Posted on April 11, 2005

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Tsunami Relief Effort Bogged Down, UN Official Says

Survivors of the devastating tsunami in South Asia are becoming frustrated with the pace of reconstruction, the United Nations' top aid official warned at a briefing on April 6, Reuters reports.

Assessing the UN's efforts some three months after the disaster that killed up to 300,000 people, UN disaster relief coordinator Jan Egeland said the initial response had been hugely successful, but "there is in some communities a growing frustration. They have heard of the large sums of money pledged but they have not yet got their house rebuilt nor their livelihood [back], and it will take more time."

According to the International Herald Tribune, reconstruction of the devastated areas has been hampered because the tsunami destroyed countless personal and government records and took the lives of thousands of government officials and skilled people, including civil servants, teachers, medical workers, engineers, and technicians. As the reconstruction effort inches forward, aid groups are struggling to deal with conflicts over land ownership, bureaucratic inefficiency, competition with government agencies, and corruption. For its part, the Indonesian government has issued a twelve-volume blueprint for rehabilitation and reconstruction, but the details of the plan will take months to work out.

"I think it will be a difficult period that we are now entering," said Egeland. "After a successful emergency relief phase and before we really get a development phase going, these will be several months of transition. What we have to avoid is a loss of momentum."

“Tsunami Relief Effort Hits Difficult Time: UN.” Reuters 4/06/05.

Mydans, Seth. “In Tsunami Area, Relief Is Very Slow in Coming.” International Herald Tribune 4/06/05.

Primary Subject: Tsunami Relief
Location(s): Asia, Indonesia, International

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