Irish play key role in Sri Lanka tsunami relief

WHILE questions that dogged the tsunami recovery effort through 2006 coalesced in a crop of media stories and critical reports of the failure of the international community’s response to the December 2004 disaster, the Irish public should feel proud of their involvement.

I have just returned from the Ampara district on the east coast of Sri Lanka — one of the worst affected regions in which one-third of deaths occurred. The quality and scale of the work done ranks among the most awe-inspiring I have seen in the 30 years of GOAL.

With a cash injection of €20 million from the public, the standard of the buildings is breathtaking, and the gratitude of the communities overwhelming.