Disaster fatigue

As numbers of dead and missing still increase, most volunteer organisations will acknowledge that donations have been comparatively slow to flow in as when compared to the floods in May last year when people gave until supermarket shelves were bare and “kades” had to close for lack of stock. This inspiring capacity to give has always set Sri Lankans apart, but could we be suffering from disaster fatigue? 

There are several factors why people could justifiably feel overwhelmed. During the floods of May 2016, Sri Lankans also had to deal with Aranayake that left 127 people dead, quick on the heels of that tragedy lurked the Salawa armory explosion that devastated dozens of families, and hundreds of thousands were then slowly scorched during months of severe drought.  New Year only brought even more death as the Meethotamulla garbage dump collapsed killing nearly 40 people. Almost exactly a year after the May 2016 disaster, later another round of floods has hit, possibly the worst since 2003, bringing mind-numbing devastation and loss of life. Given the numbers still flowing in, the May 2017 floods could end up outstripping its predecessors and entering into the sad books of history. 

At each turn, the Government and its cumbersome bureaucracy was slow to move. Sympathy even in the form of a simple statement, to inspire and show that the many ministers who live luxury lives on tax money are with the people, was rare. In some instances the president and prime minister as well as relevant ministers were not even in the country during the worst of the disaster and even when they returned, they failed to act in a manner that resonated with the public. So the people turned to each other. They banded together, supported the forces, and whatever public workers were on the ground to collect and coordinate relief. This bedrock of donations and volunteerism is made up primarily of Sri Lanka’s middle class, who through their sheer numbers and effort do far more than the State ever could or even attempts.  

Most Sri Lankans live from pay cheque to pay cheque and the middle class has been hard hit by recent increases in the cost of living. A depreciating rupee on an import dependent economy such as Sri Lanka’s coupled with increases in VAT, higher interest rates and other Government measures have forced the middle and lower middle class to tighten their belts the most. Urban upper-middle classes also often indentify with them and join in making this social strata Sri Lanka’s strongest buffer against natural disasters. However, they could now be feeling the bite of too many disasters as partially evidenced by the increasing venom directed at the Government for failing to do its part and declining donations. 

To worsen matters, Sri Lanka’s near poor, or the segment the World Bank identifies as living on less than Rs. 200 a day makes up about 35% of the population, though the Government’s own Census and Statistics Department calculates this with a far lower number. This means that Sri Lanka’s capacity to economically recover from natural disasters is less and becomes ever more challenging when repeated disasters become the new reality. If the economic power of Sri Lanka’s middle class is eroded even further, the whole nation may have to pay the price.