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| Rethinking after the Catastrophe |  Disasters big and small, Indiadisasters, 23.12.2005
Disaster preparedness does not mean rushing in troops and resources to save defenseless people but seeing that the small everyday disasters of health, hygiene, poverty etc are taken care of.
Q & A: Corruption and aid, Reuters AlertNet, 9.11.2005
Disaster lessons: What you don"t know can kill you, Space and Earth science, 17.10. 2005
Why were the lives of Simuelue (a island closest to the epicenter) islanders spared when all around the Indian Ocean, coastal villages, towns, and cities hit by the tsunamis experienced near-total annihilation?
Govts should plan for disasters, Sydney Morning Herald; 19.10.2005
Investments in reducing vulnerability are almost always significantly smaller, by a factor of perhaps 2-5, than dealing with the disaster itself.
Katrina does not compare to the tsunami, Reuters, 3.9.2005
As in most disasters, both these events sought out the most vulnerable - old, young, poor, isolated - to kill them in greater numbers, destroy more of their resources and make their recovery tougher than that of the rich and powerful.
Redefining the tsunami disaster, Indiadisasters, 23.5.2005
”For me the tsunami challenged my idea of what disaster really meant and what solidarity and sympathy were all about.”
Building A Harmonious and Prosperous Asia for All Through Comprehensive Cooperation, english.people.com, 23.04.2005
The following is the full text of a keynote speech Chairman Jia Qinglin of the National Committee of the Chinese People"s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) delivered at the 2005 annual conference of the Boao forum for Asia.
Rape Of A Nation, Ecologist Magazine [UK], April issue 2005
Armed and financed by Western corporations, Indonesia is waging a brutal but unreported war against a tribal people with little more than bows and arrows to defend itself.
WTO, Big Mac and the tsunami: three sides of the same coin, The Indian Express, 12.1. 2005
Till a month ago, there were two clearly identifiable strands to globalisation. The first was economic — world trade, outsourcing, offshoring. The second was cultural — reflected in smart tags such as ‘‘McDonaldisation’’. Globalisation’s postmodern causes — anti-WTO protests, anti-GM food campaigns and, when all else failed, anti-Americanism — were instinctually anti-globalisation. The tsunami marked a watershed. It defined the globalisation of concerns in a positive sense.
Time for a Global Warning Movement, Red Pepper, February 2005
The tsunami reminds us that it is high time for an change of ecopolitics. Civil society should give this priority in its advocacy work.
Perfect knowledge, imperfect communication, Asia Times, 2.2.2005
The access to information, the impact of natural ctastrophes and the picture of a poor, underdeveloped and helpless Asia in the Western media – all of it is part of neolibeal ineqaulity in the affected countreis and globally.
For richer, for poorer, The Guardian, 13.1.2005
It needs long-term help – in form of a just world trade order
The other Tsunami, Information Clearing House
John Pilger considers the benevolence of the governments to be hypocritical. The impact of the neoliberal world order is a man-made-tsunami with even graver impact.
Lessons for life, The Guardian, 12.1.2005
What can we learn from the Tsunami? – Vanadana Shiva and others give an answer.
UN call to harness aid for other crises, Gulf Daily News, 12.1.2005
Generosity should extend to all of the world´s victims, IPS, 12.1.2005
Insult to injury, The Guardian, 11.1.2005
Local organizations do it better.
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| Development Policy | THE WOLFENSOHN ERA AT THE WORLD BANK: A DECADE OF CONTRADICTIONS, focusweb.org, 25.04.2005
Walden Bello & Shalmali Guttal`s summary about Wolfensohns era at the world bank.
RECONSTRUCTION: AN EMERGING PARADIGM, Focus on Trade, February 2005
Over the past two decades, post-war or post-conflict reconstruction has emerged as the essential framework for establishing neo-liberal policy regimes in newly liberated nations (such as Timor Leste), countries emerging from protracted periods of violent conflict (such as Cambodia, Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua), and countries subjected to external aggression and occupation (such as Afghanistan and Iraq).
