Embassy of the United States

Letters and Speeches

Remarks to the launch of the Coastal Rising series on Young Asia TV by Ambassador Robert Blake, March 26, 2007

Honorable Minister for Public Administration, Young Asia TV Chief Editor Sharmini Boyle, General Hettiarachchi, Mr. Senadira, ladies and gentlemen,  

I am honored to participate today in the launch of the Coastal Rising series on Young Asia TV.

Coastal Rising was funded by a small-grant from USAID’s Transition Initiatives program to Young Asia Television.  Our purpose was to  create district-based teams of journalists and civil society activists in the East and South to highlight tsunami recovery from the community perspective, and draw attention to how citizens, local government, (I)NGOs, NGOs and the donor community have teamed together to “rise” to the challenge at hand.
 
The United States has dedicated $134 million to help Sri Lanka recover from the tsunami.  Of this, $40 million is being used to rehabilitate major infrastructure.  We are rebuilding the bridge at Arugam Bay, upgrading water supply systems for Pottuvil and Panama near Arugam Bay, building nine vocational education schools, and funding the rehabilitation and improvements to the existing fishing harbors at Hikkaduwa, Puranawella and Mirissa. 

Too often the public focus has been on the shortcomings of the tsunami reconstruction programs while neglecting the programs and processes that are actually working well to restore the lives of people living in coastal communities in a practical sense.

Through weekly TV and radio broadcasts, as well as print media coverage, USAID has partnered with Young Asia Television to produce a 13 part series that will focus on stories where communities have successfully “built back better” or are in the process of doing so, singling out best practices of democracy and good governance, and providing an optimistic balance to the current overwhelmingly pessimistic media coverage of donor- and government-funded tsunami rehabilitation projects.

Coastal Rising” opens media space to a wide strata of society, allowing district-based institutions and civil society to share their stories with a national audience.
The overall focus of the stories reflect the “people’s voices” on success stories, illustrating how people can work together to improve their communities. 

To highlight this positive cooperation, advertising for the series reads:  “WARNING: Working together can bring about positive change!” and the series will support the fact that yes, successful collaboration can take place even under difficult circumstances.

Before filming even began, the producers of the series visited six tsunami-affected districts, demonstrating healthy and transparent journalistic practices, to consult with communities.

The series also involved local and regional journalists to help raise, by example, standards of information gathering and reporting at the local level.

The programs are not intended to promote any particular institution or donor, but rather to highlight relationships that paint a picture of collaboration and good governance in action.

For example, several of the stories within the retrospective show how tsunami recovery opened a window of opportunity for women to strengthen their decision making roles within the community as well as their entrepreneurial capacities.

• In Matara, a collaborative effort between a local women’s group, a private bank and local governmental officials helped revive the local lace weaving industry.
• In Trincomalee, a group of several existing women’s collectives formed a 1000-member strong network as a follow on to their collaboration on tsunami recovery initiatives with each other, as well as  INGOs, NGOs and government  officials. 

Other stories demonstrate how tsunami recovery provided an opportunity to pay closer attention to protection of the environment. For example:

• In Batticaloa and Kalmunai, where the tsunami completely destroyed natural vegetation in some places, community leaders collaborated with development agencies and the Forest Department, the Faculty of Agriculture of the Eastern University, the Urban Development Authority, and the Urban Council to develop “green belts” by re-planting pine nut and coconut trees to mitigate erosion and boost the local economy.

In the end, survivors of the tsunami can be either victims or agents of change.  By focusing on motivational stories that reflect a “can do” spirit, “Coastal Rising” promises to inspire those who have suffered the devastation of the tsunami – and others -- to uplift their lives and their communities.

It also highlights the friendship between the people of the United States of American and the people of Sri Lanka.  I hope you enjoy the