Oxfam's Tsunami Response in Sri Lanka

Was the
emergency response slow?

The overall
humanitarian response was quick and effective. There was no public
health crisis following the tsunami - as had been feared - largely
because relief assistance, including clean water and sanitation,
was deployed quickly. Providing food, water and sanitation for
hundreds of thousands of people was, and continues to be, an enormous
undertaking.

Following
the emergency phase where the priority was saving lives, the aid
effort shifted to rebuilding lives. The two key priorities were
livelihoods and shelter. On livelihoods we are already seeing
major progress. The fishing fleet is nearly back to its full strength,
and thousands of hectares of land have been desalinated and replanted.
Cottage industries, such as coir production, are again in operation.
It is estimated that well over half of the people who lost their
livelihoods in the tsunami have already returned to work thanks
to the aid effort.

The aid effort
also provided emergency shelter to everyone who needed it, which
was a major undertaking. Oxfam recognized early on that transitional
housing would be needed as permanent housing would take time,
due to the scale of the challenge, and we have focussed our efforts
on ensuring that transitional shelter would be built to last for
as long as people need it.

Why are
people who were displaced by the tsunami still living in temporary
shelter?

According
to the government of Sri Lanka some 95 per cent of the displaced
are in transitional shelters, this is a real achievement. What's
more, thousands of permanent houses have been built. However,
with 98,000 homes needing to be rebuilt or repaired, the task
quickly overwhelmed the country's capacity, even with assistance.

Shortly after
the disaster, as a safety precaution, Sri Lankan authorities determined
that no housing could be built within 200 metres of the shoreline,
thus limiting many people's ability to rebuild or repair on their
own. This also placed limits on agencies trying to rebuild according
to the desires of the beneficiaries, since many people favoured
revoking the buffer so that they could return to their original
land. The buffer was effectively ended in late December 2005.

Some of the
land allocated by authorities for new permanent homes is not the
most suitable for housing. The ownership of the land is sometimes
in dispute, due to previous displacement from the ongoing war,
and at times essential services such as water are very difficult
to provide due to the nature of the subsoil.

Some of these sites are also problematic because they are distant
from jobs and schools. Many of those affected make their living
from the sea, yet the sites are often 8 to 10 kilometres from
the shore and there is no adequate transportation infrastructure.
In a four-wheel drive vehicle it often takes an hour or more to
reach them.

What has
Oxfam done regarding shelter?

Oxfam recognized
early on that people displaced by the tsunami would not have permanent
homes for up to two years, because of the reasons noted above.
Our efforts therefore have focused on building and maintaining
shelters designed to last.

Oxfam built transitional shelters to match international standards
and encouraged the Sri Lankan housing reconstruction authorities
to monitor and enforce such standards. The government embraced
Oxfam's approach and some 66,000 transitional shelters have been
built to date. They have cement foundations and quarter walls
that are brick or cement block; the walls are wood or tin, and
the roofs tin or thatch. Most have two rooms, plus a kitchen off
the side. Although they vary, most meet this minimum standard.

Oxfam has
also taken on upgrading and maintaining temporary housing built
by others which was not up to standard, so that it will be habitable
for as long as people need it.

What has
been government policy regarding shelter?

Approximately
32,000 houses were damaged within the buffer zone (200 metres
from shore). Before the buffer was dropped in December, the government
intended to place the survivors from those homes into permanent
housing constructed elsewhere, and signed agreements with agencies
to build 29,640 homes on new sites.

For those
outside the buffer zone, the government established a program
for owners to repair or reconstruct their homes; 55,525 families
have received the first grant to rebuild. As of the middle of
March, 5,481 houses had been completed; another 8,532 houses were
under construction and would be completed within two months.

Do some
fishermen still lack boats, while fishing boats were given to
people who were not fishermen?

In the rush
to alleviate the suffering caused by the tsunami, some well-intentioned
groups that lacked previous experience delivered aid in ways that
were not always the most appropriate.

Oxfam always
works with local community organizations to determine the best
mechanism for ensuring that the aid delivered is appropriate and
reaches the neediest. In the case of fishing boats, Oxfam worked
with local fishing co-operatives to determine the most appropriate
beneficiaries, and delivered the boats through the co-operatives.

After initial interventions it became clear that many agencies
were focusing on fishing communities. As a result, Oxfam has concentrated
on other livelihoods, such as poor farmers, salt-pan workers or
women engaged in cottage industries, who were in danger of being
missed by the relief effort.

Why does
Oxfam use four-wheel drive vehicles?

Oxfam is assisting
many isolated communities which can only be accessed by four-wheel
drive vehicles. These vehicles not only carry personnel and supplies,
but sometimes serve as ambulances when needed.