Death Prefers the Poor, Le Monde diplomatique February 2005
The impact could have been much less, if only… But maybe we learn to think globally now
The role of World Bank and IMF post-tsunami in Indonesia, infid.be, 13.2.2005
The role IMF and WB played in the past and are planing to play in the future is pressing for more neoliberal reconstruction of the Indonesian economy
The Asian tsunami disaster: what does it mean for poverty reduction?, Christian Aid, 20.01.05
Poverty lies at the heart of people´s vulnerability to disaster. Published during the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Japan, this Christian Aid briefing paper argues that poor people must be involved in reconstruction and in deciding how best to prepare for disasters – if lives are to be saved the next time round.
The democratisation of aid, The Nation, 5.2.2005
Jeffrey Sachs, director of the UN Millenium Development Project, says in his annual report that the MDGs could be implemented – if only there is enough political will to do so.
“The burden falls on the poorest societies”, Socialist Worker, 7.1.2005
The Indian Ocean region will be the main scene of climate change. The poor in the growing cities will be its main victims.
After the tsunami, human security is key, Asia Times, Jan 25, 2005
The „first real global catastrophe“ could make human security to get the guiding principle
THE TSUNAMI AS METAPHOR, ipsterraviva, 28.1.2005
Except for its natural origins, the disaster of Dec. 26, 2004 was eerily similar to the catastrophes unleashed by the combination of neo-liberal economics and imperialist politics that dominate our world today.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami: long-term consequences, EIR January 2005
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) published its assessment of the damage of the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004 in mid January 2005. Some economic and ecological figures.
ILO calls for integrated employment strategy for tsunami reconstruction, ilo.org, January 2005
More than 1 million jobs, mainly in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, have been lost due to the Tsunami, the International Labour Office (ILO) estimates. The ILO urges that "employment-intensive" job creation strategies be integrated into the humanitarian and reconstruction response to Tsunami disaster in Asia.
Corruption Threatens Quality of Indian Mercy, IPS, 16.1.2005
Corruption and political interests can lead to the situation that the relif money won’t be used to the benefit of the marginalized
What the Tsunami Tragedy means for Civil Society, www.civicus.org, 14.1.2005
It can be attributed to the pressure form civil society that the governments have pledged that much money. Now the chance should be seized to enforce a fundamental reform of the global economic system.
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| Political Interests of the Donors | Aid Promoting Big Business, IPS, 15.7.2005
Post-tsunami aid destined for Indonesia and Sri Lanka is not reaching those most in need but is promoting ”big business” in the region instead, social and agricultural groups from the region are warning.
Justice to Tsunami Victims! MONLAR, Juli 2005
"Rebuilding the nation" - or open corruption? A detailed documentation and analysis of the plans of government and economics to convert under the cover of help in need and reconstruction neoliberale modernization programs now which the Movement submitted for national to country and Agricultural reform (MONLAR) the European parliament.
Tsunami aid turns into corporate greedfest, Green Left Weekly, 23.3.2005
Australias tsunami package is not really about tsunami relief but about Australia"s relationship with the Indonesian government. Its application is Indonesia-wide and fits into the “security agenda” in Australia"s aid program for the Southern Pacific.
The Tsunami of Aid, Samar, 28.5.2005
A recent World Bank Damage and Needs Assessment Report for Sri Lanka and India after the Tsunmai gives us reason to be vigilant to the forces of corporate globalization using aid as a pretext to advance their agenda. With many recent examples.
Indian Ocean Tsunami – the EU response
The meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 31st January 2005 agreed an EU Action Plan to coordinate the available resources and to deal effectively with the consequences of the Tsunami, while also looking at implications for the future.
Australia’s tsunami aid package: neo-colonialism laced with hypocrisy, wsws.org, 28.1.2005
The Australian government has seized on the terrible impact of the Asian tsunami as the pretext for furthering its economic and strategic interests in Indonesia and throughout South East Asia.
India Shifts Regional Geopolitical Cards, IPS, 25.1.2005
India tries to extend ist regional power – f.i.. by improving ist relations to Sri Lanka.
