NGOs and Tsunami: An excuse to chill in Sri Lanka?
Almost 2 years on, most NGOs are not able account for the millions of dollars that poured into Sri Lanka after the devastating Tsunami that hit in December 2004. According to sources hundreds of millions of dollars were channeled through - mostly international NGOs - to rebuild the affected areas in the country. The money was mainly targeted for the rebuilding of homes demolished by the waves. But the number of houses that have actually have been handed over to the victims remains desperately small. Most victims, according to sources, still live in temporary shelter. The overall effectiveness of the long-term relief effort in Sri Lanka has been far behind that of Thailand, Indonesia and other affected countries while the per capita dollars and the foreign personnel working in Sri Lanka has in fact been far higher. The observers also reported that the smaller of the NGOs are more effective at relief related projects while the larger NGOs are known to provide opportunity for far too greater number of charity workers to reside in Sri Lanka at the expense of victims. These NGOs are also known to be the staunchest critics of the government often citing bureaucracy as the reason for their ineffectiveness.
posted by lanka matha at 10/11/2006 09:43:00 PM
22 Comments:
NGOs have done a lot of work in Sri Lanka and its shame people still criticise them.
NGOs have also caused too much trouble in Sri Lanka. I doubt any NGOs are here without an ulterior motive. They always have some religious or political objective and they intimidae the government by threatening to suspend serices. Being a poor country, the government doesn't have much of a choice but to comply. The local NGOs have done a much better job after the Tsunami and like the article says the larger NGOs have wasted most of cash raised by good-hearted people of the world in lavish lifestyles for their employees. It's time to clean up their act.
of course. ngo volunteers have it better than most tourists.
It sickens to think that NGOs will actually take pleassure out of living in Sri Lanka at the expense of the victims of the Tsunami. I hope it is not the majority.
NGO did help. We can not say no. We should not say no.
We must be grateful for all the support they have provided when we was in need.
But it is true one reason or another; it works better in other countries than in Sri Lanka. Since active NGOs are same in all those countries – since it is the same time - and same tsunami, only deferent I can think of is ‘people’.
the usual amateurish article....
do u know how many houses the gosl has built from bentota to matara? no u dont, well it's zero. yes zero, u heard corectly. sources: mayor and g.a. of these towns along the coast. not your "some sources". sources. proper sources, facts, proper facts.
as for ngos accounts, u can go to their websites, go to them and ask them if u like, the gosl can ask them, all this is bullshit, coz ngos have sponsors, who check on them too, to see how they spend the cash. if the sponsor is happy with their work it is ok.
the only case of poor work, commissions, illegalities i have come across (galle/matara) is from a local ngo, i cant say the name, but trust me i am a source. a proper source.
if u move your backside and bother to verify your "sources" u can see how few ppl r in temporary shelters now (galle/matara the rest i dont kn0w), not thanks to your gosl.why dont u question them, hu? i would.
"These NGOs are also known to be the staunchest critics of the government often citing bureaucracy as the reason for their ineffectiveness."
u clearly haven't the faintest idea what u have to go thru even just to build a housec (legally i mean), especially in hte past, now it's a touch better at last there is some sort of system (also this given by foreigners, hahahaa!), but who is coming now to sl for tsunami?? bit too late isnt it gosl and lankawatch?
if i were u i'd stop listening to your observers and sources get ur fat ass down here and have a reality check.
Gallebladder, the article is not about how effective the gosl is; it is about how ineffective the NGOs are. Is your standard the host government? The logic - government built 0 houses so lets build 0 houses??
Hahah well said!! I think this is the main problem with some of the NGOs. It's their attitude. The article clearly wasn't about gosl and they think by redirecting the focus towards the gosl they can be reprieved. And this guys statement about "Also given by foreigners" is in fact shameful. These kind of NGOs are the racist mo fos who think being foreign gives them some sort of a status!! If you look at people along racial and status lines thats when hatred is built. What about all the foreigners that work in western countries? US is built by foreigners!! but you dont see americans going around saying foreigners built our country. whatever the country chose to do is their achievement. whoever may have actually done it.
"according to sources" the ingo/ngos did not build zero houses. that remains a fact, they built thousands. so that is not the standard, who said it was?!?
clealry moeny expenditure of the govmnt who rules you is not a concern for you guys. good for you. keep it up then, enjoy. i live here too mr., so i can complain about MY govmnt too, ok?
morevover, as i'm italian i dont think you can teachme anything with regards to emigration. we are the champion emigrants, dont u know!!! that includes migration of italians to usa, parts of which have massive italian communities. as for the racism you claim coz criticism of gosl distrubs you it is entirely out of the question.
so is your stereotype of the arrogant foreigner.
anyway this is not consructive, i think many ppl are poorly informed and live/comment off half baked ideas and notions coz they just follow the flow and are intellectually too lazy to investigate and get proper info.
good luck.
p.s.
"And this guys statement about "Also given by foreigners" is in fact shameful"
shameful?!! it's reality again my dear. yes the reality is shameful isnt it?
if you go to g.a. office in galle for example, of course u dont, it means u r doing smthg, i.e. investigating, getting knowledge of things etc, u will see comoputers given by foreign help, the furniture, the painting etc. to whom? to rada, tafren, drdu, you name it!! the programs, the structure of this gosl bodies, created and devised by (or in coopeation with in some cases) foreign help.including databases.
you know jack shit.soucers, sources, my arse.
That explains a lot of things. The article never said the NGOs built zero houses. I sorry it is not written in Italian. The article never says NGO do not do work. What is says is NGOs are the cream of society of other nations. So they are to have standards well beyond a avarage developing country. NGO HAS DONE a lot of work here but the article trying address is those foreigners who are here to smoke pot and party everyday and complain about the host country need to look at other careers.
