Dear Julia,

I have just returned from the Tsunami affected areas and I am in the process of writing an international appeal. Basically, here is the first information on the current situation:

The devastation was unexpected and there was no drill or manual on Tsunamis. Consequently for about four days not much was happening. This of course was coupled with the fact that it was the Christmas break and many people were away.

The Tsunami hit Chennai and the harbour (never before had Chennai been hit) and about six other main zones down the Tamilnadu coast. Less damage was done in northern reaches of Andhra and Orissa and Kerala. However it did affect a 1000 kilometer coast. The worst affected were Andamin and Nicobar islands. They virtually lost about half their population. Since many people were at sea or on the beaches, the immediate problem was dealing with the dead bodies.

Dismembered parts came up on shore, many decomposed and faceless people so the issue of proper burial was not possible. In some cases the bulldozers just put the mass graves under the sand. There was then the imminent threat of disease. All and all the death toll in Tamilnadu is about 10,000. One of the difficulties was retrieving the missing. The way it was being done was to look at the voting list and find out who was in the relief camps; then the others were supposed dead/missing.

The government has set up coordinating units. They have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from common ordinary people. In fact I was surprised to see that almost every conceivable agency or institution in TN and many other parts of India have responded. For instance bank staff associations, schools, farmers groups, government agency staff, universities, various businesses. Even some of the courier companies and transport companies are giving free services. It is amazing! Something unbelievable to us in the development sector. In some cases too much (i.e. too much food and old clothes) and they are lying without use.

The government is also working through the village level disaster committees. The health services in TN are some of the best in the country so the medical back-up is slowly coming into place. The voluntary agencies are also pitching in with huge support. All the major development agencies in India are involved in some way. People in Delhi want to jump in a train and go, and coordinating offices are cautioning people that if they do not speak Tamil and have a speciality skill, they may be more trouble than help.

So although there is a bit of chaos, the basic situation is thoroughly based on humanistic instinct.

In terms of relief and rehabilitation, it is more important to see the interventions that will lead to rehabilitation because the loss of property is in the billions of dollars. The major issue is around livelihood rehabilitation (fishermen’s boat repair and nets), helping the poor farmer’s whose soil has been salinized, working with orphan children getting them schooling, etc. needs to be looked into.

Since many of the LEAD Fellows are involved, we have decided to back them up. I have asked for a proposal from four different parties who are on the ground. After vetting the proposals we will try to raise money. We are posting some of them on the new web-site which goes up tomorrow. I am expecting that we should raise about US100,000 about half of which I think I can raise here. Can you think of any strategies to help? Of course, you will need to see specifics. I will keep you posted.

Just to give you an initial idea. I will be in touch.

With warm regards,

Jill Carr-Harris