China’s tsunami aid: political interests not humanitarian concern, wsws.org, 18.1.2005
TSUNAMI RELIEF REFLECTS CHINA´S REGIONAL ASPIRATIONS, CHINA BRIEF, 18.1.2005
“Tsunami and China: Relief with Chinese Characteristics”, Asian Affairs, 17.1.2005
China’s aid package is by far the largest in the 55-year history of the People’s Republic of China. Like the other countries Beijing’s decision to offer assistance is motivated not by concern for the tsunami victims, but rather by economic and political considerations.
New Military Links to Indonesia Debated, ips, 17.1.2005
The US want to take up their tardidional good relationsships with Indonesia and make the world forget Abu Ghraib Aceh serves as a good opportunity.
The Tsunami and the Discourse of Compassion, Znet, 30.12.2004
The profiteers of the unjust world order like Coca-Cola, Starbucks or the societies of the North act as benefactors. They decide who is worthy to receive their compassion, disguise their market imperialism and defuse the anger of the victims.
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| Local Perspective | Tsunami response: a human rights assessment - Human rights and Tsunami reconstruction, ActionAid International , Januar 2006
This report details how there are considerable human rights violations in Tsunami affected areas, including discrimination in aid distribution, forced relocation, arbitrary arrests and sexual and gender-based violence. One year on, tsunami reconstruction efforts are plagued with serious delays and have not been given the priority they warrant.
See as well: , Life Is "Unbelievably Grim", IPS, 1.2.2006 and: Indonesia dismisses tsunami rights abuse report, Reuters, 2.2.2006
Sidelined in Recovery Efforts, Inter Press Service, 20.2.2006
Unable to compete with younger survivors for scarce resources and largely excluded from international aid efforts, thousands of elderly people were neglected in the initial aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
WTO report upbeat about tourism in tsunami-hit areas, Tsunami Response Watch, 20.4.2006
“Travel trade representatives expressed the expectation that demand will be back to normal or even be better than it was before the tsunami in the 2005/06 winter season,’’ the World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said to the press.
Post-Tsunami Reconstruction and Tourism: A Second Disaster?, Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism, Oktober 2005
The study reports about land grabbing, displacement and the preference of the Tourism industry in the reconstruction work throughout the Tsunami-affected region.
Quake "is UN"s worst nightmare", BBC, 20.10.2005
The UN says the shortfall in aid for victims of the South Asian quake has made the relief situation worse than after last December"s tsunami.
The tsunami aid disaster, AsiaTimes, 21.10.2005
The emergencies has been characterized by an uneven, often-late and sometimes-inefficient international humanitarian performance says a new report by Oxfam.
Post-Tsunami Reconstruction Criticized by Tourism Concern, travelwirenews, 13.10.2005
Tourism: A Second Disaster? A report this week from international pressure group Tourism Concern is severely critical of some of the post-tsunami reconstruction.
Aid experts debunk post-disaster myths, AlertNet, 11.10.2005
In the aftermath of a sudden disaster, aid workers say the media often perpetuates certain myths and misconceptions about survivors and the best way to help them
An island called MGR, Indiadisaster.org, 08.10.2005
‘Beggars can’t be chooser’? - From what we learn they are handling large sums of money donated by people from around the world to help us. We don’t want them to do us any special favours, we only want them to involve us in whatever they do in our name” says Anbu Jeevan.
Lesson from the Tsunami: Top Line Findings, Fritz-Institute, September 2005
The Fritz Institute conducted a study of NGOs and affected families in all the districts affected by the Tsunami in India and Sri Lanka. This report outlines the top line findings of the study.
Problems dog tsunami effort, AlertNet, 26.8.2005
Some of the controversies that have arisen during the relief and reconstruction effort in Aceh, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
Asian Tsunami Disaster: Six Months On
ADB report on the impact of the Tsunami
One Room But Still a Home, IPS, 19.7.2005
The life in the transition houses is much better - compared with the refugee camps. Problems now gives it in addition, enough.
Three Boys, Three Lives, Asia Media Forum, 4.7.2005
Children suffer from the tsunami’s effects in different ways – they have lost parents and the care they give, homes, friends, playgrounds, and for many at present, the opportunity for good education as well.
