* REPORT : 41

SDI RESPONSE TO TSUNAMI 2

2nd Report
Community discussion with the people of Jayagathpura and Lansiyawattha, two
Tsunami affected settlements in Moratuwa, Colombo:
29th / 30th /31st January and 1st and 7th February 2005

• Mr. Upali Sumithre, Mrs. Miurin Franando, Mr. Don George Graton Kajasekara
and Miss Zoë Templeton
• Mr. Kajasekara is a Field Officer working with the Municipality on urban
development projects. He has been working in the field of development for 35
years. His English is also quite good; he was able to translate from
Singhalese to English for me.

29th January 2005: Jayagathpura settlement in Moratuwa - WDBF Centre

In Sri Lanka:
• Approximately 50 000 people died in Sri Lanka as a result of the tsunami.
• Approximately 900 000 people were affected.
• 84 000 displaced families as a result of the tsunami.
• 800 children left without parents.
• About 80% of the coastline was damaged especially the west and southwest
sides.
• The Sri Lankan coastline was a heavily populated area where much of the
industry and commerce took place. The economy of the whole country has been
affected.
• Moratuwa was the most affected area in the district of Colombo
• In desperate need of efforts to help people return to normal life.

The main objective:
To discuss with the community and listen to their views and concerns around
the construction of temporary shelters. The WDBF is concerned specifically
with temporary shelters.

A representative of the Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply, the
Urban Housing Development Authority, The Divisional Secretariat of Moratuwa
(government agent) and Architectural lecturers from the University of
Moratuwa will be at the Centre at 2pm for a meeting to discuss the recent
developments and the construction of the temporary houses which is to start
on the 1st February.

• Stage 1: select first 200 families for the shelters
• Water, Toilet and Electricity are public amenities that are needed.
• Hand over plan to the municipal council for support
• The government have said that they will collaborate with the Federation

WDBF Centre is situated in the playground of one of the affected
settlements, Jayagathpura, in Moratuwa.
• The houses on the ocean side of the railway tracks were the worst affected
by the water.
• The tide came in 3 times.
• About 9 different settlements in Moratuwa were affected by the tsunami.

Issues/Perceptions that arose when talking to some of the local community
people:
• They don't like government intervention - corrupt.
• They feel like people are making money from their misfortune.
• They want to be heard/ listened to.
• There needs to be dialogue with the affected people.
• A lot of people blame the media.
• People feel it's important to listen to the young people because they tell
it like it is - what's really going on.
• Some people felt as though there had been mismanagement of relief aid,
money and assistance.
• Important to get the views of the people in the relief/rehabilitation
camps.
• They want more people's organizations represented by the people themselves
• They've lost faith in the government institutions.
• They want to make their own decisions about their future, they just need
some assistance. They want the assistance given directly to them.

It is important to consult all the affected people in planning out the
rebuilding programmes. Their wishes and concerns should be considered as far
as possible. There needs to be a clear-cut strategy and concrete principles
and their needs to be equality and justice for all affected people.

There are hundreds of settlements in need of rehabilitation that were
completely wiped out by the tsunami. Jayagathpura was just one of those
settlements. For the people of Moratuwa and other coastal areas, it's been
traumatic. So many of them lost everything - their houses, their families,
their boats, their support networks, their social systems, their way of
life.

The WDBF was dealing with housing specifically. A lot of people had a lot of
other grievances but they could not be taking everything on - sole purpose
of putting up shelters. It was up to the authority to deal with the
corruption and mismanagement, it was not the Federation's obligation.

The main objective of the federation right now is: to build 200 temporary
houses, then to introduce a permanent housing scheme at a later stage. This
is the first step in trying to return to normal life.

The women are definitely the driving force behind this work with the people
for the people. A large number of people turned up for the discussion.
There was a sense of community strength and unity.

Important development skills:
• The WDBF seem to have built trust and confidence of the people.
• Equal treatment to all
• People are making so many demands but unfortunately you can't please
everyone.
• Tap into the potential of the community and look for the opportunities
• Important to listen to all the grievances, won't be able to solve them
all, but people need to be heard.
• It is difficult to reach everyone - patience is important.

