Tsunami aid lacks direction

Those two words are on the lips of every citizen in the tsunami-hit region of South and Southeast Asia, in gratitude for the quick aid that came pouring in – and still continues to do so – from across the globe.

Never before have several billion dollars been donated for immediate relief operations and the rehabilitation of millions of people – people who were hit by one of the worst natural disasters of all time.

It also may have been for the first time that the donations collected exceed the estimated amount needed for relief. The World Bank’s initial estimate for rehabilitation in tsunami hit areas is about $7 billion, while partial listing of aid commitments indicate that the tsunami relief fund already has crossed $ 7.33 billion.

According to the United Nations Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this includes more than $ 5.4 billion from various government organizations. If ongoing fund raising worldwide is taken into account, it soon might cross the $10 billion mark.

While all this is enough to make one feel happy, the truth about the massive donations also is likely to make you sad. That’s because the donations’ impact does not seem to be visible on the ground. Hundreds and thousands of people homeless, are struggling to get two meals a day, are in urgent need of medicine and do not have any means of livelihood, even six weeks after the disastrous natural calamity.

This, despite the steady flow of aid and the hundreds of volunteers who are carrying on relief operations round the clock.

The report of the miraculous survival of nine tribes on the remote Indian islands of Andaman and Nicobar some 38 days after the tragedy only indicates that even rescue operations are not yet complete yet.

But within a week of the tragedy, government officials deputed for relief operations on this same Indian island were reported to have hosted a New Year party, complete with a sumptuous meal – chicken biryani – while hungry people lined up outside for a small bowl of boiled rice.

In Sri Lanka, as many as 70 percent of the nearly 1 million tsunami-affected people have not yet received aid, despite the steady flow of donor funds.

In fact, administrations in almost all these countries have been found lacking in the relief operations so far. Due to the absence of a proper strategy, a deficient post-disaster management plan and lack of coordination among various agencies carrying relief and rehabilitation work, reports of the misuse of funds have started coming in from the region.

As a result, at least three international agencies – the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation – were forced to come out with a statement that “nothing is more demoralizing for the people in need, and those trying to help them to hear that funds are being siphoned off or wasted.” They recommended strong monitoring, transparency and accountability to ensure that the aid is efficiently used.

The Indian finance minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, was correct when he told the media in January that “money is not a constraint for rehabilitation of tsunami victims.” However, it is “poor management” of relief operations that is coming as a big hurdle in the way of rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the tsunami-hit areas.

Alas! Just as the donations poured in, the tsunami-hit countries showed that they could have been taught a lesson or two in disaster management.

Otherwise, after every natural calamity, one would find relief materials – such as cloths, eatables and medicines – dumped in garbage bins or stacked on a roadside, as was seen in the coastal areas of southern India.