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After The Tsunami: Residents of Sri Lanka Clean Their Environment
Written by
Brian Hatchell
, Press Officer, American Red Cross Tsunami Recovery Program
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 — HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka – On most days, the residents of Hambantota could be found fishing in the Indian Ocean, playing cricket in the hot sun or chatting with neighbors under a coconut tree. For the past two months, many of those living in this small fishing village – located 230 kilometers (approximately 143 miles) south of Colombo – have been picking up garbage in the Karagan Lagoon.
Debris from houses, trees and personal items flooded into the Karagan Lagoon in southern Sri Lanka after the tsunami. Workers from Hambantota in Sri Lanka are now returning to the lagoon as part of a livelihood, or cash-for-work, program to clean it up before the rainy season sets in.
(Photo Credit: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross)
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In the early morning of December 26, 2004, many of the 20,000 residents of Hambantota lost everything they owned to the tsunami. It swept away homes, boats, personal belongings and took the lives of more than 1,000 residents.
The lagoon had been a sensitive ecosystem for migratory birds, fish and other wildlife that provided a source of supplemental income for residents who either fished in the lagoon or collected salt from its silt bed. Now, much of the debris from the tsunami wound up in the lagoon.
“On the 25th night I was in the ocean and I was returning on the 26th morning when the tsunami hit,” said S.P. Siyabudeen, a fisherman in Hambantota. “By the time I actually returned, it was all over. My sister, my sister’s husband—all in all six of my loved ones were lost. By the time I got back, they were all gone.”
According to Aaron Brent, a water and sanitation expert with the American Red Cross, local experts feared if the debris – including building materials, plastic products and sewage – wasn’t cleared, it could cause long-term health concerns for the residents of Hambantota.
A local resident of Hambantota participating in the cash-for-work program covers her face to protect against the sun and dust as she helps to clean the lagoon.
(Photo Credit: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross)
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“The polluted lagoon was a prime breeding ground for disease-carrying insects, putting locals at greater risk for malaria, dengue, Japanese Encephalitis and other serious or life-threatening illnesses,” said Brent.
The lagoon could not be cleaned until October and November when the perimeter was dry enough for people to walk on the silt bed.
In late September, staff from the American Red Cross began to work in consultation with local community leaders and representatives of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society to launch a cash-for-work environmental sanitation project. Cash-for-work community clean-up provides income on a short-term basis for people who do not have access to their traditional sources of livelihood. Simultaneously, it encourages people to clean up their environment after a disaster.
More than 300 residents receive 400 Rupees a day (about $4 US) for six hours of work cleaning the lagoon. They use everything from shovels and wheelbarrows, to backhoes and dump trucks to collect and dispose of the trash in a local landfill. To date, they have cleaned one-third of the lagoon and removed 2,000 cubic meters of garbage— approximately the equivalent of a pile of trash that is six feet deep and covering an entire NFL football field.
K.H. Prematilaka, secretary of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, said that this initiative has gone a long way towards helping local residents recover from the disaster.
“Every day people passed the lagoon, they were reminded of what the tsunami violently took from them, the loss of personal property, of livelihoods and the loss of loved ones. Now, they have been given the chance to earn some money, but more importantly, they have been given the opportunity to rebuild their community and reclaim what was taken by the tsunami,” said K.H. Prematilaka, secretary of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.
(Photo Credit: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross)
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“Every day people passed the lagoon, they were reminded of what the tsunami violently took from them, the loss of personal property, of livelihoods and the loss of loved ones. Now, they have been given the chance to earn some money, but more importantly, they have been given the opportunity to rebuild their community and reclaim what was taken by the tsunami,” said Prematilaka.
The American Red Cross will continue to work with the residents of Hambantota over the next few years to improve their water supply, hygiene and sanitation practices. In the coming weeks, the American Red Cross plans to launch two more environmental sanitation projects in the towns of Tan Galle and Polhena, major fishing and tourism destinations in the south of Sri Lanka.
The cash-for-work program in the lagoon will end soon as the monsoon rains move in and make it impossible to work in the lagoon. But, for people like Siyabudeen, the program helps to restore pride and hope as the community gets back on its feet.
“We are very proud that you have come here,” he said. “If somebody asks us who it was that did all this to help, we will be able to say, without doubt or fear, that it was the Red Cross that came and helped us.”
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