ISBN 81-902569-2-0 Fact- finding Habitat International Coalition (HIC) is an independent, international, non-profit movement of over Mission 450 members specialized in various aspects of human settlements. Members include NGOs, social Report movements, academic and research institutions, professional associations and like-minded individuals from 80 countries in both the North and South, all dedicated to the realization of the human right to adequate housing for all. Battered Islands 9 Many of HIC’s programmatic activities are managed through Thematic Structures: REPORT OF n Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) A FACT-FINDING MISSION n Habitat and Environment Committee (HEC) TO TSUNAMI-AFFECTED n Women and Shelter Network (HIC-WAS) AREAS OF THE ANDAMAN AND n Working Group on Housing Finance and Resource Mobilization n Social Production Working Group NICOBAR ISLANDS What are HLRN’s Objectives? HLRN shares with general HIC, a set of objectives that bind and shape HLRN’s commitment to communities struggling to secure housing and improve their habitat conditions. HLRN seeks to advocate the recognition, defence and full implementation of every human’s right everywhere to a secure place to live in peace and dignity by: n Promoting public awareness about human-settlement problems and needs globally n Cooperating with UN human rights bodies to develop and monitor standards of the human right to adequate housing, as well as clarify states’ obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the right n Defending the human rights of the homeless, poor and inadequately housed n Upholding legal protection of the human right to housing as a first step to support communities pursuing housing solutions, including social production n Providing a common platform for them to formulate strategies through social movements and progressive NGOs in the field of human settlements, and n Advocating on their behalf in international forums To attain these objectives, HLRN member services include: n Building local, regional and international member cooperation to form effective housing rights campaigns n Human resource development, human rights education and training n Enhancing self-representation skills and opportunities n Action research and publication n Exchanging and disseminating member experiences, best practices and strategies n Advocacy and lobbying on behalf of victims n Developing tools and techniques for professional monitoring of housing rights n Urgent action against forced eviction and other violations To become a member of HIC-HLRN log on to www.hlrn.org South Asia Regional Programme Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION B-28 Nizamuddin East, New Delhi 110013, India Tel./Fax: + 91 (0)11 2435-8492 E-mail: [email protected] South Asia Regional Programme Website: www.hic-sarp.org Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION (HIC) Coordination Office and Middle East/North Africa Programme: 7 Muhammad Shafiq, No. 8, Muhandisin, Cairo, EGYPT Tel./Fax: +20 (0)2 3474360 E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] Website: www.hlrn.org / www.hic-mena.org South Asia Regional Programme: B-28, Nizamuddin East, New Delhi 110013, INDIA Tel./ Fax: +91 (0)11 24358492 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.hic-sarp.org Latin America/Caribbean Programme: Tacuba No. 53, 1er piso, Colonia Centro 06000, México, D.F. Mexico Tel: +52 (0)55 12 15 86 Fax: +52 (0)55 12 38 42 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.laneta.apc.org/hic-al Sub-Saharan Africa Programme: P.O. Box 14550, Nairobi, KENYA Tel: 254 (0)2 443226/443229/443219 Fax: +254 (0)2 444643 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.mazinst.org UN Liaison Office: 8, Rue Gustave Moynier, 1202 Geneva, SWITZERLAND Tel./Fax: +41 (0)22 7388167 E-mail: [email protected] Authors: Shivani Chaudhry (Housing and Land Rights Network) Enakshi Ganguly Thukral (HAQ: Centre for Child Rights) Photographs: Shivani Chaudhry Publisher: South Asia Regional Programme Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION Design and Printing: Systems Vision, New Delhi, India ISBN 81-902569-2-0 Copyright © 2006 Housing and Land Rights Network (This publication may be used, translated or distributed with appropriate credits.) Battered Islands Report of a Fact-finding Mission to Tsunami-affected Areas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands South Asia Regional Programme Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION June 2006 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i Acknowledgements This fact-finding mission was facilitated by a number of people and organisations who came forward and helped with providing information, arranging logistics and organising meetings. We greatly appreciate everyone’s contribution and would like to especially mention Pankaj Sekhsaria from Kalpavriksh who accompanied