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South Asia
Adjusting to the Post Tsunami World Dr. John C. Walsh Thousands of people are still unaccounted for and bodies are still being stored in temporary morgues in the increasingly desperate struggle to have them accurately identified, yet already people are adjusting to the post-tsunami world. For thousands who were directly affected, this involves coping with the loss of loved ones – some people have lost dozens of close family members and it is difficult to imagine the sense of loss they may be suffering. Others will have to deal with the loss of homes and livelihoods. As many as a million people may have been temporarily or permanently displaced by the fierce waves – it is impossible to be certain how many because so many of the affected areas were not properly documented. In some of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for example, unknown numbers of people continue with a primitive tribal existence and, although many seem to have escaped uphill, uncounted numbers were lost. For some small and exposed islands which were completely submerged, it is feared that fresh water sources have all been contaminated by salt water and they may have been lost to human habitation altogether. Physical and Environmental Damages Just as the effects of the tsunami waves were variable, depending in part on the configuration of the terrain immediately surrounding the shoreline, so too have been the long-term physical effects of the disaster. The island of Sumatra itself, where the earthquake struck, is said to have been violently moved as much as 120 feet (approximately 35 metres) from its previous position on the earth’s surface. The earth’s rotation has also been increased very slightly. The rearrangement of the tectonic plates which leads to earthquakes has also lead to some consideration as to whether areas of the region should be reclassified with respect to risk – there is a report, for example, that the South of Thailand will be reclassified from a zero to low risk of earthquake to a medium to high risk. However, as in so much of earth science, it is very difficult to be sure of the truth. At a much smaller scale, the seashore terrain of many countries has been significantly changed. Some coral growths seem to have been swept away completely while others have been damaged but may well survive. Long-term impacts on sealife are yet to be assessed but turtles and dolphins have already been seen to be among the victims. Beaches have been swept clean of the hawkers and vendors and their trappings that used to frequent them – and many people believe it would be letter to leave them in that form. For the sake of tourism, they argue, pure-seeming and clean beaches will be more attractive to western visitors and so they should remain. In due course, it would be expected that people will be calling for some memorial areas, especially when people lost at sea are officially pronounced as dead. Economic Damages Some of those most badly affected are the fishers, who were either at sea in their boats and mostly lost altogether or else who were fortunate enough to survive but whose equipment was completely destroyed. Of particular concern are the Burmese fishermen unofficially present in Thai fishing villages. Like many of the estimated hundreds of thousands of illegal migrant Burmese workers in Thailand, these fishers have no protection from the law. An estimated one thousand Burmese were swept away from one village and the impacts elsewhere are completely unknown. Those who did survive are being forced to hide from the police who are making an effort to repatriate them forcibly. The Burmese (or Myanmarese) government has no desire to welcome back the migrants and indeed is likely to persecute any who illegally crossed the border. Very little information has yet to emerge from Myanmar as to the real extent of the damage and loss of life. Other peoples to be affected are the so-called Morgan Sea Pirates, who were all evacuated from their island home. Like many ethnic minority people living within the borders of Thailand, they do not have official status or documentation, which is routinely refused by the authorities. Currently, their status is uncertain and so too is their future home, if any. Those fisherpeople who managed to carry on with their work are now finding that customers are boycotting their catch for fear that the fish and shellfish have been contaminated by eating human remains (which would be unlikely). Some reports show that demand in some areas has fallen by as much as 90%. Tourism has also been particularly badly hit in the affected areas, although in some cases tourists have been diverted to other areas rather than canceling altogether – the north of Thailand, for example, is experiencing something of a surge in demand. Consequently, those most badly affected are the poor vendors and hawkers who have been able to earn a meagre living selling goods and services to tourists. In the absence of savings or social security systems, it is necessary for affected people to find an alternative source of income almost immediately. Under these circumstances, prostitution and petty crime flourish. Political Change Just as disasters have a tendency to bring people together, so too have the tsunami waves brought together the countries of the world. The outpouring of grief and donations of money from people in so many countries has been an inspiring phenomenon and governments have followed suit in making record commitments of assistance. Co-operation has also flourished within the human tragedies: people from numerous countries have been involved in establishing the Multinational Disaster Victims Identification Centre on Phuket island in Thailand. Chinese authorities have made unprecedented offers to provide technical assistance with DNA testing in further attempts to identify human remains. Co-operation at the human level also demonstrates the willingness of people to volunteer and help. At the governmental level, it is not clear that everyone is ready to change. The military campaign of the Indonesian army against the would-be separatists of Aceh (which is the region at the epicentre of the earthquake) seems set to continue and this is likely to have a seriously negative impact on the likelihood of aid reaching the Acehnese people. It is possible that the USA and other international donors will feel obliged to take the opportunity to link assistance with conditions for political change in some cases. However this, like so many other issues, remains unclear at the moment.
“Tensions
Rise at Kultida Samabuddhi, “Burmese Receiving No Help,” Bangkok Post (January 11th, 2005) Kultida Samabuddhi, “Multinational Centre Begins Massive Task,” Bangkok Post (January 12th, 2005) Kultida Samabuddhi, “Phangnga Seafood
Supplies Fall 90%,” Bangkok Post (January 10th, 2005) About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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