Tsunami one year after, NGO aid intervention and future ... - VOICE

Foreword
“At first we worried about our lives,
then about a place to stay, and then
about not getting food for our babies.”
Annalakshmi, 28 year old mother of 6 children
in Tamil Nadu, India
“I want to go back home, I don’t
want to stay here. I don’t want to have
to sit and wait for a donation everyday.
It’s like I am a beggar, which is not true.
I have dignity. I want to go back and work.”
Ratri Primcharas, 60 year old woman
in Pang Nga, Thailand.
Almost one year has passed since tidal waves crashed down on the
countries and islands of the Indian Ocean, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and leading
to a natural disaster of a magnitude never before seen in modern history. The Tsunami was a
disaster unprecedented in scale, and it prompted an unparalleled and extraordinary response.
All over the world, private citizens, NGOs and governments mobilised to bring humanitarian
relief and reconstruction to affected areas.
European NGOs have risen to the huge challenge posed by the extraordinary scale
of the disaster. As the first anniversary of the Tsunami catastrophe approaches, it is fitting
that European NGOs, who have played such a crucial role in the response to the crisis, come
together with a frank and constructive approach to their own work and draw lessons from
experience. Hopefully, this will contribute to a better understanding of the work of NGOs and
help to consolidate both the incredible support given by the wider public for our actions and
the trust that has been invested in our long-standing work in the field.
As early as January 2005, CONCORD and VOICE raised a number of concerns common
to European NGOs through an “Open Letter to the attention of European decision-makers”.
The statement stressed the role the European Union could play in the international donor
community in helping to ensure that pledges for aid are delivered according to humanitarian
principles and in a development perspective. Now, after nearly one year, CONCORD and VOICE
intend to follow up on this initiative by highlighting the professional contribution of European
NGOs to their work with the populations affected by the Tsunami, taking stocks of lessons
learned and raining recommendations about future EU support for a sustained recovery in
Tsunami affected areas.
The international aid community and European NGOs must not miss this opportunity
to document and disseminate lessons learned from the Tsunami in order to further our
common efforts and help us respond even better to this and other emergency, reconstruction
and development challenges in the most beneficial way.
Paul Grossrieder
President of VOICE
Frans Polman
President of CONCORD
NGO Aid Intervention And Future Challenges
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