Rebuilding after Tsunami:
Sri Lanka's next challenges
Sir Arthur C. Clarke
posted January 29, 2005
When the Hollywood movie The
Day After Tomorrow was showing in Colombo last summer, many
asked me if such a calamity could befall Sri Lanka. Without debating
the scientific merits of the movie, I said that Nature always
had a few tricks up her sleeve.
Little did I imagine that before
the year ended, killer waves 30 feet high would lash the coast
of Sri Lanka, leaving an unprecedented trail of destruction in
my adopted country. For over two million Sri Lankans -- and indeed,
all of us -- the day after Christmas was a living nightmare that
mimicked the celluloid horrors of The Day After Tomorrow.
When they arrived with practically
no warning, the waves were ruthless and indiscriminate. They
swept away fishermen and tourists, pilgrims and prisoners, soldiers
and rebels. They displayed gross disregard for our artificial
human divisions and demarcations. As the death toll passed the
30,000 mark, with thousands more missing, I kept recalling the
words of William Makepeace Thackeray: "Good or bad, guilty
or innocent -- they are all equal now."
My heart-felt sympathy goes
out to all those who lost family members or friends. My family
and I were more fortunate -- Colombo was spared the highest waves,
being on the opposite side of the island. But among those who
directly experienced the tsunami were my staff at our diving
station in Hikkaduwa, and at my holiday homes in Kahawa and Thiranagama
--- all beachfront properties located along the southern coast.
They all survived, and relate harrowing tales. However, our diving
equipment and boats were washed away.
As Sri Lankans struggle to
come to terms with the shared grief and multiple impacts of this
tragedy, they confront a massive humanitarian crisis involving
over one million displaced persons. The first priority is to
provide emergency shelter and relief, and then create conditions
that will help them to return to normal lives and livelihoods
as soon as possible. We also need to address the long term issues
of better preparedness, effective warning systems and disaster
mitigation.
The best tribute we can pay
to all who perished or suffered in this disaster is to heed the
powerful lessons it offers us. Nature has spoken loud and clear,
and we ignore her at our peril.
For over two decades, I have
been an unhappy witness to the bitter armed conflict in Sri Lanka,
which has consumed twice as many lives as the tsunami, and blighted
the future of millions more. Peace in Sri Lanka has been my number
one wish for many years -- there is now renewed hope that the
lashing from the seas will finally convince everyone of the complete
futility of war.
Political cartoonists in Sri
Lankan newspapers were quick to make this point. One cartoon,
appearing two days after the disaster, showed a government soldier
and Tiger rebel swimming together in the currents, struggling
to save their lives. (Indeed, there have been reports of them
helping each other in the hour of need.) Their common question:
what happened to the border that we fought so hard for?
In a message broadcast over
local television only a few days before the tsunami, I made the
same point. "We should not allow the primitive forces of
territoriality and aggression to rule our minds and shape our
actions. If we do, all our material progress and economic growth
will amount to nothing."
I added: "I have always
been an optimist, and I still remain optimistic that Sri Lanka
will achieve lasting peace."
The week after the disaster,
the usually bickering political parties came together -- at least
momentarily -- to mourn the dead and to pledge rebuilding the
ravaged island. If only such unity is sustained, Sri Lanka can
rebuild physically and also heal the long standing wounds that
have bled this beautiful island for far too long.
On a more technical level,
too, the disaster holds lessons that must be heeded. One that
is particularly close to my heart concerns coastal resource management.
In the wake of the tsunami, the government announced that it
will strictly enforce an existing rule that regulates any construction
within 300 meters of the shore. For a long time, this rule
has been ignored or openly flouted by individuals as well as
hotel developers and shrimp farmers -- many of who have now paid
a terrible price for their arrogance or ignorance.
We should also ensure that
all remaining coral reefs and coastal mangrove forests are fully
protected. These natural formations act as splendid bulwarks
against the wrath of the sea -- while they cannot block out tsunamis,
they can certainly reduce their impact. In the past few days,
environmentalists and divers from across South and Southeast
Asia have reported examples of this phenomenon. Dr M S Swaminathan,
father of India's green revolution, says mangroves in southern
India's Pitchavaram and Muthupet regions acted like a shield
and bore the brunt of the tsunami. "The impact was mitigated
and lives and property of the communities inhabiting the region
were saved".
