Loadstar Helps in Pelena

View Enlarged Photo and CaptionAfter the problems with the fishermen, it was good to visit the Pelena district of Weligama, which was the hardest hit by the tsunami as it's right by the sea. Around 130 people were killed here and several hundred houses were completely destroyed. When I visited the area a couple of weeks ago, the devastation was so total that I thought it would take years to rebuild.

Today, I found a different picture. A local tire factory, Loadstar, has begun a methodical program to rebuild Pelena, first by supplying temporary housing and then by resettling many of the villagers on higher ground on the outskirts of Weligama. They're not waiting for the local bureaucracy to act. Instead, they are pushing ahead themselves. What's impressive about the Loadstar effort is that it relies primarily on Sri Lankans, including volunteers from Pelena, with a good understanding of local ways.

While conditions are still very bad in Pelena, they are slowly improving. Earlier this week, hundreds of angry villagers blocked the main road to complain about insufficient food supplies and lack of water. Today, the mood was much more positive, as if people understand that help is on its way.

As I left Pelena, a group of German "disaster tourists" from Munich arrived to distribute packets of food and clothing. Crowds of people immediately gathered around them to claim their share of the aid. The Germans also want to distribute mattresses and fishing nets.

While the Germans were certainly acting from noble motives, I have discovered from my own blunders that aid needs to be properly coordinated and should ideally be channeled through some kind of local institution in order to be effective. Otherwise, the result is often fresh disputes and jealousies, pitting villagers who have received foreign help against those who end up with nothing.

-- Michael Dobbs

By washingtonpost.com |  February 17, 2005; 8:36 AM ET  | Category:  Michael Dobbs
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