WP op-ed: Lessons of Tsunami Reconstruction After Two Years, by Bill Clinton

Recovering From Tragedy
Lessons of Tsunami Reconstruction After Two Years
By Bill Clinton
Tuesday, December 26, 2006; Page A25

....I have just completed my third and final trip to the affected region as the U.N. secretary general's special envoy for tsunami recovery. In India, Thailand and Indonesia, I saw once again the resilience of the human spirit and the determination to build a better tomorrow....I believe four key lessons learned from the tsunami reconstruction effort will contribute to further and faster progress, as well as to dealing with future natural disasters.

First, we must get better at managing risk. Climate change and patterns of human behavior ensure that more devastating natural disasters will occur in the future. The good news is that officials in the countries affected by the tsunami have made progress on a regional early-warning system, natural disaster prevention legislation, training of rapid-response personnel and public education. However, funding for prevention is much harder to come by than funding for relief after a disaster. Donors and governments of at-risk nations must invest much more money to ensure that early-warning systems reach coastal communities, that safe building codes are developed and enforced, and that evacuations are practiced.

Second, we should pursue recovery practices that promote equity and help break patterns of underdevelopment. In the Cuddalore District of India, for example, officials have worked with nongovernmental organizations to expand their post-tsunami housing program to include new homes for Dalits and members of other disadvantaged communities. Many of these people did not lose assets in the tsunami but had been living in substandard conditions. Authorities in Aceh are considering similar solutions for former squatters and renters who did not own the housing they lost in the tsunami. Such efforts should be strongly encouraged.

Third, we must recognize that peace is critical to any recovery process. In Aceh, long-conflicted groups put aside entrenched differences and created an environment conducive to reconstruction. Tragically, the tsunami has not had a similar impact on reconciliation in Sri Lanka, where the recovery will be continue to be hampered until the parties resume a serious dialogue and reestablish the cease-fire. I hope they will choose to work for peace; all of Sri Lanka, especially the tsunami victims, will continue to suffer until they do.

Finally, we must do more to harness the talents of local entrepreneurs and established businesses, domestic and foreign, in relaunching economies. Corporations in the United States and around the world contributed generously to the tsunami response, but we need to do more to turn philanthropists into investors, and providers of access to new markets....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/25/AR2006122500468.html

Finally, we must do more to harness the talents of local entrepreneurs and established businesses, domestic and foreign, in relaunching economies. Corporations in the United States and around the world contributed generously to the tsunami response, but we need to do more to turn philanthropists into investors, and providers of access to new markets.

***

And it best not be Halliburton or DynaCorp.

has President Clinton lent any of his brilliance and backing to Louisiana? Or is he just leaving all that to the wealthy speculators who wish to redesign NO in their own image?

Edit: Their/there/they're

I don't have a link but this was well covered in the media. As one who thinks Bill Clinton is a very flawed person, this is extremely unfair. He has used his fame and position to help here.

Keeping New Orleans, New Orleans, not just a "Disney" idea of the place, recreated in corporate control.

I'm talking ideas, not cash alone.

I'm not sure of what you see as unfair.

is that the op described something that he deserves credit for. I do not know the extent of what Clinton has done in New Orleans, but even had he done nothing here - figuring the US Government should handle it, it doesn't eliminate the good here.

I think everyone should be working to help the people in New Orleans. It is troubling that even the help Congress did pass is not being provided - per the Small Business Committee, Kerry and Snowe both say only 10% of the money to help small businesses - which while not flashy, helps the real New Orleans as small businesses are the heart of a city.

On that we agree, and when I saw he and former president Bush on Larry King and other outlets discussing their efforts for Tsunami relief, I was fully appreciative of that. Their appearances additionally helped to bring in even more contributions from the American public.

We could use Clinton's brilliance on the topic of the Gulf Coast as well. I perhaps should have expressed it in a more positive light, But I wasn't fully certain as to his level of attention to NO in particular, and this article brought up that topic for me.

President Bush would eventually request almost $1 billion in US aid for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Additionally, 16,000 US military personnel assisted in the region. At its peak, there were 26 US ships, 58 helicopters, and 43 aircraft participating in US tsunami aid efforts. The Defense Dept. delivered over ten million pounds of food and supplies and over 400,000 gallons of fresh water.

The effort paid a surprising dividend. In a world that has recently come to hold a low opinion of America (flip to June 23rd 2005) a global opinion survey released in 2005 would find that in one Muslim country the opinion of America had actually improved. That country was Indonesia, 88% Muslim, and a recipient of much of the US tsunami aid.

The survey reveals the dividends that can come to the United States when money is spent on things like food and water donations instead of dropping bombs. While the hundreds of billions spent on military operations in Iraq served, by almost all accounts, to increase dislike of America in the Arab world and add to the numbers of anti-America terrorists, the spending of less than $1 billion in Indonesia made us friends instead of enemies. If Iraq and 9/11 have taught us one thing, it is that, for all of our military might, it can be very difficult to detect and stop suicide bombers, determined airplane hijackers, and those hiding bombs in roads. Every individual that is turned against America is a potential terrorist than can sneak through our defenses. Every individual who comes to see us as a caring and good people is one less person susceptible to being recruited by the enemy.

Consider the dividends if a portion of those hundreds of billions spent fighting Saddam were instead spent showing the world that we are not, in our hearts, a country that desires to create the misery and destruction that now exists in Iraq. Guns and bombs might seem the obvious tools to use in a fight, but they are not always the best way to defeat an enemy, or gain friends, in the age of terrorism.

excerpt from the Dec 29th entry of the 2007 calendar http://www.poorGeorgesAlmanac.com

Great points -- I was checking out this microlending site, and noticing all the Americans who were offering money to help small overseas businesses. It's so much more difficult for terrorists to portray the US as uncaring and deserving of punishment, when it's clear there are individuals who are trying to do good things.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=3022