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Safe Islands
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VILAFUSHI, MALDIVES
His burning eyes express more than his words. Zunair Abdul Raheem, aged 38, looks around at his wrecked home in disbelief, bewilderment, and fear.
Confronting a vanished past and uncertain future, he transfers his half-seeing, half-vacant stare to a visitor. Yes, he was at home on that morning of 26 December 2004 when the tsunami burst through his front wall and carried him—and the contents of his house—away on a torrent. No, mercifully, his wife and children were away at the time.
Overcome, Zunair buries his face in his hands and weeps.
His house, only 100 meters from the sea, is a pile of rubble like virtually every other structure in sight. So badly damaged is this island that its population has been evacuated to another island nearby.
A neighbor, Hafeeza Sulaiman, points to a bare patch of ground where her home used to stand—not even rubble remains.
“When the big wave came, I climbed this,” she says, pointing to a palm tree with large nails embedded as steps in its trunk. “As the water rose, I climbed these steps.” One of her worst moments came after the water receded and she found her 7-yearold daughter, Alima, lying prone in the ruined home. It was several hours before Alima regained consciousness.
For evacuees, post-tsunami life poses hardships, too. At a refugee camp on the island of Kolhufishi, the internally displaced persons (IDPs) try to make the best of conditions. Women chat as they peel vegetables for a communal meal. Men form a tug-of-war team to pull down a large tree with a rope.
But sitting with her mother in the baking heat in a white tent they share with four other families, Maryan Yauyoob says they find it hard to stay in the tent during the day and find it difficult to sleep at night.
"We lost everything. My husband is a fisherman, and we would like to move into a new home as soon as possible"
“We lost everything [in the tsunami]. My husband is a fisherman, and we would like to move into a new home as soon as possible.”
Many might opt for a new beginning on a so-called “safe island.”
Even before the tsunami, the Government, concerned with global warming and possible rising sea levels, made plans to develop “safe islands,” with specially constructed areas of high ground, taller buildings, and buffer stocks of provisions.
The Government also wanted to encourage a population scattered over nearly 200 islands to move to fewer population centers so that it could provide social services,
The concept met resistance in the past from those reluctant to leave traditional homes, even if they lacked access to basic social services. But the idea has gained support in some quarters now that 35 islands need extensive repairs to vital infrastructure while 13 others have been evacuated.
While clearly stating it is against forced resettlement, the Government hopes that many islanders are more amenable to a fresh start elsewhere. A new plan to create focus islands has been proposed. It includes at least one safe/focus island per atoll.
Analysts note, however, that such a plan would be costly and involve complex environmental issues. Providing adequate employment on these focus islands would be another challenge. If the safe island strategy stands up to careful analysis, however, it means the tsunami might leave some benefits in its dreadful wake.
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