And yes, as some from Italy I would have expected you to have a broader mind. Little more intelligent to say there are Sri Lankan and there are foreigners. What about the Sri Lankan abroad are they then foreigners or Sri Lankans? Don't try to exercise some kind of a superficial status here in SL. If you have commited to the kind of work you have signed up to do, then fold your sleeves and get to work without complaining about anyone. Or you can get the fuck out!!
Galleblogger fell right into the hole!! Just like the article says, they would rather blame the government than try to be more effective in what they do.
anon. wrote "Is your standard the host government? The logic - government built 0 houses so lets build 0 houses??"
that i was answering to.
"I sorry it is not written in Italian"
as for the english language and your irony i hold an rsa certificate, i'm a tefl teacher with 12 ys experience teachng in various contries, again i dont think u have anything to teach me there.
i was born at the halifax general hospital, west yorkshire, england. i'm half enhglish. so take that smart pants.
"What is says is NGOs are the cream of society of other nations"
what??!?! where did u get tht notion from??!! i think u never met anyone working for an ngo. haha cream of society... frankly i see more rejects of society. but some professionals r there. they r just normal ppl, not the cream of society. i dont think the cream of society would want ot come to sl and work. maybe ny, london, paris etc..but galle (p.s. i LOVE galle, before u stsrt....).
"And yes, as some from Italy I would have expected you to have a broader mind. Little more intelligent to say there are Sri Lankan and there are foreigners. What about the Sri Lankan abroad are they then foreigners or Sri Lankans? Don't try to exercise some kind of a superficial status here in SL. If you have commited to the kind of work you have signed up to do, then fold your sleeves and get to work without complaining about anyone."
what is the logical menaning of this rant? it is unclear...having language problems, hu?
u have such a broad mind u sign as anonymous. ut ell me not ot complain, i have a right to omplain, for more than one reason.
you say i can get the fuck out. maybe i dont coz i dont live off tsunami, i have a much broader life than that. i have a life. why dont u get one too? it feel sgood when uhave one. a good start wiould b to sign your posts with some sort of name at least. it could give u pride, courage, in ur case u can start thinking u might just b someone and manage to accomplish somthgn, eventually....
"If you have commited to the kind of work you have signed up to do, then fold your sleeves and get to work without complaining about anyone"
thanks for describing my daily routine. that's what i tell all the local staff evey day! i also remind myself somtms and i dont complain on the job. maybe thats why i have a blog, visit other blogs, to complain. so what? thats what happens on this blog, insnt it? complaining bout foeigners is one of the main topics, so i just join the party. comments can b blockd, free world broad mind.
Its settled then. YOu agree you fuckers are all rejects. get the fuck out!!
hahaha. nice one. but what I meant was its like being in the military. most people who joint he military are people who those couldn't hvae other opportunities. BUt when they on duty they are probably the ones expected to live up to the best of expectations. So are the NGOs; if they have signed up to do charitable work then stop complaining and overcome hurdles and do your damn job without smoking pot on the beach.
not all rejects, some. ur reading skills are as bad as ur writing skills. i'm honest about things and facts, unlike u guys, + i dont work for an ngo so i have no reason to defend them just for the sake of it. it's just wrong facts, prejudice, unnecessary hatred that pisses me off.so when i come across it, i try to put the record straight if possible. but often blindness, ignorance (=bliss somne say), prejudice makes it impossible.
btw, this blog complains about foreigners, ngos etc. not the other way round.
where should ppl smoke pot then? in ur living room?
Hey guys..
as a sri lankan i have to say that i agree with galleblogger,
If you just look at the work u have done personally, I am sure you will know the truth about who is really help'n out there..
We sri lankans are good at pointing the finger at others. but jst a kind reminder to who ever is pointing the finger- look at clean your own backyard 1st!!
I thought I should say something here. Lankawatch contains opinions of multiple people who contribute to the blog. There is no one unison opinion on the site. Anyone has the right to express their opinion as they like.
I have to agree Galleblogger should go jump in a lake. First he fell into a hole trying to blame the government for the inefficiencies of the NGO: exactly what the article was trying to say. And now he has said the NGO are mostly rejects. I think that was the whole point of the article!!
Hold on Galleblogger ... did you know pot smoking is illegal in Sri Lanka? Are you saying it ok to break the laws of the country you work in?
the last anon:
ever heard of a joke? my god...or did u wnat to hear me say, yeah i love pot, especially illegal activities (i do neither)and i will fall again itno some supposedly mighty hidden trap (like the previous bullshit)!!! . grow up.all of u. the posts/comments are not intellectually honesrt. different opinions is fine, but this is pathetci.
for example i said "haha cream of society... frankly i see more rejects of society" and it becom3es "And now he has said the NGO are mostly rejects. I think that was the whole point of the article!!". plus the fact one doesnt know to whom he's talking to...so many anons, all the same name! it shows that there are no real individuals, with their own individual ideas, just shit stirring.
the last anon:
ever heard of a joke? my god...or did u wnat to hear me say, yeah i love pot, especially illegal activities (i do neither)and i will fall again itno some supposedly mighty hidden trap (like the previous bullshit)!!! . grow up.all of u. the posts/comments are not intellectually honesrt. different opinions is fine, but this is pathetci.
for example i said "haha cream of society... frankly i see more rejects of society" and it becom3es "And now he has said the NGO are mostly rejects. I think that was the whole point of the article!!". plus the fact one doesnt know to whom he's talking to...so many anons, all the same name! it shows that there are no real individuals, with their own individual ideas, just shit stirring.
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