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Tsunami in Sri Lanka NEWSBLOG
(this Tsunami Newsblog will not get continued and all
further events in Sri Lanka will be commented at the
much more complex 9 4 newsblog)
2005
Tourism remains slow in Sri
Lanka and despite several billion Dollar donations most
tsunami victims are still living in tents. Only well
connected business men have so far managed to benefit
at a larger extent according to BBC investigations.
German officials did arrive in Sri
Lanka to find out on how efficient donations
have been forwarded to tsunami victims.
Several British scientists have warned of another
Tsunami in Southern Asia which might happen within
the next few months.
The Government of Sri Lanka
is accused of keeping huge parts of donated tsunami
relief funds whilst President Kumaratunga claims at
her website, that not even five cents in cash have been
received for the reconstruction of tsunami hit areas.
S. Kalaiselvam, Director of Tourism
in Sri Lanka complains about a 90% decrease in bookings
after Tsunami. So far tourist promotion in Sri Lanka
has remained as poor as railways, roads and Internet
facilities to make the country much less competitive
to Thailand where the recovery had been extremely fast.
India and Thailand will not
demand any tsunami aid in order to leave all funds for
Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka the number of tsunami
victims has reached 38.195, in Indonesia
230.000 have died, in India 10.749 and in Thailand 5.313.
Overall the Indian Ocean regionhad faced a death toll
of over 300.000 now.
However Negombo is now as clean
as never before, but no visitors at all make it a lonesome
experience.
Corruption and filth prevent
aid deliveries in Sri Lanka, where massive protests
have led to first dismissals. Even the Sri Lanka government
had to admit, that despite billion Dollar donations
so far only 35% of the homeless Tsunami victims have
received aid.
Repair efforts in Southern Sri
Lanka remain slow as well as victims still suffer from
only limited support despite huge amounts been delivered
to the country. First accusations of corruption and
insufficient coordination have been reported by the
BBC.
International Aid for the tsunami
victims includes donations up to $6 billion with $500
million from Japan, $600 million from Germany, $600
million from Australia, $350 million from the U.S, $96
million from the UK and $90 million from China.
India and Thailand will not
demand any tsunami aid in order to leave all funds for
Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka the number of tsunami
victims has reached 38.195, in Indonesia
230.000 have died, in India 10.749 and in Thailand 5.313.
Overall the Indian Ocean regionhad faced a death toll
of over 300.000 now.
Political Tamil Tigerleader E. Kaushalyan was killed
on February 7 near Batticaloa by either regular army
units or other competing Tigers.
Only as little as 35% of the tsunami
victims have received help despite vast amounts
of money and goods have arrived in Sri Lanka. Also first
arrests of corrupt local distributors where reported
by the BBC after public protests have become big in
Galle and Matara, where even until early February electricity
had not been available in several parts of the heavily
hit region.
Repair efforts in Southern Sri
Lanka remain slow as well as victims still suffer from
only limited support despite huge amounts been delivered
to the country. First accusations of corruption and
insufficient coordination have been reported by the
BBC.
International Aid for the tsunami
victims includes now donations up to $6 billion with
$500 million from Japan, $600 million from Germany,
$600 million from Australia, $350 million from the U.S,
$96 million from the UK and also $90 million from China.
India and Thailand will not
demand any tsunami aid in order to leave all funds for
Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka the number of tsunami
victims has reached 38.195, in Indonesia
174.000 have died, in India 10.749 and in Thailand 5.313.
Overall the Indian Ocean region expects a death toll
of over 300.000 now.
| UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan has been
refused a visit to the tsunami hit Tamil rebel regions
by the Sri Lanka government. |
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On his tour through the tsunami hit region US Secretary
of State Colin Powell saw Galle
in Sri Lanka, where the government had strongly protested
against direct aid from Italy
for the poor Tamil regions in the north. In addition
a new exchange of verbal threats and accusations between
Sinhal and Tamil leaders increase the risk of another
civil war.
In Galle, Sri Lanka up to 1.200
American troops with bulldozers, generators, food, water
and medical supplies have landed to help the tsunami
victims.
In Southern Sri Lanka Galle,
Unawatuna, Bentota, Matara and Hikkaduwa can now also
be reached over the coastal road. Before only the Rathnapura
mountain road had been free for evacuation, what had
been ignored by foreign embassies.
In Sri Lanka politicians prevent
aid deliveries to those, who can not make it into central
camps because of their injuries and missing public transports.
Doctors, aid workers and eyewitnesses report an administrative
chaos since the President of Sri Lanka
is forcing all foreign aid to go through slow government
channels and overflowing warehouses.
Information about first Cholera
outbreaks in Gall, Sri Lanka have turned out as false
and UN coordinator Jan Egeland expects another 3 days
to go by, until all tsunami victims on Sri Lanka will
have clean water.
Even on the 4rth of January drinking water had been
a problem in the South of Sri Lanka
though the region can easily be accessed. At the same
time German Airplanes arrive empty at Colombo Airport
instead of using their capacities for badly needed bottled
water.
Private initiatives emerge as the best support not
only for remote regions since the Sri Lanka government
has left an extremely poor impression in the first week
after tsunami.
Local bureaucracy and power striving politicians prevent
aid deliveries from reaching those in need, who can
not make it into central camps because of their injuries
and still missing public transports.
Doctors, foreign aid workers and other eyewitnesses
were reporting an administrative chaos since the President
of Sri Lanka has forced all foreign aid to go
through slow government channels, which include many
overflowing warehouses, where aid goods perish fast.
In particular army and policy have
failed almost completely in protecting the suffering
people from loads of looters and criminals. Very few
of the over 100.000 troops had come to help as well
as it took the police in central Sri Lanka several days
to send teams to coastal areas.
Instead the Trinity College
from Kandy had sent a team to the remote Tamil city
of Trincomale in order to help those many in need.
Sri Lanka Government`s tsunami
page with survivor list.
Back in 1998 the Government of Sri
Lanka had received proposals for an affordable
tsunami warning system by lirneasia.net
2004
Only in Galle way over 2.000
have died and the local hospital can not handle all
the victims.
Galle, Matara, Bentota and Hikkaduwa are total shambles
and the danger of epidemics is described by doctors
as highly eminent.
Red Cross convoys have reached
Southern Sri Lanka as late as 72 hours after tsunami.
Authorities in Sri Lanka had
not been able to handle the situation when parts of
the south had not seen any police or military within
the first 72 hours after Tsunami.
No warning was given by any official
or scientific institute about the Killerwave
in the Asian region - there is no tsunami
warning system for the Indian Ocean
like the one US Scientists from NOAA operate for Pacific
Areas Tsunami
Facts
Southern Asia was shattered
by a huge tsunami tidal wave caused by an 8,9 earthquake.
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