Acting up in SriLanka

it never rains but it pours

sometimes I wonder what Sri Lanka has done to deserve all this.  The upsurge in violence over the past six months has seen over 1000 people killed and over 220,000 people forced to flee their homes in the North and East to escape bombs and rockets. Attacks byt the LTTE on military targets (only) in Dambulla and Galle have seen tourism hit as people cancel, just as it was really recovering from the Tsunami.  Now almost non-stop rain for the past three days in the South and Central regions has seen 6 killed and over 20,000 people displaced by flooding.  Meanwhile, a tiny ray of hope as the GoSL and the LTTE are meeting in Geneva to see if they can stop fighting and keep talking - but no-one is holding their breath.  And I have a bad cold!

On the other hand a group of us have just been up to Ella in the hill country for a long weekend.  An overnight air-con bus left at 10.30pm and we arrived at 6am - so we saw the sun-rise. Absolutely beautiful and stunning scenery.  We went for long walks along the railway tracks to waterfalls and through tea plantations to the tops of mountains - small ones! We read, rested, ate good food and learnt to play cribbage as well as other card games which seemed highly amusing at the time, but lose something in the translation. 

One of our group is a train - enthusiast seems somehow to understate his passion - and we decided to take the train back.  After a fairly rough start in second class that bore more resemblance to a can of sardines, we all managed to get seats in the observation car.... actually three of us had abandoned solidarity with the others and got seats there from the start... but I did run along the station (the train being too full to walk along the inside) and get them seats with us when the guard told us there were spare ones!  So I eased my guilt a little.... the train journey winds along a single track through the hill country to Nuwara Eliya  before descending to Kandy and on down to Colombo.... time taken at passing sections to allow trains to - well - pass!  and speed restrictions due to poor maintenance of the track, means the whole journey takes 10 hours.  It is worth it if you take a hamper (which we didn't) and are well-prepared... which we weren't.  Although alcohol is forbidden, thoughts of gin and tonic in a water bottle did cross my mind.  But I would do it again -the scenery was stunning passing through tea plantations and passed wonderful waterfalls.  And we timed it well - after all the rains I've heard there have been several landslides onto the tracks making 10 hours seem like a short journey. 

Now back to writing reports and the revision of the ACT Tsunami appeal to make it relevant to the current situation.  But - Good News - on Monday I should get my Residence Permit renewed and, after the MoD interviewed the Christian Aid country rep. and told him that they 'don't have a problem with Christian Aid as we don't prosetylize and are not operational'  -  we'll be getting our work permits... and when conditions allow, will be able to travel to the North and East - but not to the 'uncleared areas' - LTTE contolled.... which still leaves the issue of humanitarian mandates.

In the meantime - the vegetables are doing well - I am harvesting long beans and okra daily but the tomatoes still refuse to fruit despite my best efforts as a midwife and I'm still cleaning bugs off leaves with a toothbrush - when they aren't drowning in water from the torrential rain.

not a good week for Sri Lanka

I don't know how much information is getting through about what's happening here but there is a growing feeling of 'where next'?  The SL army appear to have got overconfident after pushing the LTTE back in the East and attempted a major push into LTTE controlled areas in the North at the end of last week and got badly burnt - no ground gained and over 130 soldiers killed with hundreds more injured.  But this week the tables seem to have turned and the LTTE have had two 'successful' suicide missions on SLnavy targets - one on a parked convoy of sailors as they were transferred to and from tours of duty...they always follow the same routine and everyone knows where they park. Now even I know - because I've done my security training - that you don't establish routines and you keep changing routes etc, so a major security lapse on their part.  But then the LTTE attacked a naval base in Galle on Wednesday.... which really is a psychological blow ... in a major tourist destination - and even I, who couldn't really be called a cricket  lover- know of the Galle international cricket ground in front of the Dutch fort (which is a major heritage site).  The only (?) consolation is that they still seem to be keeping to military targets but it is already impacting on tourism.  Fortunately there don't seem to have been any major incidents of Sinhalese mobs attacking Tamils, although there was some looting and stoning of vehicles seen as carrying Tamils.  But it seems to have been relatively isolated which is a relief.

