Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Amjad Mohamed-Saleem is a freelance writer and consultant on development issues. He was formerly the country director of Muslim Aid in Sri Lanka where he was involved in post tsunami and conflict reconstruction work from 2005 - 2009.
He also ran the Bangladesh operations from 2006 - 2008. Amjad considers himself a global citizen, having Sri Lankan parents, being born in Nigeria, educated in Ethiopia and residing in the UK.
Sri Lanka - monsoon is just one challenge for displaced
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
The recent announcement by the UK government that it would only concentrate on "emergency" funding for the inhabitants at Manik Farm has been designed to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to develop some solid and sustainable settlement to the issue of the 300,000 plus internally displaced people (IDPs) after the end of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in April.
Since the end of April, these IDPs have been in these camps with the most basic of needs found wanting. If you read any of my previous blogs you would have read about the challenges faced by these people as well as those working within the camps, the situation not being helped by a reluctance of the government to open up. Understandably though as there is this incessant government paranoia of "having no friends".
...
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
The recent announcement by the UK government that it would only concentrate on "emergency" funding for the inhabitants at Manik Farm has been designed to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to develop some solid and sustainable settlement to the issue of the 300,000 plus internally displaced people (IDPs) after the end of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in April.
Since the end of April, these IDPs have been in these camps with the most basic of needs found wanting. If you read any of my previous blogs you would have read about the challenges faced by these people as well as those working within the camps, the situation not being helped by a reluctance of the government to open up. Understandably though as there is this incessant government paranoia of "having no friends".
...
Sri Lanka war already fading from memory
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
At the end of July, I finished my contract with Muslim Aid. Away from the high pressure of working in an NGO, it has been interesting to observe things from the other side of the fence. I have been struck by how removed you can be from reality. If I did not make a proactive effort to stay on top of what is happening with the IDPs in Vavunya, it could have easily slipped by me, except for one or two articles here and there in the newspapers. ...
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
At the end of July, I finished my contract with Muslim Aid. Away from the high pressure of working in an NGO, it has been interesting to observe things from the other side of the fence. I have been struck by how removed you can be from reality. If I did not make a proactive effort to stay on top of what is happening with the IDPs in Vavunya, it could have easily slipped by me, except for one or two articles here and there in the newspapers. ...
Upbeat mood masks Sri Lanka's deeper problems
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
It's not only the crowds partying on Sri Lanka's beaches who are in an upbeat mood.
The International Monetary Fund's $2.6 billion loan, agreed after the 25-year civil war, is beginning to trickle through, imports are slowly recovering, tourists are heading back to the
Indian Ocean coastline and the cricket tours are on again.
...
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
It's not only the crowds partying on Sri Lanka's beaches who are in an upbeat mood.
The International Monetary Fund's $2.6 billion loan, agreed after the 25-year civil war, is beginning to trickle through, imports are slowly recovering, tourists are heading back to the
Indian Ocean coastline and the cricket tours are on again.
...
Sri Lanka's 'forgotten' city poor need help too
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Over the last couple of months, my aid worker colleagues and I have been so engrossed in the humanitarian crisis affecting war-ravaged Sri Lanka that nothing else seems as important. It is all too easy to get caught up in the immediate disaster, overlooking equally pressing needs.
Sri Lanka's urban poor - or the "forgotten people", as I have called them in a previous blog - are equally deserving of our attention. Yet they get a fraction of our attention in normal times, and during emergencies, none at all.
...
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Over the last couple of months, my aid worker colleagues and I have been so engrossed in the humanitarian crisis affecting war-ravaged Sri Lanka that nothing else seems as important. It is all too easy to get caught up in the immediate disaster, overlooking equally pressing needs.
Sri Lanka's urban poor - or the "forgotten people", as I have called them in a previous blog - are equally deserving of our attention. Yet they get a fraction of our attention in normal times, and during emergencies, none at all.
...
Not a pretty sight: the row over Sri Lanka's camp toilets
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Ever since the final days of Sri Lanka's offensive against the Tamil Tigers sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing, aid agencies have been struggling to cope with the needs of the displaced. Add to that the operational restrictions imposed by the authorities, and it has been a challenging environment to work in.
Not helping matters is a standoff between the government and the NGO community that is manifesting itself in the local media. Every day there seems to be an article in the newspapers with regards to what the agencies are not doing. The latest issue is the state of toilets - or lack of them - in the camps in Vavuniya.
...
Next entries
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Ever since the final days of Sri Lanka's offensive against the Tamil Tigers sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing, aid agencies have been struggling to cope with the needs of the displaced. Add to that the operational restrictions imposed by the authorities, and it has been a challenging environment to work in.
Not helping matters is a standoff between the government and the NGO community that is manifesting itself in the local media. Every day there seems to be an article in the newspapers with regards to what the agencies are not doing. The latest issue is the state of toilets - or lack of them - in the camps in Vavuniya.
...
