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Tsunami leaves poor poorer in Sri Lanka

(LeN-2006 Dec. 26, 10.45am) Poverty levels in the tsunami hit districts have increased since the tragedy, a recent study has said. 'Poverty, in terms of both headcount and severity, had increased after the tsunami in comparison to before in all three regions under consideration. Overall, while 64% of the households were deemed poor before the tsunami (severity-35%), it increased to 80% after the tsunami (severity-57%),' the survey titled People's Verdict on Tsuanmi Recovery commissioned by a UN agency said.

Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, lead researcher for the survey said that 3000 families from the three worst hit areas, north east and south were interviewed for the survey that also indicated that unemployment and income levels too had also deteriorated. 'The house hold income data from the survey reveal that the majority of the tsunami affected households live in absolute poverty,' Sarvananthan said.

'There was significant rise in unemployment among the tsunami-affected households, i.e. among both heads of households (respondent and spouse). Unemployment was very high even at the time tsunami struck, i.e. 37% among the respondents and 42% among the spouses of respondents. Unemployment rate among the respondents increased after the tsunami to 54%, and to 53% among the spouses of respondents. Unemployment (among both the respondents and their spouses) was greatest in the north prior to the tsunami (42% & 47% respectively), but was greatest (among both the respondents and their spouses) in the south after the tsunami (57% & 56% respectively,' the survey said.

The impact on poverty levels was predicted soon after the tsunami both by government agencies as well donors. Approximately 33% of the population in the tsunami hit areas other than in the districts of Cololmbo, Kalutara and Gampaha lived below the national poverty line even before the tsunami. ' the knock on affect in the largely informal economy has been, and will continue to be significant,' the UN warned in a draft report on the reconstruction stratergy despite the total job loss of 200,000 in the tsunami amounting to a mere 3% GDP.

By Amantha Perera

Sri Lankan rebels take over Jordanian ship
From correspondents in Colombo

December 26, 2006 12:00

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Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels fired shots in the air and forced their way onto a Jordanian cargo ship that strayed into waters near a rebel stronghold in the north, the vessel's captain said on Tuesday.

Two of the 25-member crew suffered injuries when they were ordered off the stricken Farah III and pushed into boats by the rebels, Ramiz Abdul Jabbar told a news conference.

Mr Jabbar and his crew were brought to Colombo by the Red Cross on Monday after they were freed by the rebels, two days after their ship's engines failed, leaving it adrift off the Mullaittivu coast.

The rebels said they had come to the crew's rescue after the ship began drifting in rough seas.

The ship, carrying a cargo of rice from India to South Africa, has become the latest flashpoint in fighting between the Tigers and the Sri Lankan military, which accused the rebels of piracy and planned a rescue operation.

'They ordered us to leave the ship, they fired four shots to make us jump into boats,' Mr Jabbar, flanked by Sri Lankan navy officials, said.

One of the crew, Shareef, who came to the conference in a wheelchair, said he was injured in the back after the rebels forced him into a boat.

'There were no seats in the boats, I was hit by the water when it moved,' he said.

Mr Jabbar said six armed men boarded his ship. 'They had explosives, they said they wanted to blow up the anchor,' he said.

Once the crew, a mix of Jordanians and Egyptians were brought ashore, they were given food, water and clothes, he added.

The ship has since run aground, some three miles off the coast, its owners said. 'We want our ship back, we want the cargo but this can only be done by governments,' said Jemal Alzeghari, a representative of the shipping company.

He put the value of the ship and its cargo at $10 to $12 million.

The spat comes at a time when the Tigers, fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the east and north, are locked in daily artillery duels with the military.

The violence has killed more than 3,000 people so

'They ordered us to leave the ship, they fired four shots to make us jump into boats,' Mr Jabbar, flanked by Sri Lankan navy officials, said.

One of the crew, Shareef, who came to the conference in a wheelchair, said he was injured in the back after the rebels forced him into a boat.

'There were no seats in the boats, I was hit by the water when it moved,' he said..
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The spat comes at a time when the Tigers, fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the east and north, are locked in daily artillery duels with the military.

Just shows the crass nature of these majority elected, uneducated thugs who rule this pathetic nation with racial bias.