Women, Children Suffer Most in Overcrowded Camps, ipsnews, 7.6.2005
”Aid distribution is often lacking or discriminatory because of corruption, favouritism and poor management,” researchers concluded. Despite the massive influx of aid, it concludes, little has changed for many survivors since the tsunami.
India: After Tsunami, Rights Protections Needed, Human Rights Watch, 26.5.2005
Human Rights Watch applauded the Indian government’s overall response to the tsunami, but found that government recovery efforts did not adequately take into account the needs of different vulnerable segments of the affected population, particularly women, children, the disabled, Dalits (so-called untouchables) and tribal groups.
Tsunami aid went to the richest, bbc news, 25.6.2005
The poorest victims have benefited the least from the massive relief effort. A survey by Oxfam found that aid had tended to go to businesses and landowners.
Statement from After the Tsunami: Human Rights and Vulnerable Populations, 6.5.2005
An international team of researchers today reported that five months after the December 2004 tsunami, significant human rights problems persist in areas affected by the tidal wave. In surveys of tsunami survivors and aid workers in five tsunami-affected countries the researchers found that vulnerable groups, including women, children and migrants, are suffering from violence and exploitation.
After Tsunami, Acehnese Women Lead the Way Home, www.ipsnews.net, 31.03.2005
"Home sweet home." This motto explains many tsunami victims´ desire to return to their homes, even if they have been levelled in the December disaster.
Communities Play Vital Role in Disaster Mitigation, www.ipsnews.net, 29.03.2005
Countries that share the Indian Ocean are learning fast about the pivotal role the public and local communities can play to save lives.
Tsunami Survivors Need Gender-Sensitive Care-Groups, ipsnews.net ; 08.3.2005
Rights activists are calling for more gender-sensitive programmes to help women and girls who survived the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Maldives "A Quiet Disaster" says UN Representative, Etn London, 29.1.2005
The international community generally thinks the island paradise escaped harm. Yet ten per cent of the Maldives’ inhabited islands were totally destroyed and one third of the population has been severely affected, especially the poor.
Andaman Tribes Have Lessons to Teach Survivors, ips, 6.1.2005
The IPs on the Nicobares could minimize the impact of the flood – due to their traditional knowledge.
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| How to help | Goodwill is Not Enough, say Tsunami aid workers, April 2005
In a meeting organized by the People’s Health Movement on 8 and 9 April 2005 over 60 non-governmental organizations and funding agencies from around the world came together in Chennai to share experiences, chart the road ahead and debate the role of aid workers.
Redefining the tsunami disaster, India Disasters, 23.5.2005
The tsunami challenged many assumptions that many people everywhere had made about many things. For me the tsunami challenged my idea of what disaster really meant and what solidarity and sympathy were all about.
Lack of Water-Borne Disease a Silent Success, ips, 27.6.2005
A quiet miracle: there was no massive outbreak of water-borne diseases amongst children as initially feared.
Tsunami Rebuilding Could Deforest Island, Green Groups Say, National Geographic, 26.04.2005
If Indonesia"s tsunami survivors do not get an immediate and massive delivery of timber for reconstruction, the country faces devastation of what"s left of its forests, environmentalists warned.
Doing it for themselves: community based disaster relief in south Asia
The UK magazine Red Pepper has compiled a list of local unions, social movements, political groups, NGOs and grassroots organisations in the tsunami-affected countries
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| Problems of Humanitarian Aid | NGO porn scandal shocks Batti, Ampara, Sunday Times, 23.4.2006
Because allegedly working in INGOs leads to immoral behaviour of women they threatened with death unless they resign. see as well: www.humanitarianinfo.org
Missing the point, India Disasters, 23.7.2005
Humanitarian agency teams showed little effort to understand the complexities of local capacities and initiatives, political and socioeconomic realities while planning recovery and rehabilitation measures across the tsunami-affected places.
Global aid: Stabilizing injustice, Medico International, 2.8.2005
When we talk about aid, we no longer really mean sustainably overcoming hardship and dependence, but mainly alleviating those damages that are produced at the margins of a world order based on inequality and division. Neo-liberal control methods are systematically transforming aid into some kind of a social method that is much more aimed at adjustment than liberation. (Thomas Gebauer, Executive Director, Medico International, Germany)
UNDP: Post-Tsunami Recovery Will Take a Decade, Oleh relief, 24. 5.2005
Countries hit by last December"s devastating tsunami around the Indian Ocean will take at least five to 10 years to recover with the help of international aid, United Nations agencies warned.
