Tsunami remembered: The sad truth of the compassion industry
Tsunami remembered: The sad truth of the compassion industry
Thang D. Nguyen, Nias, North Sumatra
One year ago, the Asian tsunami happened. Of all the affected
countries, Indonesia experienced the worst human losses and
physical damages caused by the tsunami of Dec. 26 and its related
earthquakes.
More than 130,000 persons died, and about 40,000 remain
missing, while about 500,000 were made homeless in the province
of Aceh and the island of Nias, both in northern Sumatra.
As we look back at this tragedy, it is heartening to see the
assistance that the world has been giving Indonesia since last
December.
First, many countries sent aid supplies, volunteers and
transport and heavy equipment to help with the immediate relief
efforts. Next, the international community pledged about US$7
billion to help Indonesia rebuild its tsunami-affected areas.
And since last December, about 200 international aid agencies
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been working in
Aceh and Nias building homes for tsunami survivors and helping
them rebuild their lives.
The good news is, as of now, 16,000 homes have been built in
Aceh and about 8,000 in Nias, according to the Aceh and Nias
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR).
But, the bad news is 67,500 families still live in tents both
in Aceh and Nias. In other words, only 15 percent of 308,000
homes that need to be built in affected areas have been completed
or are under construction.
For the less fortunate families that are still living in
tents, the tsunami is far from over as they continue to live in a
mixture of fear, hope and frustration.
"We know a lot of money is going to Aceh, but where is it?
Where are the buildings? Where is the construction?" asked Mr.
Zoelfitri, a tsunami survivor who lives with his family in a
shanty in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, as quoted by
Associated Press.
Zoelfitri is right: The slow progress in the reconstruction of
tsunami-affected areas is not because a lack of financial
resources.
Thus far, Indonesia has received about $4.5 billion out of $7
billion pledged by the international community to rebuild
tsunami-affected areas. The Indonesian government estimates that
it needs between $5-5.5 billion over a period of three years for
this.
The main problem, rather, is a lack of coordination, or
management, of financial resources among all NGOs and other
parties involved in the rebuilding of Aceh and Nias. Seriously,
who is monitoring the aid among parties that receive it?
Answer: Not the BRR! In other words, BRR serves as a
government-appointed umbrella that all NGOs and parties working
on the Aceh have to register with and report to, and that is
about it.
So long as these organizations report regularly to BRR
officials, give them a tour to see some sample houses, let them
shake hands with the victims and smile for the camera, everything
is fine. What they actually do with aid money -- whether from
their own budgets or international donations -- is their
business, something which, according to BRR, it does not
interfere with.
But the question remains, what has happened to the $4.5
billion that has been collected for the rebuilding of Aceh and
Nias, aside from what has been used to build new homes for
survivors?
The answer to this question is three-fold. First, bureaucracy
in all organizations -- private, public or otherwise -- delays
the delivery of aid money to recipient parties, who need funds to
do their jobs.
Second, aid money in Aceh and Nias -- and other parts of the
world, for that matter -- are not fully delivered to tsunami-
related projects due to corruption among officials and other
individuals involved in the process. This means that, from the
time donors deliver their pledged aid to the time when it reaches
the funded projects, it has been skimmed.
Third, and finally, a big chunk of aid money is spent on NGOs
that get funding for their projects in Aceh and Nias. It is
typical that NGOs bill donors for their administrative and
overhead costs as part of the aid they receive for their work.
But, alas, aside from their salaries and fancy offices, NGO
workers, mostly foreigners, get driven around in fancy cars; use
expensive laptops; fly in either on first class or business
class; stay in five-star hotels; and get lucrative allowances and
compensation packages for their "work-related" travels.
These luxuries -- you guessed it -- do not come cheap. And
guess what, they are all billed as part of projects that NGOs get
funded for!
This means that the money that NGOs spent on such luxury items
could have gone to tsunami victims and their families, who have
been getting by on international handouts and living in tents.
As former Economist correspondent Graham Hancock pointed out
in his book Lords of Poverty, this is the sad truth about the
compassion industry, which includes NGOs, aid groups and
development workers.
Tsunami victims and their families have already suffered
enough from this tragedy. And, therefore, the last thing they
need now is to see NGOs and aid workers, who are supposed to help
them, benefit or make a profit from the aid money that the
Acehnese people deserve.
The writer is a Jakarta-based columnist. His writing can be
read at www.thangthecolumnist.blogspot.com.