SRI LANKA: Group surveys tsunami's impact on provincial journalists, appeals for aid

By Saqib Rahim
AsiaMedia Staff Writer

Rural-based reporters' livelihoods might be at risk as tsunami wrecked homes, families and equipment

Friday, March  4, 2005

A Sri Lankan journalists' association has appealed for aid for provincial journalists impacted by the December 26, 2004 tsunami that killed over 38,000 people there.

In the aftermath of the disaster, the Sri Lankan Environmental Journalists Forum (SLEJF) sent out three five- to six-person teams to survey tsunami-affected areas for data about the damages and losses sustained by journalists working in rural areas. The teams located the victims at local relief camps and by word-of-mouth. Since then, the group has maintained contact with the journalists by phone and by mail.

According to SLEJF's findings, last updated in late February, two provincial correspondents are missing and 23 are injured. Additionally, while most tsunami-affected provincial journalists and their families have returned to their homes, nearly 1000 members of 121 other journalists' families are displaced and living in camps or with family and friends, SLEJF reports.

The search teams also estimate housing and equipment damages of US $300,000. Among the damages listed are 48 houses, 80 still cameras and nine television cameras.

But the unique nature of 'provincial journalism' means the damage may also include these journalists' livelihoods.

Since rural, coastal areas were hardest hit by the tragedy, provincial journalists are likely to be coping with the emotional burden of losing homes and loved ones. Also, unlike their urban counterparts, provincial correspondents are paid by the report. "Most of these journalists are free-lance writers," says Feizal Samath, an editor for the Sri Lankan periodical, The Sunday Times. "They are paid poorly for their work."

That compensation system could bode ill for those provincials whose journalistic work relies on items destroyed by the tsunami, such as cameras, computers and motorcycles.

For provincial journalists, says SLEJF Executive Coordinator Hiroshimi Liyanage, "the big problem is that they lost their professional equipment." She adds, however, that journalists who do not need specialized equipment are already resuming their trade by working out of the relief camps.

Others may look elsewhere for their daily sustenance. According to BBC Sinhala's Michael David, most provincial journalists hold other low-earning jobs "such as teaching, clerical work in government offices, community development, work with NGOs, et cetera." Consequently, the loss of freelance work might be more of a larger-than-usual income instability, than a complete disaster for some.

In a written statement, SLEJF expressed concern that provincial journalists' losses may compromise coverage of the Sri Lankan relief effort. "The watchdog role of the media entails ensuring that rehabilitation and reconstruction activities are transparent and devoid of corruption and discrimination," the statement said.

Sri Lanka's largest journalists' organization, the Free Media Movement (FMM), expressed similar concerns in its advocacy of a press freedom bill last month. The proposed Freedom of Information Act would broaden media access to government information.

The efficacy of Sri Lanka's aid effort has been difficult to gauge. In early February, the head of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's relief task force blamed corrupt relief workers and ignorant victims for the nation's failure to reach 70 percent of nearly one million victims. But in late February, Social Services Minister Sumedha Jayasena said that Sri Lanka was redirecting a surfeit of food aid to those unaffected by the disaster.

As for the provincial journalists, aid may soon be on the way. According to Liyange, multiple agencies have already volunteered to lend them provisional equipment.

FMM has launched a smaller-scale fundraising effort aiming to furnish 21 rural journalists with digital cameras and digital voice recorders.

Date Posted: 3/4/2005