The meeting was quite disorganized and there wasn't a proper facilitator.

There were about 250 families on the ocean side of the railway tracks whose
houses were completely destroyed. These were predominantly fishing families.
The first priority for shelter seems to be those houses that were closest to
the sea. They need to be resettled and feel strongly about having their new
temporary shelters close to the ocean.

Government views:
The government however does not want the temporary shelters put up within
100m setback from the oceans edge. They have been looking at the possibility
of mangroves that could provide some degree of protection in the future.
There has also been talk of building hotels along the coast to attract more
tourism. What they fail to understand is that many poor fishing communities
have been living along the coast for many years. What good would it be for
them to now have to move further inland. Their livelihood is then destroyed,
they need to be close to where their boats and fishing equipment are kept.

There is a need for regional and international pressure to keep things on a
practical and workable basis and to facilitate input from the survivors
themselves as to what their needs and aspirations are. They need to respond
to them on a cooperative basis rather than imposing there outside
"solutions." The people themselves should indicate the direction and get
assistance to achieve it.

• The government officials made the suggestion that two houses be built as a
pilot project on the 1st February.

90% of the land that had been affected by the Tsunami is government owned.
The problem arises when people have no legal ownership of the land - no
secure tenure. The government simply does not want the newly constructed
temporary shelters put up in their original position. The government want
the people to settle further back (past the 100m mark) or settle elsewhere
but they have not given the community any alternative places to go and land
is scarce. This poses a few problems:

• The government wants people to settle elsewhere but land is scarce, the
government also wants people settling over the 100m mark but many people
don't want to move their shelters from their original position (within the
100m mark.) There needs to be some kind of compromise.

This kind of top-down approach seems to still prevail and needs to be
changed. We need to look at a more democratic approach that takes into
account the local ground realities and sensitivities of the affected people.
The people themselves need to be involved in the decision-making process.

• The government also want a cultural ceremony of singing and dancing put
on, by the community people, for the launch of the construction of temporary
settlements.

Now the people and members of the federation cannot understand why they want
such a thing, it seems absurd and a waste of time. They're trying to prolong
the process when there is much needed work to be done. People need houses
and they need them immediately. Tens of thousands of homeless people are
still living in tents and relief camps 5 weeks after the tsunami hit.

The government needs to lay down more concrete principles that they stick
to. Their strategy needs to be more clear-cut for the community - they seem
to waver in their decisions. Alternatively, they need to offer clear
alternatives or consult more with the community members in order to come to
some kind of agreed consensus.

What stood out from the discussion was that:
• It's very difficult trying to keep everyone happy.
• Statements and decisions made by the government were not clear.
• There were so many different views and people asking for so many different
things. There was mass confusion.
• Everyone wanted to be heard.
• The people want to contribute.
• They want their say in deciding their future.
• An agreement between the government, federation and community had not been
reached.

This made it difficult trying to find a solution. People need to come
together and in a more orderly way, systematically work through the various
issues in order to reach conclusions.

People in the group then split up. The meeting wasn't controlled properly.
There were a lot of upset and anxious faces. You got a sense of the people's
suffering and hardship. There were many stories and people felt afraid,
unsure of what their future held.

Some men in the community wanted to know why they weren't being consulted
and why the women dominated this process.

