07/15/2005
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The Tsunami hit coastline and the areas in which there is poverty " In both of
them - says Maleec Calyaneratne, representative of Save the Children in Sri Lanka
- we operate for the welfare of children and their families. Our intervention
has been in existence for the past 30 years, because the Tsunami has hit a country
already affected by war and poverty."
An uncertain future...
"Yes, and we will have to face two more challenges. Up until now we have had a lot of aid, but we must be flexible in its management. We have to take up the opportunity to give financial help not only to the Tsunami victims, but also to poor people in general. And it is also important to involve the community in the reconstruction and development process. The Tsunami victims must not become passive, but they need to participate actively in the international humanitarian work. This is fundamental in order to help them recover from the “victim syndrome”, despondency because of the trauma they have undergone. At the moment, for instance, we are paying the villagers for cleaning public buildings, schools, roads, beaches, plantations... in order to make them into responsible members of the community and to help them have a fresh start."
Is the conflict in this area creating problems for humanitarian intervention?
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Save the Children in Sri Lanka: "We help Tsunami victims, but we also the poor"
The Tsunami hit coastline and the areas in which there is poverty " In both of
them - says Maleec Calyaneratne, representative of Save the Children in Sri Lanka
- we operate for the welfare of children and their families. Our intervention
has been in existence for the past 30 years, because the Tsunami has hit a country
already affected by war and poverty."
Following the Tsunami what are the major difficulties that you have had to face
in the past six months?
"First of all the scale of the disaster. The Tsunami has hit the whole coastline
in the country and tens of thousands of people have been its victims. We had
to become operational very quickly and over a large area, and with the same type
of commitment. International aid has been very important, because even local
NGOs have been very affected. Among our staff at least 50 peoplewere affected
and some have lostextended family members. Then there was the problem of land
allocation for reconstruction. The government has not decided clearly on any
building work up to 100m from the beach, it has not yet clarified on which other
land it is possible to build."
An uncertain future...
"Yes, and we will have to face two more challenges. Up until now we have had a lot of aid, but we must be flexible in its management. We have to take up the opportunity to give financial help not only to the Tsunami victims, but also to poor people in general. And it is also important to involve the community in the reconstruction and development process. The Tsunami victims must not become passive, but they need to participate actively in the international humanitarian work. This is fundamental in order to help them recover from the “victim syndrome”, despondency because of the trauma they have undergone. At the moment, for instance, we are paying the villagers for cleaning public buildings, schools, roads, beaches, plantations... in order to make them into responsible members of the community and to help them have a fresh start."
You are mainly focused on children. What are the living conditions at the moment
of the little victims of the Tsunami?
“One of our priorities after the Tsunami has been to reunite children with their
families. A great percentage of orphans are now living with their grandparents
or other relatives. Here the extended family is very common and they have taken
in many children so that they wouldn’t need to go into institutional care or move
to other areas in the country. We are taking care of them and also of those children
who are left with only one parent. In order to do this we need to engage with
the government, reaching where the government cannot on its own.”
You are also working with the Tamils in the north and east of the country?
“We operate wherever there are children in need of help. We have been in Sri
Lanka for 30 years and we are also operational in the Tamil Tigers rebel controlled
areas. We work independently and we reach where the government cannot.”
Is the conflict in this area creating problems for humanitarian intervention?“There have been a few incidents and in some areas movement has been restricted
for short periods due to protests etc. This has slowed down delivery of aid”.
There have been talks of risk of child abuse and child trafficking with regard
to the child victims of the Tsunami. How are you fighting this problem?
“To begin with we were very worried that children might be kidnapped or even
sold in the internally displaced camps. We have therefore trained the camp managers
in child protection in order to avoid any type of abuse. UNICEF and the local
police have also cooperated with us and the situation is now under control.”
How long will your aid intervention last?
“In Sri Lanka we will continue to operate in all the areas where there is need,
even in those not hit by the Tsunami. In the Tsunami hit areas we will continue
until next April. We need to provide assistance for people in the camps and in
temporary shelters. We need to help them to find work or to go back to their
old jobs. It is very important however to remember that the whole country will
need our help for a long time to come.We have a 5 year plan in the post tsunami
relief work
Francesca Lancini
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