Guardian: 23/12/2005" by Randeep Ramesh
Of the countries affected by the tsunami, none suffered proportionately more devastation than Sri Lanka, with almost 36,000 people reported killed or missing out of a population of 19.5 million. Other nations on the Indian Ocean rim saw most damage confined to one geographical area, but 70% of Sri Lanka's 830-mile coastline was battered by the killer wave.
In the first few weeks there was unprecedented cooperation between the government and Tamil rebels to reach victims. But since then progress has been mired in political wrangling.
The result is that Sri Lanka's overall reconstruction, and particularly its efforts to house the half-million people left homeless by the tsunami, have been pitifully slow. Red tape and political squabbling have left tens of thousands of Sri Lankans living in temporary wooden shelters, awaiting permanent housing. Badly hit are the poorer, Tamil areas of the island's eastern shores.
In recent months there has been a perceptible increase in violence involving the Tamil Tigers. The guerrillas have been blamed for shooting dead the country's foreign minister in August and in the last few weeks attacks on Sri Lankan soldiers have increased tensions.
The United Nations highlighted research that showed an alarming increase of alcohol consumption among men and teenage boys, widespread failure to turn up for work, and a high number of dropouts recorded in schools in affected districts since the tsunami.
There have been some success stories, notably the resumption of services on the railway line along Sri Lanka's south-western coast. One of the most vivid pictures of the tsunami was the shattered carriages of a commuter train struck by the wave, thrown hundreds of metres inland. More than 1,000 passengers were killed. The trains were running again in 57 days. It was both a practical and a symbolic triumph: nearly 80,000 Sri Lankan commuters take the service daily.
In the Maldives, while the number of deaths was relatively low, just over a hundred, the tsunami's impact on the economy has been devastating, with a direct loss of nearly $479m (£275m), representing almost two thirds of the economy of the string of islands.
Of the countries affected by the tsunami, none suffered proportionately more devastation than Sri Lanka, with almost 36,000 people reported killed or missing out of a population of 19.5 million. Other nations on the Indian Ocean rim saw most damage confined to one geographical area, but 70% of Sri Lanka's 830-mile coastline was battered by the killer wave.
In the first few weeks there was unprecedented cooperation between the government and Tamil rebels to reach victims. But since then progress has been mired in political wrangling.
The result is that Sri Lanka's overall reconstruction, and particularly its efforts to house the half-million people left homeless by the tsunami, have been pitifully slow. Red tape and political squabbling have left tens of thousands of Sri Lankans living in temporary wooden shelters, awaiting permanent housing. Badly hit are the poorer, Tamil areas of the island's eastern shores.
In recent months there has been a perceptible increase in violence involving the Tamil Tigers. The guerrillas have been blamed for shooting dead the country's foreign minister in August and in the last few weeks attacks on Sri Lankan soldiers have increased tensions.
The United Nations highlighted research that showed an alarming increase of alcohol consumption among men and teenage boys, widespread failure to turn up for work, and a high number of dropouts recorded in schools in affected districts since the tsunami.
There have been some success stories, notably the resumption of services on the railway line along Sri Lanka's south-western coast. One of the most vivid pictures of the tsunami was the shattered carriages of a commuter train struck by the wave, thrown hundreds of metres inland. More than 1,000 passengers were killed. The trains were running again in 57 days. It was both a practical and a symbolic triumph: nearly 80,000 Sri Lankan commuters take the service daily.
In the Maldives, while the number of deaths was relatively low, just over a hundred, the tsunami's impact on the economy has been devastating, with a direct loss of nearly $479m (£275m), representing almost two thirds of the economy of the string of islands.
