At the United Nations Headquarters in New York

I arrived back in Jakarta yesterday after a 30 hours flght from New York via Frankfurt and Singapore. After spending most of my Red Cross life in the field, it was fascinating to visit the highest level of humanitarian diplomacy and policy, and briefly rub shoulders with the likes of Ban Ki-moon, Bill Clinton and Helen Clark. It was also interesting to meet the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent team in New York and to see first hand the crucial advocacy work they are doing. We were very proud when Bill Clinton acknowledged the work we had done in the Tsunami, and I had the opportunity later to meet him, and shake hands.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, President Bill Clinton and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the report launch. Photo: UNDP

Report on tsunami recovery reveals need to involve local communities

New York — To better respond to natural disasters, governments should invest more in risk reduction for vulnerable communities and make sure to reflect gender concerns in the recovery processes, says a report presented today at the United Nations. Involving local communities in the recovery process, according to “The Tsunami Legacy: Innovation, Breakthroughs and Change” report, is as instrumental as installing high-tech early warning systems. The report also highlights the need for governments to incorporate disaster risk reduction measures in national development plans.


Ban Ki-moon, Helen Clark, Dr. R.M Marty M. Natalegawa (Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the UN), Bill Clinton and Kuntoro Mangkusubroto (Chair of the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Steering Committee) look at copies of the report. Photo: UNDP

Commissioned by The Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Project, an organization that includes representatives from five of the hardest-hit countries – India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand – in addition to the UN and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the report documents lessons learned from the global recovery response to the tsunami and shares best practices to help prevent and prepare for natural disasters.

“Our capacity to cope with natural disasters is much greater than we realize,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in response to the report. “Yes, we cannot prevent the events. But we can diminish the potential for disaster. Doing so requires foresight and advanced planning, not just emergency relief. That is why this report is so important.”

Since the 2004 Indian Tsunami, there has been a flurry of activity by governments, international agencies and civil society organizations in order to create national and regional early warning systems. Twenty-four early detection buoys have been placed in the Indian Ocean, and 168 governments have resolved to reduce multi-hazard risks. In addition, 250,000 new permanent houses and over 100 air and seaports have been built, 3,000 schools constructed and hundreds of hospitals rehabilitated.

"As UN Envoy for the Tsunami Recovery, I was proud to help the nations and communities affected by the tsunami to ‘build back better’,” President Bill Clinton said. “Thanks to continued contributions of time, money, skills, and needed items by UN, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, hundreds of NGOs, donor governments, the private sector, citizens and governments of the affected communities, and citizens around the world, significant progress has been achieved in building and in preventing and mitigating future disasters. But much remains to be done. I’m hopeful we will continue and strengthen our efforts to promote good governance, economic development, and disaster preparation, even in these tough economic times.”

Celebarting after the function, Antti the Finn, Jerry Talbot, Bill Nicol, Maude Froberg and Anne Christensen. Bill Nicol played a crucial role throughout the Tsunami in Indonesia as senior adviser to the Director of BRR. Jerry Talbot spent two years running the IFRC operation in the Maldives and then became special representative to the Seccretary General of IFRC. Jerry, Bill and Satya Tripathi, Head of UNORC, Indonesia, and Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, were my Tsunami heroes

When the 2004 tsunami hit, many people could not access assistance simply because of their gender, ethnicity, age, class, religion or occupation, says the report. Women were particularly hit hard. However, according to the report, the recovery process provided an opportunity to address underlying social disparities in the region, strengthen human rights protection for marginalized groups and creating an environment for social participation. Community capacity to respond to early warning systems was improved and disaster awareness programmes were included in many school curricula. In addition, several countries adopted anti-discrimination measures to help all victims benefit from aid, including victims of conflicts.

“The tsunami recovery effort has showed that by working together —and by collaborating with local communities at every step along the way— we can indeed build back better,” said Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Chair of the UN Development Group. “One of the principal lessons drawn early on from the tsunami is that all countries need to be better prepared for when natural disaster strikes. What is needed is bold action —from governments, the UN, and other partners — to make sure appropriate disaster risk reduction measures are instituted.”

Jerry Talbot, Eddy Purwanto, Bill Nicol, Dr. Kuntoro Mankusubroto and myself. Eddy, Bill and Dr. Kuntoro are from BRR, the Indonesian Govt. Ministry in charge of Tsunami.

“Through the tsunami, we have also learned that there is a large reservoir of goodwill, which forms the foundation for strengthening the bonds of humanity and solidarity”, said Dr. R.M Marty M. Natalegawa, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the UN. “We should build on this reservoir to forge closer ties between nations and inspire a more humane world.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to New York and apart from meeting from meeting the high wattage luminaries, I met many lesser luminaries in the heart of New York. here are a few photos.

Stano, a waiter at Scotty's Diner.


Gurung behind the counter in his convenience store.

Gurung's convenience store



Scotty's diner




A Manhattan street.
Empire States building
Jerry and I enjoyed a long walk in Central Park on Saturday.
Times Square
A view across the river from the UN headqiuarters in Bew York.
My first visit to the UN Security Council Chambers, a place I have dreamed of being a fly on the wall.
Anne Christensen showing me her favourite statue of an African woman in the UN headquarters.

