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Great achievements and wasted opportunities: Martin Mulligan and Nelum Buddhadasa compile a balance sheet on Sri Lanka's post-tsunami recovery.

Article Excerpt
Well over a year since the tsunami swept away the lives of some 40,000 Sri Lankans and left many thousands clutching at the memories of stolen loved ones and homes now destroyed, sections of the island's extensive coastline resemble scenes from post-war Dresden. Many shattered buildings stand ghost-like and unattended, and although most of the rubble has been cleared, countless concrete slabs remain as a reminder that many houses once stood where now there is open space. Hard to believe that this sparkling blue sea could inflict so much destruction on unsuspecting communities on that sunny, late-December morning!

As the anniversary of the disaster came and went, many people were still living in tents pitched among the remains of their homes, while many more were crowded into temporary housing 'villages' awaiting more permanent resettlement. Aid workers say that most of those who spent well over a year in tents were offered temporary shelter but they were reluctant to move, either because they are fishing folk who need to be near the sea to earn an income or because they fear losing their land as well as their homes. Perhaps the biggest mistake the Sri Lankan government has made in its tsunami recovery effort was to announce, within days of the disaster, that a hundred-metre-wide, building-free 'buffer zone' would now be imposed right around the island to improve coastal management. This deepened the trauma for many of those who had just been made homeless, even if they were promised a permanent dwelling beyond the buffer.

Anger turned to cynicism as many tourist hotels were given permission to rebuild on sites adjacent to the best beaches. Some of those who could afford to rebuild simply defied the ban and even qualified for the rebuilding subsidy ranging from around $A1,400 to $A3,400 (depending on the extent of damage). However, this subsidy is a small fraction of the rebuilding costs and most people had little choice but to put themselves on the waiting lists for houses built with aid money. Criticism of the buffer policy was sustained and eventually, in November 2005, the government announced a much more flexible approach with a buffer ranging in depth from 25 metres to 55 metres, depending on local circumstances--a very tardy triumph of common sense, thought most of those involved in local reconstruction.

In early February 2005, the United Nations Human Rights Commission released a report that was highly critical of the performance of the Sri Lankan government in ensuring security for the victims of the tsunami in view of the huge sums...

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