Friday, July 27, 2007

SRI LANKA: Not All Tsunami Reconstruction Is Equal

SRI LANKA: Not All Tsunami Reconstruction Is Equal: "SRI LANKA: Not All Tsunami Reconstruction Is Equal
By Amantha Perera

Credit:Brennon Jones/IRIN

Displaced families near Jaffna town, many have only one meal a day.

COLOMBO, Jul 26 (IPS) - It has been 30 months since the waves struck the coasts of Sri Lanka in the morning hours of Dec. 26, 2004. Since then, in a pattern that has become symbolic of the divided nature of the South Asian island, parts of the country have motored ahead with the reconstruction effort, while others have lagged woefully behind.

And it is the worst-hit areas that have suffered the lowest recovery success rates. In the north-east of the country, beset by the resurgence of sectarian violence in the last 19 months, government authorities and aid agencies have been sometimes unable to reach programme locations while others have been suspended outright.

Overall, the reconstruction rate looks satisfactory. More than 80 percent of the 118,000 permanent housing needs will be completed by year's end, according to officials at the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA), the main government authority overseeing the rebuilding effort."

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