OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
14 - 18 November 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse of the ruling United 
People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won Sri Lanka's presidential election 
Thursday. In the northern and eastern parts of the country almost no 
Tamils voted as a result of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 
boycott. The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) 
condemned the LTTE for creating fear among the voters in these areas.

Main challenges and response

UN Agencies restricted their movements November 17-18. Many INGOs/NGOs 
closed operations completely until after the election period is over. 
Government officials were heavily engaged in election duties impacting 
on regular coordination activities throughout the country.

IOM offices in the east coast continued preparations for the monsoon 
season. Precautions are being taken to limit any effects of the monsoon 
on construction and transportation activities as well as on the daily 
lives of people living in IOM transitional housing. In Trincomalee 
district, IOM has established "stockpiles" of various construction 
materials at the transitional housing sites. Thus, supplies are 
immediately available for restoring drainage systems and repairing any 
transitional houses that suffer damage. Additional monsoon preparations 
also took place in Ampara district. Several street drama performances 
were arranged to educate people on monsoon preparedness and community 
health issues. As a precautionary measure, in case of excessive 
flooding, relocation sites were identified for temporary sheltering of 
people. IOM also continued to prepare the transitional housing sites by 
digging trenches and improving roofs. In Ampara district, weekly 
meetings have been held with the local government agent and lead 
agencies to discuss monsoon contingency activities.

In Vadamarachchi East in the Killinochchi district people in four camps 
were relocated to temporary shelter in common buildings and in Mamuni 
and Thalaiyadi people moved into common halls and pre-school buildings, 
walking back to camps to use toilets that were not flooded. In some 
instances toilet pits have filled up to the land level. People have 
requested tents and UNICEF has provided 144 tarpaulins to schools and 
common halls through TRO. The Deputy Provincial Director of Services 
(DPDS) plans to use schools to relocate people, meaning schools would 
have to close. Solidar have repaired toilets, World Vision has given 120 
tents, Hudec Caritas and Sewa lanka distributed tarpaulins. Oxfam have 
done some sandbagging and other agencies are working on transitional 
villages they have built.

In Mullaitivu the DPDS and TRO did a survey of all camps on 16 Nov. 
People have been asked to help themselves and report to TRO if they 
cannot. The DPDS has written to agencies to ask them to look after the 
villages they built.

UNICEF and OXFAM have done some drainage ditches but they are not 
comprehensive. Many are complaining of leaking cadjun.

Last year the DPDS organized Health Awareness Teams which were 
responisbile for cleaning ditches and rubbish -- this is being repeated 
this year. Non-tsunami-affected population have places where they can go 
if their houses flood and will look after themselves.

Coordination and common services

Preparations to conduct the District Consultation process of the One 
Year Tsunami Report in all districts is finalized. The process is to be 
led by the respective District Secretaries, with support from government 
authorities, relevant NGOs and UN Agencies. It will be co-facilitated by 
CHA (Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies) and OCHA.

CHA meanwhile is planning to shoot a video documentary in two divisions 
of Trincomalee District (Muthur, Kinniya, Town and Gravets). The 
objective is to meet the population affected by the Tsunami and get 
their impression on the work done, expectations and frustrations. The 
final product should be available in 3 weeks and will be presented to 
the humanitarian community.

The pilot project for the nation's first Disaster and Emergency Warning 
Network (DEWN) was launched 14 November by Dialog GSM, the country's 
largest mobile phone network -- a subsidiary of the Telekom Malaysia 
Group. The company provides Internet services through Dialog Internet 
and the Ministry of Public Security, Law and Order. SMS and Location 
Based Technologies have been used to provide this cost effective and 
reliable mass alert system. DEWN capitalizes on the inherent strengths 
of GSM technology and the widespread access provided by GSM networks, to 
create the specialised Disaster Alert delivery and response system. Its 
aims to provide a multi-model mass alert system to give advance warnings 
to key stakeholders in disaster management and the general public about 
life threatening disasters.

In the last weeks of October, IOM signed an agreement with the local 
organization Centre for Asian Culture and Arts to produce a short 
teledrama for local audiences in both the Tamil and Sinhala languages on 
the theme of counter-trafficking. Upon completion, the teledrama will be 
broadcast on Sri Lankan TV. IOM trucks transported various building 
materials free of charge to different IOM construction sites on 59 
occasions. In addition 98 IOM trucks were dispatched to affected areas 
on behalf of other agencies.

