Grassroots International

How people choose to rebuild a society that has been decimated by a natural disaster says a lot about what the rebuilders value most. As the tsunami relief efforts move beyond rescue and recovery into rebuilding, we've begun to see some disturbing signs about what the local governments value most in their countries. In Sri Lanka, local farmer and fisher groups are denouncing government efforts to push through -- in the guise of disaster relief projects -- neo-liberal policies that have already been rejected by the people at the ballot box. Patrick Barkham, writing in the Guardian, suggests that there are similar problems in Thailand.

It's just one more reason why it's crucial to deliver aid dollars as directly as possible to the people who need them and who know best how to use them to solve their own problems.

I am transitioning out of my role as Executive Director of Grassroots International, but won't do so without one parting entry in this Grassroots Journal.

Throughout the area affected by the tsunami, the member organizations of the Via Campesina have been hard at work surveying the damage to rural communities, providing emergency food and medical relief, and beginning the process of rebuilding.

In Thailand, the Federation of Southern Fisherfolk is about halfway through its survey of the more than 400 villages that were devastated by the tsunami. With estimates of nearly 5,000 dead, the villages have also lost thousands of boats plus nets and gear for catching fish, shrimp, crab and squid. The Federation has begun to provide maternal and child care, health care services, and boat and engine repair services.

Money is power, and with billions of dollars of aid and assistance flowing into the countries around the rim of the Indian Ocean, there is a lot of power at play.

There are many examples of inspirational work being done: peasants distributing fresh fruit and vegetables to their hungry neighbors, bloggers on the internet setting up virtual bulletin boards to help reunite families and friends, churches, NGOs, and movements organizing to make sure that help goes where it is needed most.

There are also examples of what seems like the kind of "help" people might be better off without.

The US government has pledged $350 million (nearly ten times the amount Bush plans to spend celebrating his second inauguration) . Unfortunately, it seems that much of that money may be destined to support the repressive military regime in Indonesia. (See Roger Burbach and Paul Cantor's piece on Bush, the Pentagon and the Tsunami here.)

The Via Campesina has begun to produce weekly news updates with reports from their members on the situation on the ground in the areas affected by the tsunami. In this first issue, you can read about groups like the Indonesian National Peasants Federation (FSPI). While donated food is stuck in airports and warehouses, local farmers are providing fresh fruit and vegetables, cassava and rice, and cooking tools and oil to the victims of the disaster. Other groups in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India are using their local movements to organize work crews to clear rubble, recruiting boat builders to begin to repair the devastated fishing fleet, and tailoring their relief efforts to meet the specific needs of the people who need the most help.

Progressive-minded people who want to contribute to humanitarian aid efforts too often abandon their progressive principles, particularly in crisis situations. Why?

More than 100,000 people have now been reported dead in the aftermath of the earthquake and floods that have devastated the coasts nations around the Indian Ocean.

Grassroots International sends its condolences to the thousands of people who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in the catastrophe.

We are monitoring the situation, looking for local groups that are doing vital relief and redevelopment work and advocating for a swift and effective response from the U.S. government. During the present emergency situation, we are directing our supporters to send their contributions to groups that we believe are doing their best to work directly with local organizations, and who are doing so wherever possible without becoming beholden to the U.S. government by dependence on government funding.