Development policies as bad as the tsunami, survivors say

Thousands perished when tidal waves hit six provinces on the Andaman coast, leaving grieving families and wrecked towns. For many survivors, post-tsunami life has been very difficult to bear.

Some survivors have come to dread dangers that have seemed even graver than the tsunami.

"Policies that are wrong can hurt cultural diversity and spawn conflicts. If the conflicts are prolonged, peace may simply disappear," Maitree Chong-kraichak, coordinator of the Network of Tsunami Victims said yesterday.

Some development policies had caused conflicts over natural resources, he said.

"The balance between local ways of life and tourism may be gone," Maitree said.

On December 26 four years ago, The Tsunami hit 407 villages in Thailand. Some 47 were seriously affected.

While huge community support had helped survivors restart new lives, the focus on tsunami-hit areas had also caused some unfavourable ramifications.

Big development projects had been implemented without any public participation. Locals were not happy about what had happened.

Many local people without identity cards to prove they were Thai citizens - officially "stateless" but who had lived in areas for a long time - were also forced to leave. Sea gypsies such as Urak Lawoi and Moken ethnic groups were among those now facing settlement insecurity.

"Some people have lived in Thailand for up to 50 years. Yet, because they have no right to register their births, they have no other basic rights. When they are harassed, they cannot even lodge a complaint with police," Maitree said.

Currently, there were lawsuits seeking to evict up to 2,258 families in 28 communities.

Maitree said more than 3,000 Tsunami survivors were now making a monthly contribution of Bt10 to the "Protection of Local Land, Resources and Culture Fund" in a bid to thwart developers who seek to evict people or policies that were likely to harm them.