View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OTHES DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „Gender and Tsunami – Vulnerability and Coping of Sinhalese Widows and Widowers on the South-West Coast of Sri Lanka “ Verfasserin Julia Veronika Doppler angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosophie (Mag. phil.) Wien, 2009 Studienkennzahl lt. A 307 Studienblatt: Studienrichtung lt. Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie Studienblatt: Betreuerin / Betreuer: Univ. Prof. Dr. Elke Mader Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those, who were directly or indirectly involved in the completion of this thesis, for their support. First of all I would like to thank my interlocutors and especially Mr. Ranjith and his family for sharing their life and experiences with me. Especially I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Elke Mader, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna, for her advice and support. Further I would like to thank Prof. Kalinga Tudor Silva, Department of Sociology, University of Peradeniya, without his advice and support this thesis would never have become a reality. I would like to thank the staff at the Department of Sociology, University of Peradeniya, for the knowledge and experience I gained while studying there. I also would like to thank my fellow students at the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya, for the great time I had while studying there. A special thank-you to Danoja Perera, Niranjani Rupasinghe, Kethakie Nagahawatte and Chaminda Jayasinghe for their support and companionship. I would like to thank Amal and his family for caring for me after the Tsunami, they saved my life. I would also like to thank my fellow members of Talaash, especially Sarah and Nisa, for our discussions and their motivation. A special thank-you goes to my father for his patience and support and to Hedi, especially for our discussions, her infinite support and for motivating me. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my other family members, my mother and all my sisters for their support. Contents 1 GENDERED TSUNAMI - AN INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1 2 WHAT IS A DISASTER? - DISASTER RESEARCH AT LARGE .................. 5 2.1 Paradigm 1: The Patterns-of-War-Approach .................................................. 5 2.2 Paradigm 2: Disaster as Vulnerability .............................................................. 6 2.3 Paradigm 3: Disaster as Uncertainty ................................................................ 7 2.4 Paradigm 4: Disasters as Systemic Events and Social Catalysts .................... 9 2.5 Paradigm 5 : A General Theory of Social Order ........................................... 11 3 ANTHROPOLOGY AND DISASTER ............................................................... 13 3.1 History of Disaster Research in Anthropology .............................................. 13 3.2 Current Trends in the Anthropology of Disaster .......................................... 16 3.2.1 Archaeological/Historical ........................................................................... 16 3.2.2 Political Ecology ......................................................................................... 17 3.2.3 Sociocultural/Behavioral ............................................................................ 17 3.2.3.1 Disaster Behavior and Response ............................................................. 18 3.2.3.2 Cultural Interpretations of Risk and Disaster ......................................... 18 3.2.3.3 Post-Disaster Social and Cultural Change .............................................. 19 3.2.4 Applied/Practicing ...................................................................................... 19 4 VULNERABILITY CONCEPT .......................................................................... 21 4.1 Types of Vulnerability ...................................................................................... 22 4.1.1 Economic Vulnerability .............................................................................. 22 4.1.2 Social Vulnerability .................................................................................... 23 4.1.3 Physical Vulnerability ................................................................................. 23 4.1.4 Educational Vulnerability and Informational Vulnerability ....................... 24 4.1.5 Environmental Vulnerability ...................................................................... 24 4.2 The Vulnerability Concept of Wisner et al. .................................................... 25 4.2.1 The Pressure and Release (PAR) model. .................................................... 25 4.2.1.1 Root Causes ............................................................................................ 27 4.2.1.2 Dynamic Pressures .................................................................................. 27 4.2.1.3 Unsafe conditions ................................................................................... 28 4.2.2 Access Model .............................................................................................. 29 4.2.2.1 The Access Model – A Cyclical Model .................................................. 30 4.2.2.1.1 Situation Previous to the Disaster ..................................................... 31 4.2.2.1.2 Hazard Impact ................................................................................... 32 4.2.2.1.3 Transition to Disaster ........................................................................ 33 4.2.2.1.4 Emergency Response, Recovery and Rehabilitation ......................... 34 4.2.2.2 Normal Life of Households ..................................................................... 34 4.3 Disaster Response and Hazard Mitigation ...................................................... 36 4.3.1 Disaster Response by Those Affected ......................................................... 36 4.3.2 External Disaster Response ......................................................................... 37 4.3.3 Hazard Mitigation: Reducing Risk and Minimizing Vulnerability ............. 38 5 GENDER ................................................................................................................ 41 5.1 Gender as Symbolic Construction ................................................................... 41 5.2 Gender as Social Relationship .......................................................................... 42 5.3 “Doing Gender” ................................................................................................. 43 5.4 Sex and Gender .................................................................................................. 44 5.5 Sameness and Difference .................................................................................. 44 5.5.1 Difference Within and Difference Between ................................................ 45 5.5.2 Doing Difference ......................................................................................... 46 5.5.2.1 Gender ..................................................................................................... 47 5.5.2.2 Race ......................................................................................................... 47 5.5.2.3 Class ........................................................................................................ 48 6 GENDER AND DISASTER ................................................................................. 51 6.1 Gendered Vulnerability .................................................................................... 51 6.2 Gendered Impact and Response ...................................................................... 53 6.3 Gendered Coping Capacities ............................................................................ 54 6.4 Gendered Relief and Rehabilitation ................................................................ 55 6.5 Gendered Disaster Mitigation and Risk Reduction ....................................... 56 7 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 57 7.1 Personal approach ............................................................................................. 57 7.2 Thematic and Theoretical Approach ............................................................... 60 7.3 Research Design ................................................................................................. 62 7.3.1 Research Methods ....................................................................................... 62 7.3.2 Research Location ....................................................................................... 63 7.3.3 Data Collection- First Phase ........................................................................ 64 7.3.4 Data Collection- Second Phase ................................................................... 65 7.3.5 Data Analysis .............................................................................................. 66 8 GENDERED VULNERABILITIES – GENDERED TSUNAMI ..................... 69 8.1 Situation Before the Tsunami -Normal Life ................................................... 69 8.1.1 Structures of Domination – Root Causes of Vulnerability ......................... 70 8.1.1.1 Concepts of Womanhood and Masculinity in Sri Lanka ........................ 70 8.1.1.2 Socialization Into Being a Sri Lankan