Cyclone Ditwah and the politics of disaster

The Tamil tea plantation community has been living in line rooms on tea estates for over a century, were severely affected by cyclone Ditwah

In November ‘Cyclone Ditwah’ hit our country in all its fury. With wind speeds of over 80 kmph, it brought with it 150–500 mm of rainfall for three consecutive days,  triggering the worst landslides and flooding in the country in 20 years. Power outages, floods/wash away of major roads and landslides resulted.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and UN reports confirmed the cyclone destroyed or damaged more than 86,000 homes. The report added that around 188,000 people had taken shelter in government-run shelters. In all,  the cyclone adversely affected more than 1.6 million across the country. Over six-hundred deaths have been confirmed while over 200 persons remain missing.It is quite normal that in times of disaster, people despite differences of race,  religion and ethnicity,  come together to help one and other. During the tsunami, even though we were in the middle of a brutal civil war, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Adivasis put aside their differences to save lives.

A classic example of people putting aside petty differences for a common cause was the signage at the top of a water tank in  Batticaloa town in 2004 which read ‘thank you JVP” –a word of thanks from the affected Tamil people to the young men and women from that organisation who worked tirelessly to clear the thousands of bodies which lay strewn amid the destruction caused by the tsunami.In the United States, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, what was most noticeable was how politicians in the US irrespective of their party political affiliations came together to face what they saw as a common enemy. Whether one was Republican or Democrat was of no matter. They were Americans, and America was under attack.

We cannot compare the destruction caused by the 2004 tsunami to the cyclone which hit the country two weeks  ago. The destruction we faced from the cyclone was more about not heeding the warnings of the Met. Department and not heeding the warnings of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and reconstruction of homes and commercial establishments on hill slopes which were deemed unstable.

Additionally illegal constructions blocking inland waterways, canal and river banks often result minor in flooding once or twice annually. Rather than clearing these constructions which block waterways, corrupt politicians often aid and abett in the commission of these nefarious deeds. 

Today, even in this dark hour, where so many innocents have died, lost their homes, possessions and are displaced,our politicians are still trying to score cheap political points rather than bring succour to the affected. In one instance,  members of a particular political party attempted to stop the distribution of relief supplies to affected persons.Let’s face it; the government, the opposition and the bureaucracy failed the country. People living in areas deemed dangerous were called on to evacuate these areas at the last moment. The warning messages were rarely broadcast in Tamil. Many in the hill country died buried in their homes with no warning.

The Tamil tea plantation community has been living in line rooms on tea estates for over a century, were severely affected by cyclone Ditwah, experiencing massive landslides, loss of lives, destroyed homes etc. Neither government nor its agencies like the DMC have come up with a plan to mitigate the dangers these people face.In parliament, members of the government and opposition point fingers blaming each other. Landslides are a bi-annual occurrence in the hill country, while flooding occurs more frequently in the low lands. Persons worst affected by landslides are the –plantation workers, daily paid workers in the cities and the farming community.

After every disaster less affected people collect clothes and food rations to be distributed among victims. Non Government Organsations (NGOs)rush in with relief measures as does government, but there is no plan to avoid a repetition.

This year,  the damage was colossal. Faced with its mounting external debt and IMF regulations, the ordinary men and women in this country fear that we may be fast slipping into a situation which led to the ‘Aragalaya’.The cost of basic food is beyond the reach not only of deprived sections of the community, but of the middle classes as well.It is time to put petty party politics aside and work towards facing this catastrophe together. While many of us may not admire American international policy, we must admire how their political parties dropped their differences and joined hands to face the catastrophe of Nine-Eleven.