Alas, this news arrives too
late to save most of Sri Lanka's mangroves and coral reefs. For
half a century, I have watched with mounting dismay how both
these natural resources were plundered. From the mid 1950s, when
I first explored the seas around Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and
decided to settle down on the island, I have been calling for
greater protection for the reefs. For every person who heeded
my call, there were many who did not. Fuelled by a combination
of poverty, indifference and official apathy, coral mining has
continued to destroy these 'rainforests of the sea' -- thus eroding
our natural defence.
Mining was not the only threat
to the reef. My first book on Sri Lanka, The Reefs of Taprobane
(1957), carried a photograph showing fishermen using dynamite
to stun and catch fish blowing up everything for metres
around. This completely illegal activity has continued over the
years, depleting fish stocks and wrecking the reef.
I once warned that Sri Lanka's
southern coasts will be inundated by enhanced sea erosion owing
to coral mining. Of course, nobody could predict the tsunami
-- but I wonder how many thousands of innocent lives could have
been saved if the right action had been taken at the right time.
As memories of the tsunami
slowly begin to fade, it can once again be tempting to resort
to these and other gross violations of nature and law. Our big
challenge in rebuilding Sri Lanka is to not only restore the
damaged infrastructure, but create viable livelihood opportunities
for millions of people who will otherwise return to illicit and
unsustainable practices. At least part of the large volume of
aid should be invested in long term projects that address these
needs.
The outside world can play
a role to ensure that this happens. The Asian tsunami has been
called the first truly globalised disaster of our time. Certainly,
the tremors from the bottom of the Indian Ocean reverberated
well beyond the dozen countries that were directly impacted.
Inspired by television coverage, people all over the world donated
in cash, kind, skills or time. This prompted their governments
to follow -- but this is just a start.
For real changes to happen,
Sri Lanka and other affected countries need sustained assistance
and constant engagement by the world's rich nations and corporations.
They also need appropriate investments in technology and skills
to stand on their own feet.
The media can keep these issues
alive. The New Year dawned with the Global Family closely following
the unfolding tragedy via satellite television and on the web.
As the grim images from Aceh, Chennai, Galle and elsewhere replaced
the traditional scenes of celebrations, I realized that it will
soon be 60 years since I invented the communications satellite
(in Wireless World, October 1945). I was also reminded
of what Bernard Kouchner, former French health minister and first
UN governor of Kosovo, once said: "Where there is no camera,
there is no humanitarian intervention."
But cameras and other media
have to do more than just document the devastation and mobilise
emergency relief. Media need to move beyond body counts and aid
appeals to find lasting, meaningful ways of supporting Asia's
recovery.
The real stories of survival
and heroism are only just beginning. Let network TV move on to
the next big story. I am confident that the cyber activists and
committed local journalists will keep us informed. The Web offers
a platform for passionate individuals and small groups to get
their views out to the world.
Indeed, this will be a real
test for information and communications technologies (ICTs).
On that fateful day, hundreds
of amateurs captured breath-taking images of the Asian tsunami
using their hand-held video cameras. TV networks and professionals
arrived only hours later.
In the coming months, we should
return to these locations, armed with video cameras, to record
the next big wave -- of human spirit and human perseverance.
January 2005
 Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Sri Lanka
Sir Arthur
C. Clarke, 87, has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956 and became the
first Resident Guest in 1975. Now completely wheel-chaired by
Post Polio, he has no plans to leave Sri Lanka again.
Finalised on
10 January 2005
Released to Sri Lankan English newspapers on non-exclusive basis
on 13 Jan 2005
Request: Please publish this in full, as the integrity of article
depends on it.
Headline may be changed at the discretion of editors.
For any clarifications, please call Nalaka Gunawardene on 0777
714 525.
321gold Inc
|