Preventing corruption in tsunami relief and reconstruction, Transparency International, April 2005
Key Conclusions of an Expert Meeting on Corruption Prevention in Tsunami Relief, 7-8 April 2005, in Jakarta
Sri Lanka under pressure over aid fiasco, TamilNet, 2.6.2005
A quarter of all aid shipped to Sri Lanka after the tsunami are on the dockside while Sri Lankan officials say most of the containers are stranded in Colombo because of missing paperwork and bureaucracy.
Savants of the sea engulfed by politics, Asia Times, 23.4. 2005
The Moken sea gypsies, a small indigenous fishing community in Thailand, relied on their deep knowledge of the sea to save the lives of tourists and locals when the giant tsunami swept across their islands. After the Tsunami Moken have been under intense pressure from authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to abandon their transient culture and assimilate into mainstream Thai society.
And let us not forget the sea gypsies, angkor.com, 26.04.2005
Moken gypsies left alone without help. Survived tsunami, but now starving and sick.
Anger over two rupee tsunami aid, BBC, 28.04.2005
Villagers in India´s Andamans and Nicobar Islands have denounced "paltry" tsunami compensation relief they have received from the local government.
Reeling under the relief measures - By Jayati Ghosh, focusweb.org ; 11.3.2005
The ability of international elites to turn every situation, no matter how tragic or desperate, to their own advantage, is of course legendary. Problems with the “reconstruction”.
Charities face closure over tsunami effect, The Observer, 13.2.2005
Many of Britain´s biggest charities will see their income drop while smaller ones go to the wall as a result of the tsunami appeal, according to an expert in the voluntary sector.
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| Burma/Burmese in Thailand | The labour migrants from Burma in Thailand are the „forgotten victims“ of the tsunami. They recieve no help and have to fear to get picked up, detained and deported. Some articles about their situation.
Burmese Migrant Victims Remain Invisible, ips, 23.11.2005
""The Thai government has made no effort to compensate the Burmese affected by the tsunami in the same way help was offered to the affected Thai communities,"" says Sutthiphong Khongkhaphon, southern coordinator for the Migrant Action Programme (MAP), a Thai non-governmental group that lobbies for migrants" rights.
Fear Deepened Woes of Burmese Migrants, Asia Media Forum 18.7.2005
Many illegal Burmese migrant workers were injured during the Tsunami but refused to see doctors. Most went into hiding as the authorities conducted a series of crackdowns and moved to deport them. But many legal migrant workers are facing problems as well.
Post-Tsunami Recovery Needs Migrant Workers, Asia Media Forum 12.7.2005
Burmese could play a vital role in bringing about economic recovery in areas devastated by the giant waves – and some of them are returning now.
Loss of identity, loss of humanity, Bangkok Post, 28.04.2005
More then 100,000 immigrant Burmese suffered the same tragedy as our Thai brothers and sisters when the tsunami hit the Andaman coast on Dec 26. But instead of helping them, we thrashed them…
Updates on the tsunami-affected Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, Asian Human Rights Commission, 17.2.2005
Giant Fish Save Burma From Tsunami, Irrawaddy.org, 31.1.2005
Out of comapssion with Burma, which has been destroyed by the military already, the tsunami waves have spared the country – of you believe a joke which spreads in Burma.
Tsunami devastates migrant workers and villagers, Indymedia, 23. Januar 2005
Burmese Migrants in Thailand Become Forgotten Tsunami Victims, Irrawaddy, 22. Januar 2005
Thai Compassion for Burmese Migrants Wears thin, Inter Press Service News Agency, 13. Januar 2005
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| Further Links | Covering the tsunami, Indiadisasters, 26.6.2005
There was too little local context to the stories on the tsunami, too few stories on the lives of people living around the ‘tsunami- affected’, and too little willingness to probe where the money went.
Asia Insights: Tsunami Disaster, NIASLinc (Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, Kopenhagen) |
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