People's stories, common perceptions and feelings about the community:
• I spoke to a man who had lost his two children. He was very angry at the
way the government had managed the post tsunami situation in the
settlements. He wanted more organizations represented by the people. He did
not trust the government and their antics. He felt that they made promises
to look good but did not deliver.
• Many people felt like the relief aid wasn't reaching them quick enough. It
was having to pass through too many bureaucratic steps before reaching those
who were in desperate need. The people felt like aid relief should have been
given directly to the NGO's, local community networks and federations. Many
were also going hungry because they didn't have the means with which to cook
their meals.
• Some people felt that relief aid was being given to people unaffected by
the tsunami, to people whose houses were still intact.
• The fishermen felt that they hadn't had any help with repairing fishing
boats and equipment so that they could get back to the sea and earn a
living.
• I spoke to an elderly woman who's scared to stay in her affected
settlement at night now because there are dangerous people hanging around
that will steal her things and harm her.
• The majority people in this community settlement had lost more than one
person close to them.
• A young boy lost both his brothers.
• A woman lost her two children and her mother.
• There were vast mounds of rubble and dead vegetation. Broken toys, ripped
clothes and flies everywhere, sucking the sweat from our skin. A baby's
shoe, a gruesome reminder of a once innocent childhood existence. A stark
realization of the loss of life and struggle for survival.
• I was amazed at how well groomed these slum women were. They had all lost
so much yet they still had their dignity, they looked clean and dressed very
respectfully.
• I got a very warm welcome from the people in Jayagathpura settlement. They
wanted me to see where their house used to be. They wanted to tell me
stories of what had happened and about the loved-ones they had lost. I was
taken aback by the hospitality and gentle nature of these people. That fact
that they could still find time to smile and welcome a stranger into their
house was incredible.
• My trousers were creeping down and an elderly lady came up behind me and
lifted them up and tucked my t-shirt in. Just a small example of how kind
and thoughtful these people are.
• One woman said, "We'd like to move forward, look ahead and prepare for our
future."

We need to create a situation where free dialogue and open communication can
occur - collective synergy and will of the people as a whole The government,
federation leaders and members of the community need to work in partnership
and collaboration with each other. In order to move forward, the community
needs to be consulted in all aspects of the decision-making process. There
needs to be an opportunity for everyone to tell his/her story.

30th January 2005: Jayagathpura settlement - WDBF Centre

• 9 Settlements in Moratuwa were affected by the Tsunami.
• 2500 - 3000 families in this area were displaced.

Today was the workshop and discussion with the members of the federation and
the community members of Jayagathpura. Upali facilitated the group workshop.

Lecturers from the Department of Architecture at Moratuwa University, who
have been helping with the design and layout of the temporary shelters, also
came to speak to Upali at the end of the workshop. They felt like it was
their obligation to help and were keen on linking up with grassroots level
organizations and NGO's. They felt they had a gift and wanted to share it
with community members, of their area, that were in desperate need.

We arrived at the Centre and the leaders of the groups and the community
people were they're waiting for us. I was surprised at the good turnout of
people.

Upali started talking to the people:
• He encouraged the participation of everyone to give their views on what
they wanted to see happen with the housing.
• He said that if they were able to give their views, talk about their
situation and explain their grievances, the Federation would then have a
clearer understanding of what to do.
• The Federations main objective is to put up good temporary shelters for
the people of Jayagathpura.
• The boards have been put up and the surveys collected. Need to decide on
the next step.
• Upali wanted people to put forward their ideas about the temporary
shelters.

The people started to raise questions, which Upali then wrote up on the
board in front:
1. Where are the temporary shelters going to be erected? Beyond or within
the 100m barrier?
2. Some people wanted their shelters put up in the same place they used to
be. Can this happen?
3. For the fisherman families whose houses were closest to the sea, where
are they going to have houses? And what are their choices?
4. Many people's houses that were affected were past the 100m barrier; can
they still have their temporary shelters put up in the same place?
5. There are also families that are willing to move out of the settlement
all together. Will they still be offered the support and help with temporary
houses somewhere else?
6. What about the people who were renting houses that are now destroyed?
What holds for them and their future?
7. Some people want a bigger house than they used to have because more
people will be staying with them. Is this possible?
8. The houses that used to have 3 or 4 families living together. Will they
get 3/4 temporary houses built for them, or just one?
9. Those houses outside of the 100m barrier. Will they still be supported
and benefit from relief?

There was mutual concern for their well being and future livelihood. The
group questions started off quite slowly and quietly but very soon everyone
had something to share, people were participating and wanting to be heard.
The group was orderly and everyone allowed others to speak and say their
bit. People listened to each other and supported each other. I was surprised
at how civil and calm people were. It was more organized than the day before
and people's concerns were handled well by Upali.

