Friday, November 17, 2006

ActionAid condemns police brutality as tsunami survivors protest over housing

Anti-poverty agency, ActionAid today joined local groups in condemning police violence in Andaman and Nicobar Islands that has left some 200 tsunami survivors injured. 

“I saw people who were already injured being dragged out of their hospital beds and temporary shelters and beaten,” said a relative of one of the injured.

“This is a sad day for human rights,” says Harjeet Singh, head of ActionAid’s Andaman and Nicobar team. “Such violence is inexcusable.”

Over a thousand women and men took to the streets on the remote island of Little Andaman, a 6-10 hour journey by boat from the administrative centre Port Blair, on Thursday demanding that Government consult them regarding plans for housing construction.

Police responded violently after a bottle was reportedly thrown in what had been a peaceful demonstration marked by people offering themselves for arrest, a traditional form of protest in India.

The government has suspended transport between Port Blair and Little Andaman.

Almost two years after the tsunami disaster, over 10,000 families are still living in temporary shelters in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Government of India is planning to build the same number of new homes.

ActionAid and partners, who have been working with tsunami affected communities in five countries since the disaster struck, have been advocating that that new homes should meet local needs.

“Of course survivors will be concerned about design, materials and location of their homes,” Harjeet Singh explains.

“You can’t hope to build 10 thousand houses without addressing residents’ basic concerns such as whether it will accommodate their family unit or be close enough to the sea to continue their fishing activities.”

“Best practice in disaster response is for affected communities to be involved in decisions that affect their lives. Sadly, in this case best practice has not been followed and with tragic results.”

“I only hope this acts as a wake up call for all those involved in disaster response to place the rights of survivors at the centre in relief and reconstruction efforts," he adds.

ActionAid has been consulting communities across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to understand what the likely impact of government rehousing plans will be on their traditional way of life.

ActionAid’s three year tsunami response programme reaches over 420,000 people in five countries – India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, The Maldives and Somalia.

In a report released in February 2006 by ActionAid and the United Nations Special Representative for Adequate Housing, Miloon Kothari, housing was one of the chief concerns of over 50,000 tsunami survivors who were interviewed.

Note to editors

Download a copy of the report Tsunami Response: A Human Rights Assessment