Citation

de Silva MW. Disasters 2008; 33(2): 253-273.

Affiliation

Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01073.x

PMID

18717702

Abstract

The provision of humanitarian aid at times of disaster in multi-ethnic community settings may lead to conflict, tension and even the widening of the distance between various ethnic groups. That aid agencies distribute humanitarian aid directly to affected communities, to speed up recovery, may often lead to chaos and the intensification of ethnic sentiments. The new distribution mechanisms introduced for the delivery of tsunami aid in Ampara District, Sri Lanka, did not recognise local networks and the culture of the ethnically mixed community setting. This paper analyses post-tsunami aid distribution in Ampara and shows how such an extemporised effort in an ethnically cognisant context increased ethnic division, inequality and disorder, while marginalising the poor segments of the affected population. It recommends the inclusion of local networks in aid dissemination as a measure for improving ethnic neutrality and social harmony in disaster-hit multi-ethnic communities.

Language: en