So, I carry on catching my three wheeler 'tuk tuk' to the NCC office... except today there was no electricity there. So I met with the General Secretary to discuss the ACT interim report and how we could give an ex gratia payment to the staff in Jaffna. (They've been cut off from the south since August 12 - there are some boats going between Trincomalee and Jaffna with people and supplies but the A9 road remains closed and prices of commodities, if you queue for them and know where to go, are sky high - so we are looking at giving them some extra support to help them at this time.)And then I came back to the flat where I have put in broadband, and worked from here.... talked to the plants when I wanted a rest  and chatting with Romy in the Philippines on Skype, before going to a security meeting at the Christian Aid office. I narrowly avoided the closing of the main road as a convoy of military and 'important people' drove at high speed with lights and sirens going towards ?somewhere.  At least it explained why there were police/ military every 50yds along the road.

But otherwise life goes on as normal - Thursday night is movie night when a group of us meet in someone's home and watch a DVD - tonight it's Million Dollar Baby - and tomorrow we are going 'out station' (this is actually what Sri Lankans say when you go out of Colombo - must be a colonial hangover)to Kandy and Ella in the hill country for a long weekend. 

The garden?  Okra and beans are fruiting but a lack of bees seems to be preventing the tomatoes from doing the same...and a paintbrush doesn't seem to be working.  They all seem to be getting lots of 'pests' on them and I've taken to brushing the leaves with a toothbrush to get rid of them.... needs must!

meetings and meetings

After my last blog - out and about seeing how things are going in the south, we spent most of last week in meetings and workshops.... we are in 'report-writing season'... The NCC has to send an Interim narrative and financial report to ACT in Geneva - basically a report of where things are now ... and because so much has changed in the past year we also have to do a third update (revision of the ACT appeal).  So - I decided we can't do this on our own - and with Henrik visiting from the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva - we decided to meet for a two-day workshop with all the partners involved in the implementation of the appeal to work out  1)what projects are still relevant and going ahead 2) what is no longer needed / has been provided by someone else 3) how much money is released by these changes to be used for other projects?  We are now in the process of receiving new requests.

We continue to have lots of discussions about housing and the problems of ensuring bonafide beneficiaries, how to help those not elligible through the government and how to ensure the houses are well built and within budget.  A sobering reminder was given to us by Chrisantha, the General Secretary of the YMCA:  Don't ever forget, he said, that while we are building houses for tsunami victims, contractors are building for them for profit. 

(clue to names... if they end in 'a' they are usually a man, if they end in 'i' they are usually a woman.... but not always)

Romy and I spent Poya Day (Buddhist full moon and a holiday) meeting with 20 volunteers of the YWCA identifying the projects and the activities they need to do to implement their Hope Village housing project.  Everything has to be completed by the 31st December 2007 or handed over to another programme.  But the ACT Tsunami appeal will close on that date.  At the end of the meeting we went to the land which they have bought on which they will build 65 houses for families who lost everything.  Indraneela (just to prove the rule on names wrong - is a woman, obviously!), the President of the YWCA took the opportunity to warn all the men that in this new village domestic violence and abuse would not be tolerated ..."We are an organisation run for and by women - we will protect our women!" and they will! The land is already being marked out in blocks and the children were already climbing the trees and falling out of them.  As we left a couple of women came up to Indraneela crying with gratitude and saying that they could never have dreamed of being able to live in such a place.  The land is 5km or so inland but none of them are fisherfolk and they're afraid to live on the coast since only one of the families is involved in selling fish the distance inland doesn't worry them. There's a good and frequent bus service.  We hope the houses will be ready by the middle of next year and with the beneficiaries involved in helping to monitor the contractors it should ensure that they do a good job. 

And then we had another discussion on roofing materials..... my life is so exciting!.... but a common roofing material here is 'asbestos sheets'.... the government here has assured everyone it is safe... and it isn't the blue asbestos - but I had to explain that we couldn't agree to it's use as it was banned in Europe for health reasons.  But of course it's cheaper... so I explain that, in this case, if the houses cost more because tiles are used, that's OK .  We can't agree to the use of materials which have been banned as dangerous by our own governments...apart from that - you can just see the headlines!

We also met up with Chris Roles, who used to work for CA, and is now head of YCare. I have never forgiven him for agreeing to be 'upgraded' and abandoning me in economy when we visited Sri Lanka in 1984 on an overseas trip.... or stopped reminding him.  It was good to catch up with him and reminisce on the 'good old days'.....