Everyone got a chance to speak. I think that is why the workshop went so
well, people were considerate and all participated.

Issues raised:
• There were many questions to be answered. The main concern of most of the
people was where the temporary houses were going to be placed.
• The houses that were closest to the waters edge, those people were told to
make a separate group, facilitated by Miurin (federation leader). They were
to discuss the issue of temporary settlements and where they will be
positioned. They all felt strongly about staying close to the water. The
coastline is dotted with poor fishing communities and indigenous settlements
whose land tenure status is unclear. These settlements should be given
priority.
• Some people didn't want temporary houses or high-rise flats to be built in
the settlement and some did.
• Some people wanted to know the value of their place, as they wanted to be
given the money in order for them to settle some place else. They didn't
want to remain in Jayagathpura anymore. There were people that owned their
own land (still had the deeds and title). These people were asked to bring
their papers to the Federation who would then find out from the government
if this request was possible, as a lot of the land was government owned.
• Those people whose houses were affected beyond the 100m mark, wanted to
know if they too would get the land and adequate support to rebuild their
house.
• Most people also wanted to see where exactly the 100m barrier would be.
Only after seeing where the border will be, would they be able to make their
minds up as the where to settle.
• There were people at the workshop whose houses were not destroyed but they
were displaced as all their belongings were destroyed and washed away. They
wanted to know if they too would be receiving any relief or support from the
government.

The urban development authority and the Housing Development Authority have
jointly drawn plans to build nearly 100 000 houses for the affected
families. Most of them however, will only be about 150/200 square feet of
floor space. This seems hardly adequate considering the fact that the
average size of a family is 5 persons, yet the people are happy with this.

There were 4 main groups that arose from the workshop and discussions today:

1. The first group of 70 families who wanted their temporary shelters built
as close to the ocean as possible. These are the poorer predominantly
fisherman families. They are worried that moving more inland will hamper
their livelihood activities.
2. The second group that came out of the discussions was 20 families that
wanted their temporary shelters built where they used to be, also within the
100m mark. They already have toilet facilities and a water supply and don't
want to have to move.
3. The third group consisted of people who were interested in having
high-rise/multistory flats or townhouses to live in, and those who were not
interested in high-rise flats being built.
4. The fourth group was families whose houses weren't completely destroyed
but were damaged by the water. They wanted the support and help from the
government to fix their houses. Some of these families are better off than
the really poor families lining the coast.

It is crucial that people be centrally involved in planning the
rehabilitation of their own communities. The most prudent method would be to
consider the resettlement case by case, in consultation with the affected
households. There needs to be bottom-up approach to the planning and
management.

Recommendations made by the ACHR about how to support the Tsunami Relief and
Rehabilitation process (January 05'):
"The reconstruction of the settlements that were damaged or swept away by
the tsunami presents an important opportunity to organize and strengthen
these communities, many of which were poor, marginalized and vulnerable even
before the waves struck. If space and resources can be provided in the
rehabilitation process for communities to be the key actors in planning
their own reconstruction of housing, infrastructure and environment, in
close collaboration with local authorities, NGO's, and support
organizations, then the rehabilitation process will become a
community-builder, a local-relationship builder and an important step
forward in the poverty alleviation goals."

31st January 2005:
Upali and Miurin went to the other settlement today, Lansiyawattha. They
spoke to the General District Authority who supported their proposal for the
construction of temporary houses. They also offered the 200 rupees food
token/voucher per family moving into the temporary settlements.

1st February 2005: Jayagathpura Settlement - WDBF Centre:

Upali and Miurin visit Moratuwa in the morning to speak to the members of
the two communities at the WDBF Centre: Jayagathpura and Lansiyawattha. A
discussion, as to what was going to happen in the afternoon, was held.

During the afternoon meeting, members of the community would be given a
chance to ask the government questions that they would like answered. For
example: Where is the 100m-boundary is going to be? What's going to happen
about permanent houses? Where are they going to be built? What help and
assistance are they going to receive?

