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| Thursday, 20 January 2005 |
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Putting the economy back on track by Chandani Jayatilleke
Homeless, jobless and penniless - that was the simplest way to describe the tsunami survivors. Over the past three weeks they depended on relief provided by various organisations. The Government has now streamlined relief distribution and the survivors would be given coupons with which they could get free rations till their income generation activities are revived. The tsunami devastated almost all economic activities around the coastline covering Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Hambantota, Galle, Beruwala, Kalutara and Moratuwa. Many people living in the coast line depended on tourism, fishing and cottage industries.
They are now at a loss; they have not only lost their loved ones and properties, but also their source of income; fishermen have lost their boats and fishing equipment. Most of the tourist hotels are temporarily closed, which means many direct and indirect jobs in the tourism industry are not available. Besides the people who made a living off these two sectors, many others who used to work in private sector organisations such as clerks, sales people and others, have lost their jobs as their work places are damaged. Although families in the west coast had not lost many members, they too have lost all their wealth - their houses, properties and income generating activities. But the economic revival of the west coast is something that can be done fast, given the existing infrastructure and other factors such as the limited incidence of trauma as fewer lives were lost. This is a point to start at, said a senior lecturer in Economics of the Colombo University, Indrajith Aponso in an interview with the Daily News. Aponso himself is a tsunami survivor; he together with his family managed to run for safety when the tsunami hit his residence in the west coast. Following are excerpts from the interview. Revival of economy To revive the economy of the devastated areas, there should be short-term, medium-term and long-term plans. There is an urgent need to begin this work with short-term plans. One of the major responsibilities of the Government at this point is to get the affected people to work in development, reconstruction projects at a fee given on a daily basis. They could even go to work from the camp. The Government can organise a system for this purpose. It is far better to get them activated than confining them to camps. The fishing industry has to be reorganised. There should be some investments in this sector - to get the boats repaired immediately, and get new boats in place of damaged boats. Tourism should also be reactivated fast. We have received much publicity internationally for our tourism. Let tourists decide where to go. But invite them to come back as soon as the basic facilities are available in the hotels. Own supply The affected people should be given a chance to find their own supply of necessities at the earliest and must be encouraged to move out of the camps gradually. The Government has taken measures to compile necessary data and information lists on the affected people. So the people can move out to do their own work. Most of the people may want to come back to the places where they used to live for years. However the authorities have discussed certain plans and areas to relocate people whose houses were very much closer to the sea. This is going to be a crucial point if the residents do not agree to relocate in different areas which are alien to them. They will not survive in a strange place from a psychological viewpoint. In a way, these people's lives are bound with the sea. They love it very much. The sea has helped them earn a living. The sea means a lot for many of them. New jobs Although many people have lost their jobs due to the tsunami, the reconstruction projects can create many new jobs. The Government should emphasise these opportunities and reassure people that they would be given better infrastructure and modern township facilities through these development projects. The orphaned children will also be a crucial issue. There should be special welfare systems for them. Children without parents should not live in camps. They should be sent to special care centres. Other children should be given special attention and special facilities such as play areas, reading material and educational toys and food. Tsunami child survivors could fall prey to paedophiles. The unattended children could be easily exploited and exported. It is the nation's responsibility to protect these traumatised children from such opportunists. At this point child abuse can happen, child trafficking could also happen. As far as construction is concerned, the Government should take the lead and draw out a proper plan with the support of industry representatives. But if any country is planning to develop any particular area, the Government can ask them to do it according to the Government's plan. Medium term The affected people should be reassured of housing, compensation and better infrastructure. In the event of providing compensation, it is important to identify the right group. There could be miscreants, but the deserving cases should not be left out. Now many countries have pledged to support the implementation of an early warning system to avoid any such disaster in the future. This is another major area to be considered. We need to organise a proper warning mechanism islandwide. Police or such an organisation should have sufficient equipment and vehicles to reach people at the earliest when there is a warning. People should be educated on precautions that can be taken on such occasions. There should be an official radio channel for weather forecasts which serves on a 24-hour basis. This should report weather and climatic conditions throughout the world with special attention to natural disasters and predictions of impending disasters. We must not forget the fact that those who lost their lives in this tragic incident had also made a great sacrifice. They have given a chance to the rest of the nation to unite and use this tragedy as an opportunity. We should honour all those who gave their lives to construct the country's infrastructure much better than it was. This is the only opportunity we have got. Therefore, we need to expand all the construction work we are launching shortly to rebuild the country and create a better Sri Lanka. |
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