Food security

During the WFP reporting period 31 October -- 15 November 50,000 
children from 186 schools received cooked meals under WFP's school 
feeding programme. An additional 56,000 children from 210 schools are 
still awaiting mid-morning meals due to delays in the supply of Non Food 
Items such as kitchen utensils to EMOP schools.

Water and sanitation

In Ampara the Water Board has agreed to install for the relocated 
families from Kannahipuram settlement to the village of Thambattai in 
Akkaraipattu 10-12 water tanks, as per requirement, assessed by ZOA, 
1000 litre capacity each. OXFAM, as the Lead Agency for WATSAN in 
Akkaraipattu, Alaydiwembu and Thirukkovil Divisions, was requested to 
oversee and monitor the operation. UNICEF will prioritize these families 
by providing a family kit for each family under the current Monsoon 
Contingency Planning.

Heavy rains during the weekend had caused flooding in a Transitional 
Shelter (TS) site in Akurala, Hikkaduwa which affected 14 families who 
are now in need of relocation. UNICEF, Project Galle 2005, and OCHA/ HIC 
went on an assessment site on Tuesday (Nov 15) to find solutions for the 
situation, and alternative lands for relocation (full report by OCHA 
available). TAP agreed that the families could be relocated to a nearby 
TS site in Godagama. OCHA/HIC have begun to convey this to the 
residents, while PG05 will begin with the repairs of the TS early next 
week (election week has proven difficult for implementation of 
activities. TAP will inform DS early next week).

IOM identified 14 locations for well construction, nearly 100 locations 
for toilet construction and 34 sites requiring toilet upgrades in 
Pottuvil, Akkaraipattu, and Alayadiwembu divisions.

Non-food items and shelter

With funding from Japan, Greece and the European Commission Humanitarian 
Aid Office (ECHO), IOM had completed 4,437 transitional houses, 
providing shelter for approximately 20,000 people in seven 
tsunami-affected districts by 31 October.

During the latest reporting period IOM completed 249 transitional houses 
while an additional 458 were in various stages of construction. IOM is 
currently upgrading approximately 300 shelters in Ampara district.

OCHA/HIC has finalised the TS site list in Galle district with the help 
of TAP,Project Galle 2005, SewaLanka, World Vision, AMURT International 
and CHF. Sri Lankan Red Cross, IFRC, Spanish Red Cross and French Red 
Cross have pledged to assist new programmes for Care & Maintenance of 
some of the transitional shelters whereby organizations who built them 
are no longer in the country, or do not have funds allocated for the C&M 
component.

Livelihoods

FAO constructed five model horticulture nurseries to enhance livelihoods 
of more than 350 tsunami-affected women with funding from the Italian 
Cooperation and the Italian Civil Protection Department.

IOM reports a partnership with the Center of Society and Religion (CSR) 
in Colombo. The project assists 68 households with livelihood equipment, 
business training and general ongoing support for the next four months. 
In the second half of October, IOM started livelihood projects for more 
than 150 families in Trincomalee (31), Batticaloa (27), Ampara (26), 
Kalutara (27) and Matara (44) districts. Beneficiaries included 28 
cattle rearers, 19 masons, 18 paddy cultivators, 12 tile layers and 
people from various other professions. Within the reporting period, 44 
beneficiaries in Matara were given business development and 
entrepreneurship training as well as occupational safety training. In 
Batticaloa, ten people, who previously received replacement tools, were 
assisted to undergo motor mechanic training for six months.

GTZ has funded through the Chamber of Commerce in assisting 200 
tsunami-affected Small and Medium entrepreneurs. Each beneficiary will 
have to repay 80 per cent of the total amount. Based on the progress 
additional funding assistance will be considered in future. GTZ also 
conducted vocational training (VT) programmes in brick making, masonry 
and carpentry training in Muthur and Eachchilampattai

Protection

In The Psycho Social Protection meeting on 16 Nov was the first since 
August.

Suicide is an issue not just for tsunami-affected but also war affected 
people. Conflict trauma is still an issue that is not adequately 
addressed including post traumatic stress disorder.

The importance of counseling was stressed, of quality control, of 
uniformity of approach, of western techniques being unsuitable without 
local cultural adaptation,

- HUDEC have 10 counsellsors in Mullaitivu camps. CHC, UNICEF (since 
2001) Delima, Zoa, Shandyam, all carry out psycho social work.

- There is no mechanism to coordinate who is doing what where and where 
there are gaps in psycho social provision.

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