Tsunami disaster must not be forgotten in 2005
The need for long-term aid
by the Newsline team and Vanessa Deij, 31 December 2004
While images of devastated villages and grieving survivors
have prompted a generous response in the short term,
Professor of Disaster Studies Georg Frerks of Wageningen
University in the Netherlands is worried about the future:
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"What we have seen in situations of war and earlier large
natural disasters is that the aid dwindles after a certain
moment. The media attention has stirred somewhere else
and political priorities are shifting and the attention is not
really there and it becomes questionable if the aid is really flowing. Experience has
learned that very often even the money that was promised has not been given."
Mr Frerks says that the situation in Asia is known as a solidarity disaster: "we feel
sympathy with all those people, but to keep the attention for a long term on a certain
problem and necessary long term measures and also to do it in a good way, with good
planning, we have very often seen in the past that it is very difficult to achieve."
Phases of aid
Mr Frerks explains that there are four phases in the provision of aid and that it is the last
two that are usually forgotten by the media and politicians. The first phase is 'immediate
rescue aid', which is given by the local population because it needs to be done within
the first 24 hours.
The relief operation in Asia is now in the second phase which is 'immediate relief for
rescue needs'; getting medicine, water en sanitation facilities to the survivors. All the
people in rescue camps at the moment need to be settled into some kind of refugee
camp. "That will be an immense operation," says Mr Frerks.
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In the final stages of aid, the focus should be on rebuilding and resettling the areas that
have been affected. Eventually the livelihoods of people need to be restored. In the
case of the areas affected by the tsunamis, this particularly concerns the fishing and
tourist industries. And in the past, Western governments have been very bad in giving
aid during these final phases, even though it is in their interest for Asia to remain strong.
But according to Mr Frerks, it is difficult for both the media - which play a crucial role in
this respect - and politicians to keep focused on a particular area for a long time:
"I am not criticizing governments and NGO's* in advance, but I simply argue that it is
very much required to pay attention, not only to the short term and immediate needs,
but also to think ahead."
*NGO = Non government organisation (e.g. Oxfam, Save the Children)
Short term aid: assistance to deal with an emergency situation, for example food and blankets.
Long term aid: Help that is given to a country or region to improve people’s lives and
encourage self-sufficiency e.g. health care programs and clean water supplies.
SOURCE: http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/currentaffairs/region/asiapacific/041231aid (Radio Netherlands)
Short and long term aid for the countries affected by the tsunami
Discussion points and notes:
Is this statement true? Name some “situations of war and earlier natural disasters”
which are no longer in the news.
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Does this statement refer to the aid sent by governments or NGOs (or both)?
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What is a “solidarity disaster”?
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How could attention be kept on the tsunami disaster for a long time?
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What are the 4 phases of aid according to Mr Frerks?
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2
3
4
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How can aid help to rebuild people’s livelihoods?
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Why do you think Western governments have been “very bad in giving aid during these
final stages”?
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How can we get governments and NGOs to “think ahead?”
NJ 2005 www.juicygeography.co.uk