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| Tuesday, 11 January 2005 |
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A crisis rich with possibilities by Lynn Ockersz The deadly tsunami waves have raised a sea of issues for the affected countries concerned as well as for First World - Third World relations.
While the most immediate requirement of the tsunami - hit countries is ready assistance and relief in cash and kind for their destitute multitudes, a related and weightier problem that looms ominously from this overwhelming humanitarian crisis is when the pledged assistance will be received in full and how much. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, drove the point home when he said in relation to the donor community that: "I know that there is concern that once the crisis dies down the world may forget. It is our duty to constantly remind them that the job is not done". It falls primarily to the lot of the UN to ensure that the issue of pledged assistance and its timely deliverance is not allowed to recede from the consciousness of the donor community. Towards this end, it has already called a meeting of the latter in Geneva today and we hope concrete arrangements would be in place to make aid pledges a timely reality. Meanwhile, the World Bank, which has been at the receiving end of, often, vitriolic criticism from mainly Third World quarters over the years, over its lending policies to developing countries, is maintaining a positive and conspicuous presence in the post-tsunami deliberation and policy - making process in regard to relief, reconstruction and connected issues. In fact one of the most thought-provoking issues from a third World stand point was raised by World Bank President James Wolfensohn during his recent visit to Sri Lanka. He was quoted saying that aid from the donor community should not be used by receiving countries to bring back the "shanties and slums into existence". On the contrary, a new approach should be adopted towards prosperity and development. "The country should not fall back and this is an amazing opportunity to rebuild Sri Lanka and to eliminate poverty", Wolfensohn explained. This is one of the most positive constructs which could be placed on the tsunami crisis and its aftermath and a highly recommendable one. While there is no denying that tsunami-hit countries such as Sri Lanka are faced with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, the attitude of ruling establishments of these countries and their publics shouldn't be that of passive aid recipients who would only receive assistance and develop a "dependent mentality" on aid-giving states for future survival. The time's in fact, ripe for the Third World to strongly reconsider its development paradigm, which has, essentially, been one of devouring "crumbs falling off the rich man's table", to one of self-sustaining, self-reliant and comparatively dependence-free development. There shouldn't be a question - ideally - of the developing countries getting back to a "slums and shanties" situation. In fact, they shouldn't revert to "slums and skyscrapers" - style "development" either. While alleviating poverty is a long-gestation project, every means should be explored by developing countries such as Sri Lanka, to end their state of overwhelming economic dependence on the rich and powerful. While deliberations by the G-7 group of countries on rescheduling debt payments by tsunami-ravaged countries are welcome, it is bound to be the fervent hope of Third World backers that the governments of developing countries would exploit this multifaceted crisis situation to radically refashion their development path. Ideally, the economic and material relief which would come our way should be used to devise a new development model which would enable us to foster economic independence and political autonomy. |
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