A
crisis always provides opportunity for change. Natural calamities
are no different. When countries or communities are struck by
disasters, their social, political and institutional weaknesses
are mercilessly disclosed and revealed. What did not work, where
there was no preparedness and no warning, where men, women and
children died avoidable deaths - all of this gets exposed.
This also goes for the performance of governments and local
and international organisations in their immediate and long-term
response to the disaster, as well as their ability to protect
vulnerable communities from future deadly threats such as earthquakes,
storms and floods. The bigger the disaster, the more dramatic
the selfless and courageous humanitarian action, but also the
greater the exposure of flaws and failure.
The most appropriate way to honour the memory of all those who
died in the tsunami two years ago is therefore to address what
did not work and make sure that recovery and reconstruction
deliver the best possible results. With that in mind, three
issues stand out as particularly important for the International
Red Cross and Red Crescent.
First, re-born communities must be safer communities. We cannot
accept if children go back to schools that could collapse over
them when a new earthquake strikes, that new villages can be
swept away by floods or landslides, or that children and their
parents are neither warned nor fully aware of these risks and
know what to do when they become reality. If time is not taken
to fully integrate these vital concerns into the recovery venture
we will not have lived up to what tsunami-stricken communities
should expect from us. There can be no compromise on safety.
There must be meaningful global investment made in risk reduction.
The Red Cross Red Crescent estimates that US$1 spent on preventative
measures – on coastal protection, earthquake safe schools
or awareness raising and education, for example – could
save US$10 on recovery operations. If the global community adopted
a proactive approach to providing humanitarian assistance –
if we responded to disasters before they strike – millions
of lives will be saved.
Second, tsunami recovery must deliver quality. We hear of houses
in Aceh or Sri Lanka that have been built with leaking roofs
or on unsuitable land. Yet at the same time, we hear criticisms
of the rebuilding process taking too long. The simple fact is
that the only way to manage rebuilding communities with hundreds
of thousands of homes and all the necessary services and infrastructure–
a task bigger than most countries have faced since the second
World War – is to commit time to detailed site planning,
to solving problems of land ownership and to mobilizing the
right resources.
Yes, all must be done to fast-track these measures, but they
cannot be rushed. If people are provided with good temporary
shelters and if their immediate needs are met, they can live
through the recovery phase with dignity giving them and us the
time and space to do our job well. Quality takes time. All the
money so generously donated by people around the world does
not change this fact.
Third, a culture of accountability must signify our actions.
Donors invested their trust in us, tsunami-affected communities
and governments made us their partners. We must live up to their
confidence by sharing not only our successes but by being open
about challenges and problems and how we solve them. This also
means seeking cooperation and partnerships between organisations
to share competence and capacity, ultimately making sure that
resources are not wasted on duplication and inefficiency. Honesty
and accountability must characterize our reports after two years
of rebuilding what the tsunami destroyed.
Safety of vulnerable communities, quality in recovery and reconstruction,
accountability towards all stakeholders. This should be our
legacy two years on from the terrible disaster of 26 December,
2004, as we join communities in mourning their loved ones. This
is how we should honour their memory.
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Johan
Schaar, Special Representative for the Tsunami Operation
– International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies
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