The tsunami in December 2004 was the biggest natural disaster in modern history. Some 230,000 people lost their lives, many more their homes and livelihoods. Many survivors along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka used to fish to earn their living, farmed close to the sea or relied on low scale tourism.
But then came a second, man-made catastrophe. The disruption from the tsunami has been used as an opportunity to move local people off the land, making way for luxury tourism development.
“Disaster capitalism”
Thyagarajan, a fisherman from Kerala, India explains: “The land which I owned had lots of coconut, and I was able to live with that. Now I have to go for casual work. I was not interested to sell the land. They bought the land on either side and put up a fence. And then they started to file false cases against me saying that I was breaking their fence.The agent was doing this because if I didn’t move he wouldn’t get broker fees. I was harrassed by them. At last I sold my land.”
There are many like Thyagarajan. Whole communities have been talked into selling by developers, only realising the consequences when it is too late. Developers have also been ‘privatising’ communal beachfront land by posting security guards. In Tamil Nadu, on India’s east coast, whole communities remain in temporary shelters while their homeland is sold: a prime example of what Canadian journalist Naomi Klein has called “Disaster Capitalism” (The Shock Doctrine, 2008).
Dream destination
Tourism Concern, a UK charity which fights exploitation in tourism and campaigns for more ethical, fairly traded forms of tourism, is working with local organisations to stop this process. Survivors and experienced civil society activists are sharing their knowledge to push for more just and sustainable land use.
As part of this work, the Commonwealth Foundation supported a study visit for young Sri Lankan activists in their twenties to learn from their counterparts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. At the heart of human rights work is access to information; the Sri Lankans learned methods of monitoring and documenting abuses. They received three days of theoretical teaching, as well as visiting the affected communities.
Sumesh Mangalassary, an Indian researcher, policy analyst and campaigner said of the visit: “We need to learn from each other. This is the starting point of a big dream: a regional network
of groups working on tourism related issues.”
For more information and to see what action you can take, please visit www.tourismconcern.org.uk