A New Dawn

This morning, Bill Clinton has published an op-ed in the New York Times concerning the ongoing tsunami relief effort which he is spearheading. It's an excellent piece which brings us up to date on the progress that has been made, hurdles yet to be overcome, and questions regarding the future of the region which need to be seriously and honestly answered by all of the governments and independent aid groups involved in the process. He has laid out a multiple point plan to try to pull off this huge task as efficiently as possible. It includes the following points:

• Developing a joint action plan detailing precisely who will do what, where and when, to avoid duplication of effort, ensure efficient use of resources and leave no person or community behind.
• Devising a reporting system to ensure that donations are being used appropriately.
• Creating a unified scorecard to show what we have achieved and what remains to be done.
• Working to restore the livelihoods of the survivors.
• Moving survivors from tents and barracks to decent transitional shelters as soon as possible.

One challenge which the reconstruction efforts face, which I hadn't even considered, is the fact that so many of these areas lack the sort of documentation in social infrastructure which allows people to prove their identity and property ownership, records, etc. From his article:

The housing problem is further complicated because many ownership records were swept away by the waves. And in many small villages, such documents never existed. In some of the affected countries, up to 90 percent of displaced people have lost their identity documents. The World Bank is financing a "titling" project in Aceh to help Indonesians develop an effective property-rights system - it is an initiative that should be replicated across the region. (Sri Lanka must also resolve conflicts arising out of the government's policy largely prohibiting reconstruction within a "buffer zone" near the water. Many survivors who want to return to their old land oppose the restrictions and their concerns should be taken into account as they are in Indonesia.)

The set of questions he poses shows a real concern for and grasp of the wide range of problems we are encountering on an aid project of this scope. Cultural issues which wouldn't come up in the United States can complicate the process terribly.

Finally, we must do all we can to assure that the voices of the most vulnerable are heard. Will women survivors be involved in the design and execution of the recovery process? Will their property rights be protected? Will the Dalits (also known as the "untouchables") of India be discriminated against? Will poor families get documentation for their assets and have access to lines of credit? Will national governments give localities greater flexibility to meet their particular needs? Will children who survived be able to get back to school? Will the disaster usher in a new chapter in the peace processes in Sri Lanka and Aceh, thereby making it easier for aid to be distributed and reconstruction to take place wherever it's needed?

This is an excellent piece that shows a side of Bill Clinton which people rarely get to see, what with all of the Hillary bashing and general blind hatred of all things Clinton on the right. If you are at all concerned about the Indonesian tsunami relief effort, I suggest you read it. Bill's a fine writer. He closes with a story of hope which is actually where I came up with the title for this blog entry. Enjoy.

On my most recent trip to the region, I visited the Jantho camp for displaced people in Aceh, where I met a woman who had lost nine of her 10 children. As one of the camp leaders, she introduced me to the youngest camp member: a 2-day-old boy. She said the child's mother wanted me to give him a name. I asked if there was an appropriate Indonesian word for "new beginning" and was told that there was: "dawn," which in their language is a boy's name. I think a lot about that little boy, and our obligation to give him a new dawn. We can do it together.