20 years after Indian Ocean tsunami, some displaced Sri Lankan survivors are still waiting for housing

POST-DISASTER HOUSING

After the tsunami, rebuilding homes was one of Sri Lanka’s top priorities. 

Earlier this year, CNA visited a housing complex in Norochcholai near a remote sugarcane plantation. 

There are 500 houses in the complex funded by the Saudi Arabian government to assist displaced families. 

But the distribution of the houses was suspended by a court order because of ethnic politics.

The Ampara district is predominantly Muslim, but the court instructed authorities to distribute the houses according to the ratio of the country’s population.

In October, Sri Lankan authorities finally gave instructions to hand over the houses to the beneficiaries.

Siraj Mashoor, a member of the Akkaraipattu Municipal Council, said there is a need to study the social impact of various development projects on a location and its people. 

“When you go to an area and if you are going to start a project, you should understand the culture, the diversity and the nature of the area,” he added. 

“That kind of transparency and interaction was not here. All of a sudden, you start a huge project in an area, and there are doubts from people. Because in Sri Lanka, this post-war politics is highly polluted with this ethnocentric politics.”