us on this mission and helped us gain a better understanding of the natural environment and insight in to life on the Islands. We would also like to thank Pankaj and Kranti for reviewing the report and for their valuable inputs. The captains and crew of the ships MV Chowra and MV Hut Bay made our voyages to Great Nicobar and Little Andaman possible, and for that, we are grateful to them. Preeti Verma of Human Rights Law Network, Delhi and Pratap Chakravarty of AFP gave us useful background information and tips for our visit. The staff of Human Rights Law Network, ActionAid, and Butterflies, deserve special mention for going out of their way to assist us during our visit across the Islands. We would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their time and effort. In Port Blair: Kranti, P. Muthu Raja, Karthick Perumal, Binayak Mukerjee, Shanti Lakra, CH Ravikumar, and Jaya Kumari, from Human Rights Law Network; Meghali Senapati and Smitha Rao from Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Sameer Acharya from Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology (SANE), Subhash Mishra and Vinay Sadavarte from UNICEF; M. Satish Kumar from CARE India; Augustine Koilraj from World Vision; Billy Graham from CASA; Harjeet Singh, Kona Ravi Kumar and Anupama Muhuri from ActionAid; Ashraf Nias and Madhukar Sanap from Butterflies; Kanchan, Shoba, their families and others from Chouldhari intermediate shelter; and Laxmi and her family from Bamboo Flat. In Campbell Bay: Shabbir Ali from Human Rights Law Network; Lalita Sharma, Amarjeet Kaur, Gurcharan Kaur, Jagdish Singh, Arjan Singh, Surinder Kaur and others from the PHC Shelter; Captain VRN Shetty and Kiran Shetty; Shabnam Singh from Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti; Bidhan from Prayas; and Benny Joseph from Butterflies. In Little Andaman: Shishir Ranjan Dash from Aparajita - Voluntary Health Association of India; Fr. Joseph Fernandes from Catholic Relief Services; Anees Joseph, Vijay, and the teaching staff of Butterflies; Mihir Kumar Mohanty and the staff of ActionAid; Amit Narayan, Salina Abha Minj, and Subulaxmi Muthalu from Human Rights Law Network; and Biswajeet Roy for driving us around Little Andaman. ii WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOUSEING AND LAND In Kamorta: Ayesha Majid – Chairperson, Nancowry Tribal Council, Frazer James and Ramanujam Venkat. We would also like to thank Vishal Thakre and Kamlesh Thakur from the Housing and Land Rights Network for their tremendous support and assistance throughout. Most of all, we would like to thank all the people we met in the intermediate shelters. The visit to every shelter was poignant, and though we assured people that we had no solutions or miracle cures for their suffering, they opened their doors and hearts to us and shared their stories, their pain and their dreams. Writing this report has been difficult and emotional. We are not sure what we will achieve. But we hope that those who read this report will be able to understand the situation in the Islands better. Moreover, we hope that all actors involved in rehabilitation in the Islands pay heed to the stories of pain and suffering of the affected, and make sincere efforts to correct the wrongs and uphold the dignity and human rights of the survivors. We dedicate this report to the memory of those who lost their lives in the tsunami but moreover to the survivors – for their courage, their resilience, and most of all their faith and capacity to laugh, even in the bleakest of circumstances. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii List of Acronyms A&N Andaman and Nicobar ACANI Association of Catholic Andaman and Nicobar Islands ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency International ANIIDCO Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation CASA Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action CGI Corrugated Galvanized Iron CNI Church of North India CRS Catholic Relief Services CRZ Coastal Regulation Zone CWC Child Welfare Committee ha hectares HCC Hindustani Covenant Church HRAH Human Right to Adequate Housing ICDS Integrated Child Development Services ISM Islanders Sangathan Manch JJB Juvenile Justice Board kg kilogram mm millimetres INGO International Non-government Organisation NGO Non-government Organisation PCO Public Call Office PHC Public Health Centre PWD Public Works Department RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete Rs. Rupees STD Standard Trunk Dial UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund VHAI Voluntary Health Association of India WBVHA West Bengal Voluntary Health Association iv WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOUSEING AND LAND Contents PART ONE Executive Summary .........................................................................................................................................