Panel Organizers:

Dr. Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam - Department of Political Science,
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
Prof. Aswini Kumar Nanda - Population Research Centre, India

Abstract

Natural disasters, such as avalanche, landslide, earthquake, famine, tsunami, flood, cloudburst, cyclone and tornado cause immense suffering in South Asia including loss of lives, livelihood, home and habitat. The tsunami of 26th December 2004 was one such disaster, the devastating earthquake in Kashmir of 8th October 2005 was the second one in less than a year.

Natural disasters uproot people, trigger migration, cause physical disability, increase mortality, create orphans, influence fertility, and change marriage patterns. They also impact sex composition and age structure by inducing sex and age selective deaths, besides reshaping density and settlement patterns, shifting rural population to urban areas and forcing occupational changes. Such demographic consequences are shaped by the extent of human habitation, ecological buffers, incidence poverty, state of governance, rescue and rehabilitation programme, coping strategies.

These disasters tend to hit marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups in South Asia especially hard for a variety of reasons: often they live in particularly vulnerable areas and dwellings; on the other hand, their access to aid and support after the event is frequently restricted. This was especially the case after the Tsunami: Though a wave of sympathy and help brought in donations in cash and kind in the weeks and months following the catastrophe, it turned out subsequently, that the disadvantaged groups often did not profit or could not avail themselves of the assistance offered. In fact, in some cases it seems that these groups are worse off through these measures than before.

The panel intends to address the following issues:

1) How do disasters in general and especially the tsunami and earthquake affect already marginalized and disadvantaged groups? I.e. what are the socio-structural dimensions to the demographic consequences? What factors hold the key to demographic vulnerability during or after the disasters, e.g. socio-economic status? How do local communities view and adapt to such consequences? How do they cope with disaster, and how do they get access to measures of aid, support and rehabilitation?

2) How do governments and bureaucracies deal with disaster, and in what way does this affect marginalized groups? In spite of assurances by governments and aid agencies, it mostly cannot be prevented that the emergency situation is exploited by diverse vested and economic interests. Can strategies be devised to prevent this both by the groups concerned and by other organizations?

3) What is the impact of external aid agencies, especially NGOs and/or state agencies on these groups? Do they help in rehabilitation, or do they impede self-confidence and independence?

4) This leads to another, and more basic consideration: What are the short as well as long-term direct demographic consequences? How long they take to appear and what are the routes?

5) The final set of questions would then be the following: How to measure and estimate the demographic consequences? Which conventional and non-conventional methodological approach and data-collections methods would help us to assess the impact? Are comparative studies useful? To what extent can empirical evidence and demographic theories be dovetailed to suggest measures for dealing with demographic consequences? How to find ways out of the unintended demographic regimes? These questions pertain with particular urgency to poor, marginalized and otherwise disadvantaged groups.
While the Tsunami and the earthquake are the points of departure for these considerations, papers and discussion need not and should not be limited to these particular catastrophes.

S. Sumathi, Queen's University, Belfast, UK
Displacement of Coastal Communities Beyond Coastal Regulatory Zone: Problems and Prospects in Tamil Nadu State, Indiajulia

Coastal communities, by nature of their life and profession, not only live by generations close to the sea but also depend on it for their livelihood. The Tsunami, the killer waves which ravaged the Coastal regions of India and other countries recently, has devastated the livelihood options of the Coastal communities besides taking a heavy toll of life. One of the worst affected states in India is Tamil Nadu. Conservative estimates, made by the State Government (as on feb,2005), suggest that more than 8,000 peoples have lost their lives, about 1700 still reported missing and around 3,500 people got injured. Further, around 126,182 houses have been damaged and many have lost their sources of income in varying degrees. Most of these families are temporarily displaced from their place of birth and occupation.
The Govt. of Tamil Nadu is preparing, as a part of its rehabilitation plan, to resettle the Coastal communities far,off the Coastal Regulatory Zone,I (CRZ,I). Efforts are already on to identify the new sites or places in which the Coastal Communities are to be rehabilitated. While taking notice of the concerns of CRZ, relocation of Coastal Communities in places not immediately beyond CRZ,I seems to raise a number of structural issues. Many in the Community, for instance, view that resettling them at a distance not only deprives them of their easy access to sea and fishing but also seems to imply denial of their inalienable right in the place where they have been living for generations and curtailment in their access to, and use of, sea and beach.

Issues:
The displacement raises two sets of important issues. First, a critical assessment with respect to the problems associated with the displacement is called for. For example, what are the problems posed by such relocation of Coastal Community? What prospects such relocation brings? Whether all the Socio, Economic groups and regions as well as men, women and children share the problems and prospects equally? These questions need to be looked into carefully. The second set of issue is related to the aspects associated with rights of the Coastal Communities. Do the Coastal Communities really want to move to places away from the Coast? Is there any difference of opinion among different socio , economic groups within the Coastal Communities? For Example: Do active fishermen have a different opinion than that of marginal fisherman or non,fishermen? Do women and men have different opinion? Does such displacement imply a violation of Coastal Communities' right to their places of life and livelihood? What matters most in process of development; whether rights and opinion of the people over the benefits and prospects or vice versa? These aspects call for a multifaceted discussion, both individual and joint, with groups of Coastal Communities and with other stakeholders including Govt. The present paper is an attempt to look systematically into these and other closely related aspects. Through this paper, visually I would like to share my experience with wider international audience.