The meeting was held at 3pm with all the relevant government officials
(Minister of Moratuwa, the Housing Development Authority, the Urban Land
Authority), district authorities (Divisional Secretary and Officials) and
the architectural lecturers present. Architectural students from Moratuwa
University, who are helping with the designs for the temporary shelters,
were also present.

The Governments decisions:
The Minister of Moratuwa, Mr. Jeewan Kumarathunga, chaired the meeting.
Initially he made it clear, from the government's point of view that no
temporary or permanent shelters will be built within the 100m-demarcation
line. He held up a map, which clearly showed where that demarcation would be
and where no construction will take place.

Negotiations then began with the Government. Upali and the federation
leaders wanted to know why exactly temporary houses could not be put up
within this 100m mark. Many families wanted to settle back in their original
place. On the ocean side of the railway tracks no settlements would be
rebuilt, that was understandable, but there was land that was available on
the other side of the tracks but within that 100m barrier.

The community members made various proposals that came out in the workshop
the day before (31st), that they wanted raised with the Ministers the
following day. They wanted to know the reasons why exactly they could not
have their temporary houses built within this border mark. Many of them were
fishermen who needed to be close to the waters edge, near to their boats and
fishing equipment.

So many houses that were destroyed still had the toilet, electricity and
water facilities, the owners of these houses wanted building materials to be
provided to rebuild their shelters in that same place. These families felt
there was no point in moving their shelter altogether. Families whose houses
were destroyed or partially damaged by the water but live past the 100m
barrier also wanted to know if they could start building their temporary
shelters in their same place. They wanted the federation to provide building
materials for them too.

After much negotiation on behalf of the federation and discussions between
the various government officials it was decided that these families could
start to build temporary shelters within this 100m line. The government did
not have a valid enough reason for the community members why they should not
build in their original place and because this has not been passed through
in parliament, they couldn't forbid it.

The members of this community have been waiting over a month for decisions
to be made by the government. There is urgency for these people to start
their lives again, bring their families back together and move forward.

With regards to the houses that were partially damaged by the water, the
government's response to those families was that a report on the extent of
the damage be recorded. A form will be provided for those families to fill
out. The Village Officer will then collect the forms and give them to the
Divisional Secretary who will decide what kind and how much relief should be
given to these families. A committee will be appointed consisting of the
religious heads of the area and the relevant political leaders. They will
also then decide how much assistance should be offered

The federation's future work is to establish land tenure in these poor
coastal communities. This will involve a lot of negotiation with the
government, but they are positive that eventually they'll get there. The
government has said that they are keen on supporting and working in
collaboration with Janarukula and WDBF and in partnership with the
community. They can see that the federation has earned the trust and respect
of many people living in the poor communities. Their work in these
settlements has been instrumental.

The government also made clear that the 70 houses (predominantly fisherman)
that were destroyed, that were closest to the ocean, would be a priority and
those shelters that will be built first. These families were the poorest and
suffered the most damage and loss. 400 temporary houses will be built across
the 6 settlements in Moratuwa, giving priority to those houses that were
closest to the ocean.
The people themselves must put up the temporary houses.

The government made it clear that money was not an issue, they would provide
however much it would be in order to construct suitable temporary houses for
the community.

There was also the discussion of: toilets, water and electricity. Waste
management was also an issue brought up by the government. They wanted to
know how that would be carried out.

An issue that arose:
• Problem between the leaders of the community and the community members.
• Members weren't happy with the selection process of which houses were
going to be rebuilt.
• The leaders had said that there would be no help for those families whose
houses were partially damaged.

Upali made it clear to those community members that they (Janarukula and
WDBF) will help and support all the families who were affected by the
tsunami. These houses that were damaged but still standing would be provided
with materials to rebuild.

Then the architectural students from Moratuwa University were given a chance
to present their designs that they had come up with. There were 5 models
shown, each a possibility for temporary shelter construction. They explained
the size of the shelters, how they would be positioned, what each shelter
consisted of and the cost to build each shelter. The cost of the shelters
ranged from 12 000 rupees to 30 000rupees.

