Dateline ACT

Sri Lanka 1105

'Everybody needs something to do'

By Jan-Åke Thorell, ACT International

Hambantota, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2005—"Everybody needs something to do."

The words are those of Reverend Upul Fernando of Christ Church in Hambantota, a town 240 kilometers southeast of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

And he knows what he’s talking about. Since the tsunami hit his country almost a year ago, hundreds of people have come to his church asking for assistance.

One of them, he found out much later, had been a drug smuggler, who had come from a nearby village and had turned to smuggling out of poverty. He had hired a small canoe when the catastrophic waves struck. He survived. The canoe did not, along with hundreds of other canoes and boats that were destroyed by the tsunami.

The young man heard, via the local grapevine, that he would be able to receive assistance from Christ Church, a local member of the National Church Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL). NCCSL, in turn, is a member of the global alliance ACT International—Action by Churches Together.

As much as the tsunami brought massive destruction and tragedy, for this young man it meant a new chance according to Mr. Menesh who works at the church—and one that meant that he could change his life. He was given a canoe and now earns his living using it—this time lawfully.

P.C. Sunil also received assistance some months ago from Christ Church. He is a fisherman, but forced to sell his canoe some time before the tsunami, to bring in extra money needed as his son desperately needed medical treatment. The money was well spent, as his son recovered, but it had meant that Mr. Sunil had lost his way of earning a living.

In an effort to re-establish a livelihood, he started a small business close to the harbor, selling food to the other fishermen. It was not what he wanted to do, but the only way to earn a living to support his family. Then, the tsunami struck on December 26, completely destroying his small shop. But, Mr. Sunil survived, as did his wife and five children. Even his home was left intact.

Having been spared in some sense, he gave his time to Christ Church, helping repair boats, as he had originally been trained to work with fiberglass.

Money via the ACT appeal, coordinated by the NCCSL, became Mr. Sunil’s bridge to a new life. He received a new canoe and some fishing equipment.

"Today I’m happy! There is no other way of living for me," he said, as he received, along with several other fishermen a net to catch lobster from Christ Church. .

Mr. Sunil is not alone in having been assisted by Christ Church. Several other fishermen have also been helped with boats, nets and fishing equipment. Collectively, the small fishing community was also given six big nets, worth $6,500 US each. These nets are huge, and are used seasonally and are cast from the land and then pulled in using a rope.

"It is very important that people get tools so they can earn their own living instead of being dependent of others," Reverend Upul Fernando says. "Self-employment is essential."

The income generating projects started by NCCSL's members cover several areas of work. Support has been given to people who earn a living from their small hairdressing or radio repair shops; tools have been given to electricians; sewing machines have gone to tailors and seamstresses, as well as small amounts of cash to small shop owners and vendors to enable them to get their small businesses going again.

But there is so much more to do.

A problem facing the fishermen is that the harbour has been partly destroyed by all junk that ended up in the basin. Working with a fishermen training school in Tangalle that also trains divers, NCCSL is planning on financing the cleaning the harbour of the trees, nets and other pieces of rubbish that snag and destroy the nets of the fisher folk.

There is also still no market place in Hambantota, and no place to buy ice to keep daily catch fresh. The old market was completely destroyed by the waves. This poses a serious problem to shop owners and vendors, many of whom are still waiting for necessary facilities to run their small businesses. Even those who still have a shop, or have re-established ones, face problems. One such shop owner received a freezer, but was not allowed by the local authority and the government to install the electricity he would need to run it, as his shop falls within the newly designated 100-meter buffer zone from the shoreline.

Although NCCSL-ACT's appeal funds cover some housing construction, it is relatively modest when taking into consideration the overall needs of communities. However, many people feel that the collaboration between those responding to the tsunami has been appropriate. Often, in small ways, NCCSL-ACT's response has helped people get back onto their feet. The small hairdressing salon that was re-equipped by Christ Church opened in a new house—one that had been built by another humanitarian agency.

But housing remains a huge problem, as many people still live in temporary houses constructed from wood, stained gray now after months of sun, rain and dust.

The biggest problem related to housing has been the issue of allocating land. The government has decided that no new houses will be built within the 100-meter buffer zone in this particular area. (Other areas have to adhere to a 200-meter buffer zone restriction.) But, many of the vendors and fishermen have traditionally set up shop and home in this area, and still want to be close to the beach and the sea—the source of their livelihoods. The upshot is that many have chosen to remain in the temporary shelters allocated them. Another problem is that land is not that freely available close to the ocean—so many people essentially remain homeless.

"People don’t like to live far away and walk five to six kilometers [each way every day]," Manesh says. "That is why they still live in the temporary houses."

There are also other reasons compounding the problem. Some of the new homes built still do not have water and electricity, and many are still without furniture and household goods. Security is also a problem in the jungle areas. Some robberies are said to have taken place, and many people are afraid of the tigers and elephants that live in the dense growth, as animals do not follow human rules they say.

So people continue to live in tents of their temporary wooden shelters where their old homes used to stand—sometimes between the piles of bricks and stones that sheltered them as families before. It is a way of living that it many ways tell the story of how people are experiencing their reality so many months after the deadly waves of 2004's December 26—this is my only piece of land, please don't take it away from me—still trapped between the potential force of nature and new laws governing their land.

Jan-Åke Thorell is on assignment in Sri Lanka for the Church Of Sweden, which is a member of ACT International.