Britta Gruenig, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland

Long-term impact of external aid on the independence of vulnerable groups after serious draught in the Thar Desert - The Case of the NGO Urmul Trust

The paper contributes to the panel by providing an analysis of how an NGO extended its activity from ensuring food, water and fodder security directly after the event of a drought to indirect empowerment methods for vulnerable groups later on. Since the disaster was taking place twenty years ago, this paper can assess the long,term impact of the aid agency's activities on the vulnerable group's independence. Data of the case study has been collected through field research with on site visits, interviews and observations.

In the Thar Desert, the most populous arid area of the world, the adverse effects of the climate in combination with cultural and economic dependency structures result in high levels of rural poverty and disadvantaged groups. The NGO Urmul Trust was initially founded by the members of a dairy cooperative to provide the under privileged in the rural areas access to primary health care. As a reaction to the severe drought in 1987, the NGO built a system of multifaceted development projects, which in their entirety contributed to retention of rural population and to elevation of the living standards of the vulnerable groups.

The case study reveals a success story both in terms of effectiveness of the disaster relief and in increasing independence levels of the vulnerable low,cast laborer groups and women. The percentage of marginalized groups that greatly suffer from droughts could be reduced from around 50% to less than 20% of the population over twenty years. Villagers were advised on how to earn a sustainable income and live in dignity even in times of drought thanks to livelihood programs that ensure their economic independence and positively influence their social status. In the crucial issue of food, water and fodder security, the local communities were encouraged to build reserves in good times instead of selling all their products in the market. In health and education services, examples of innovative systems were developed by the NGO in order to create a demand by the villagers who then act as pressure groups asking the government to follow the benchmark set by the NGO.

This case has shown that it is possible for NGOs to help in rehabilitation without impeding self,confidence and independence. The core success factors include the NGO's awareness of the risk of creating dependency, the conscious transferral of knowledge to the vulnerable groups how they can improve their independence and the active grassroot pressure groups at the local level.

Bobby Kunhu, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India

Outside Mercies

Sharp divisions based mainly on caste and to some extent religion have inundated the coast of Tamil Nadu. A number of communities were already living on the fringes of the coastal economy pre,tsunami also. These include the pearl divers, the saltpan workers etc. The resources that flooded the coast after tsunami has had a two level effect, one it sharpened the divisions in terms of resource sharing, (also because of insensitive, but well meaning private initiatives and state apathy) second it also empowered some of these marginalised communities in a subtle manner - that these communities got visibility and along with it some efforts at empowerment of these communities.

The paper will be based on the author's experiences with regard to the above being part of an alternate legal redressal system called the Tsunami Legal Action Committee in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry in India and documenting complaints that arose out of the Tsunami

The paper will try to bring out the caste and communal differences that have existed in this particular region and the effect of tsunami and post tsunami relief and rehabilitation on these differences and different ways communities have coped with the disaster. It would also look at the role of the civil society and the state in accentuating the differences as well as efforts at conciliation and social mobility for the marginalised communities

M.S. Selvin Ireneus
Assessment on Post-Tsunami recovery process in the conflict affected region in Sri Lanka

This study focused on the Post-Tsunami recovery process adopted in Sri Lanka and its effectiveness in the three decades old conflict affected region in the North Eastern part of the Country. First part of the article gives descriptive picture about the North East Province and its Socio-Cultural and Economic scenario. North East Province covered more than two third of the coastal area of the Island of Sri Lanka, which is the traditional homeland of the Tamil speaking ethnic Tamils and Muslims and colonized ethnic Sinhalease are in third minority in the region.

North East region struggle for devolution of power from centralized government which reinforced by very strong mono ethnic Sinhala Buddhist majoritarian ideology. Tamil speaking communities in the country have legitimate grievances due to impartial policies and approach were implemented time to time by the ruling parties of the Government of Sri Lanka for more than fifty years.

In part two of the paper provide details account of the thirty years of the civil war and its' impact on the region and people. Very crucial war strategy adopted by the government caused heavy lose of human lives in addition to destruction of social and economic infrastructures and investment potential of the local community. Continuous displacement and refuge in camps made communities into vulnerable state and lead to disintegration of social safety net.

Third part of the paper is discuss about the 2004 December Indian Ocean Tsunami and its impact on Island of Sri Lanka and real account of the disaster in North East region. This secession is give detail picture of the post-tsunami operation in the region under two different rulers as Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Part four is the final chapter with conclusion try to list out some learned lessons during the planning and implementation stages of the post-tsunami recovery process and present status of the rehabilitation and reconstruction process. This was a very crucial process in the region to make a balance approach among the tsunami victims and conflict affected people who are under temporary roof for several years.