their support services. School teachers can perform their duties after school hours.

Role of the State

When the disaster struck on December 26th, immediate reaction on the part of ordinary people and civil society organizations was to mobilize and deploy various relief services. This is understandable.

On the other hand, the rebuilding of infrastructure, cities, towns and villages destroyed by the tidal waves is essentially the responsibility of the State. What is needed is a coordinated national effort spearheaded by the State, and supported by civil society and other organizations.

This does not mean that the activities have to be centrally controlled. In fact, once the national policy framework and basic guidelines are in place, implementation of various activities should be delegated to lower level institutions and organizations.

Yet, coordination of various activities should take place at all levels to avoid confusion, duplication, conflict and wastage. Proper coordination will also help integrate different components of the reconstruction and resettlement effort. Resettlement is a complex process as it involves the allocation of resources including land.

If it is not properly managed, it can lead to unnecessary conflicts, unrest and pain. Re-location of people, if required should be done with extreme care because the future well-being of the affected people and others around them will depend on the appropriation of resettlement sites.

On the other hand, resettlement requirements can vary across communities and families depending on their specific needs and livelihoods. In fact, any resettlement plan devoid of measures to safeguard livelihoods and other felt needs can be counterproductive.

What is emphasized above is that, when we go beyond the immediate, humanitarian relief stage, the tasks become more complex and cannot be done is a haphazard manner. It is necessary to develop a broad policy framework and basic guidelines with in which reconstruction and resettled activities should take place.

In this regard the role of the State apparatus ranging from the central government to local councils, is critical. Civil society organizations and others should work in close collaboration with the existing State and administrative structures in the country to avoid duplication, confusion, unnecessary conflicts and wastage of resources.

All efforts should be made to promote division of labour among organizations involved, both horizontally and vertically.

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