I did my monthly interview with Wayne Clarke on Radio Merseyside and now Romy has gone on to plant trees in the Philippines.... not, you understand,  as a direct result of the interview, it's just my thought processes....  He will be working with MuCARD until January.  MuCARD is a partner of Christian Aid but he will be there in a personal capacity as we helped establish the organisation in 1984.... and I even got up early and watered the plants.

In answer to a query - the cost of a Madal or drag net apparantly varies according to the size and whether they are used from the shore-line or off-shore.They may also need canoes and engines to take the nets out -  So the costs can vary from £300 - £3000 depending on the accessories needed. Of course the bigger the nets the greater the multiplication! The ones I was talking about cost about £450.

multiplication

We have just spent 3 days visiting NCC partners in the south - still can't get to the North and East.... The government continue to scrutinise and accuse NGOs of not supporting the government.  I'm not sure if they understand that being signatories to the Red Cross Code of Conduct means that we help all according to need and without discrimination.... the last extraordinary accusation was the NGOs were behind a letter threatening the Muslims of Mutur (town near Trincomalee that was a battle ground between SLArmy and LTTE where the 13 ACF workers were murdered in August) who had just returned to their homes,  that if they stay they will all be killed when the LTTE attack again.....apparantly we are doing it to discredit the government - as it was purportedly from an pro-LTTE group I can't quite follow the logic - although 4 INGOs have been asked to leave as being just that although what proof they have of this is unclear - but none of them are British.  However, I still don't have my work permit and my visa runs out on October 22......

But back to the south and multiplication - give 7 drag 'madal' nets to 7 teams of 16 men (they are all men) with small outrigger canoes who take the nets and  put them out in a big loop from the shore.

plus 75 - 100 men (still all men) who then help to pull in the nets with the catch

plus 10 - 15 men..... who buy the fish

plus 4... who supply the ice to keep the fish fresh

7 x 16 =  102 direct benficiaries.  NCC insisted on an MoU between group members to ensure that no-one was the soul owner of the drag nets but owned them collectively

+ 700 who are paid in kind ... but they can, of course, then sell their earnings.  This is where the maths is difficult as it may not be 700 as some men may work with more than one drag net group.... but let us say

= 802 + 15 + 4

= 821 potential families x 5 family members

=  4105 people benefit from 7 nets and canoes provided by the ACT-NCC programme.

Not bad - but it's still tough - fish stocks are down as the breeding and feeding grounds of the fish were badly destroyed by the Tsunami and it is taking time for them to reestablish and floods have caused changes in the river flow in to the sea..... life is never easy. But at least they can see a way forward and with support they should be OK.

I also finally got to meet Isuru - the goldsmith who lost his wife and child. He had gone out on Christmas day with his family to buy everything for their son to start kindergarten in the new year. He was in hospital for a month and heard about 5 orphaned children.  In return for the help he was given to restart his business he asked if he could sponsor 5 children to go to school who are the same age as the son he lost. Now, 21 months later he has a new house and a new wife.  He is a Buddhist she is a member of the Dutch Reform Church - they were married in March and are expecting their first child.  She is from Colombo and is herself an orphan brought up by an aunt...... a new start for them both.

But it's not always that easy - very soon after the Tsunami the church in Hambantota was approached by 20 fishermen who asked if they could be given nets and traditional large outrigger canoes so they could restart their lives and not be dependent on handouts.  NCC agreed but couldn't replace their 15hp engines at the time - the fishermen said they would use paddles.  The other 180 or so fishermen waited and have been given a complete set of boats, nets and engines by other NGOs - when the 20 approached them for engines they were apparantly told to 'go and get them from the church'......to them it feels like they are being 'punished' for taking control of their lives and not just waiting for the promises to be delivered.  We will see what we can do.....

Another story - a group of people who had been helped by ACT-NCC to restart their livelihoods, helping a woman of 75 and her paralysed husband.  The couple weren't affected by the Tsunami but the group heard that the couple were living under plastic sheeting as their house had collapsed in the rains.  They got together and provided wood, cement, bricks and corrugated iron roof sheeting and built her a house. 

People we have helped in turn helping others..... passing on the gift.

Plants are doing well - had a crisis with some 'infestation' on the Okra and eggplants.... Romy continues to talk to them but he goes to the Philippines on October 9 - will they survive the separation?