The groups of students had also made models of how the shelters would look.
The drawings and models gave us all a good idea of the concept and what
could be expected. The students had clearly done a huge amount of work on
these models and had all done such detailed and intricate designs in such a
short time. I was hugely impressed. The students wanted the community
members to agree on which design they liked best.

Janarukula is providing the building materials for the houses.

Upali and the community members seemed happy with the outcome of the meeting
with all the significant and relevant bodies. About the designs of the
shelters, Upali felt that for temporary shelters: simple, suitable and
inexpensive should be the way to go.
Elaborate, complicated and expensive shelters would be a waste of time in
this settlement.

Jayagathpura and Lansiyawattha are just 2 of the 6 settlements (along the
coast) in Moratuwa where temporary shelters are to be constructed. The
federation needs to concentrate its efforts now in these other areas too.

The main objective of the federation is to:
1. Rebuild communities
2. Ensure security for their land.
The federation wants to harness people's inner strength through building
these temporary houses. This activity should not be seen as welfare or
charity work where the community members are reliant on others for handouts,
but rather an integrated development process where people are given the
assistance to help themselves and take ownership of their own future.

What came out of the meeting was that tomorrow (2nd Feb):
• A final decision will be made on what model to use for the temporary
shelters.
• A date will be set for when the construction of the houses will take
place.

2nd Feb - Bangkok Post: - land in Sri Lanka and the coastal regulation
zones:
"The government says that it will not allow any construction within 100m of
the shore on the more densely-populated west and south coasts dotted with
hotels. On the east coast, the government wants to stipulate a bigger, 200m
safety zone. Studies have shown that about 150 000 homes will have to be
relocated inland due to the restrictions, adding to the existing shortfall
of 400 000 houses. But it takes time to identify property, do the paperwork
and transfer it. In some heavily populated areas the government will have to
buy land from private owners, officials say."

7th February 2005 - Jayagathpura Settlement - WDBF Centre

Urban Land Authority officials, the architectural students from Moratuwa
University, carpenters and the community members met today at the Centre to
discuss the design and layout of the temporary shelters. The community
decided that the student's design, which they had proposed, seemed to
involve a huge amount of work. It would include brick laying as a foundation
and soil filling. Many community members knew themselves how to build
shelters and didn't feel as though it had to be so complicated.

There was much dialogue between the students and the community. The
community members were afraid that the building would take too long, there
seemed to be so much involved in the construction process. They wanted good
shelters, but ones that were simple in their design and able to be built as
quickly as possible.

The community also felt that they'd like to start on the first building,
then the second and third, in a gradual way. They wanted to build one step
at a time seeing what can be added or removed as the process of construction
continued.

Federation leaders had already been to various hardware stores pricing the
building materials that were needed. They had worked out, with the community
carpenters and students how much wood and materials would be needed and how
much each piece should cost. They then went and bought in bulk.

The constructions of the first 70 temporary shelters in Moratuwa were to be
built in the playground area of Jayagathpura. This process should take as
little as 3 days, if all goes according to plan. The foundations for where
the construction will start had already been laid out on the ground using
sticks and string. The building would commence that afternoon.

Important development concepts when working with the affected communities:
• Social mobilization
• Effective resource management - CBO's, NGO's, grassroots organizations
• Organisation of group action - maximizing group participation
• Needs to be an individual and collective role
• Active and conscious participation
• Full-heated cooperation
• Need to think in terms of what the people want
• With participation comes productivity and sustainability.

• Need to strengthen CBO's and other people-centered organisations.
• There is a problem of sustainability
• People need ongoing and continuous training in:
1. Communication
2. Education
3. Information
• Need to develop the skills of the people living in the informal sector
• Start income generating activities on a small scale = EMPOWERING -
building on social capital.
• There needs to be good training in facilitation.

• With participation there is also benefit and value.
• It's so important to interact with the community: live with them, learn
from them and listen to them.
• We should not dominate - avoid corruption
• We need to enable the people, let them take ownership of their destiny.
• There needs to be participatory management: an expansion of individual
quality and the collective role
• Empower - Train - Strengthen = a long process