Dispatches from New York

I am on the road again. Wednesday night it was Jakarta to Singapore. There I met my colleague Jerry Talbot and together we made our way to JFK airport in New York via Frankfurt. Over 30 hours in the air.

I was in an aisle seat going from Singapore to Frankfurt, and next to me was a 65 year old marine engineer from Myanmar, called U San Myint. At the window seat sat Herman, yes a German, who didn’t speak a word of English. At first I counted my blessings as U San was a small man which meant I had lots of arm room on his side of the arm rest, He also spoke reasonable English so I was able to quiz him about his days at sea where he travelled to many parts of the world on Japanese ships. I manged to get some sleep as we flew across Asia and Turkey, and as first light broke across the Black sea, breakfast was served , I noticed U San bring out the air sickness bag. O no ! he was going to vomit. I had just lifted the foil lid off my cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, potatoes and bacon, when he gathered a large ball of saliva and Flem, and spat into the bag. Obviously he had been doing this while I was sleeping as the bag was bulging with tissues and spittle. As he spat into the bag, I am sure I could see droplets of saliva spraying my eggs and bacon. I thought, I hope he doesn’t have TB, and started my breakfast. Apart from spitting regularly into the airsickness bag, U San was a pleasant companion as he told me about his grown up children and grand children living in New York. But he continued spitting into the bag every now and then. Over the years I have had to put up with other people’s irritating habits, and they with mine. After breakfast I switched on the movie channels and was delighted to find Slumdog Millionaire. It was every bit as good as it was cracked up to be and I can see how it got 8 awards at the Oscars. What a wonderful actor Patel is in playing Jamal Malik.

I worked quite a lot in slums in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal over a few decades and it brought back so many strong memories. The noise, the smell, the laughter. the crying and the squalor I remember flooded back. It was all there in Slumdogs, except the smell. U San’s spitting added a live touch in the next seat, while Herman muttered away in German in the window seat. ( see photo)

I am heading to New York for the presentation of the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Report to the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki- moon, and his special adviser Bill Clinton. In many ways it is a celebration of the outstanding work done by the Governments, the Red Cross Societies, the NGOs, and most importantly, the affected people themselves, in building back better after the Tsunami.

New York Thursday afternoon.

Landed about 11 am NY time at JFK airport in our aging Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400. It took at least five minutes for my personal information to come up on the computers screen, so I had a good opportunity to talk to the Immigration Officer. We discussed the Tsunami, 9/11 where some of his friends were killed. He was in the Police department then and had the job of identifying cars that were wrecked. He told me huge cars were burnt into an unrecognisable ball of metal. The officer happily stamped my passport and told me the hot places to go in NY.

New York is grayish-brown and dusty and looks if it is still struggling to accept spring.


Manhattan Island


Jerry and I are staying in a small hotel on Manhattan island, called Murray Hill east, which is close to our office in New York, and close to the UN where we have meetings all day tomorrow. The district is generally regarded as the area from 34th street to 42nd street, from MADISON Avenue to the east River. The hill and hotel is named after Robert Murray whose 18th century farm is now Murray Hill Just behind the hotel on the hill, is the site of the original farmhouse. Legend has it that Murray’s wife and daughter saved George Washington;s army from British capture in 1776 when General William Howe and his landed at Kips Bay, they made their way to Murray’s farm. Mrs Murray and her daughter staegically served Howe lunch which gave Washington time to slip with his troops to Harlem Heights and out of Harms way.

Once we unpacked, we went to the IFRC office a few blocks away and met Michael Schulz, Maude Froberg, Anne Bang Christtensen, Fantaye (Ethiopia) and Antti the Finn, who make up our team, do crucial advocacy work at the UN Headquarters. Michael and his team do a lot of political lobbying, positioning of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, advocating for the most vulnerable, and of course raising funds from all the countries who are represented at the UN in NY.

We all assisted Jerry Talbot to polish his speech tomorrow that he will give after Ban Ki-moon, Bill Clinton and the Governments of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and the Maldives.


Friday 245. The Big day

Got to bed last night at around 9.3o pm NY time, 8.30 am Friday Jakarta time. Got 4 or 5 hours sleep but up doing some work at 4.00 am.

Left hotel at 6 am and headed up Murray Hill by way of 39th street. The first rays of sun caress the skyscrapers. I am hungry. I see a sign SCOTTY’S DINER – Open 24 hours. A step into a cosy atmosphere. A tall handsome waiter in his late 20s asks, “What do you want Sir ?”

I am starving. I order bacon, eggs and sausages, a cup of tea, I get talking to Stano, short for Anastano. He tells me he’s Greek and earning money working here until he can get a better job. He is an economist and he tells me about the down turn in the economy. We agree what has happened down the road at Wall Street is unforgivable, and then he tells me he wants to come to New Zealand. I hear Spanish being spoken by the other waitresses. I ask Stano if he’s proud to have Obama as President. He hesitates and says, “ Give him time, he has to prove himself.”

I tuck into a breakfast that would do any New Zealand farmer proud. Stano keeps popping by to say a few words and a pretty Spanish waitress refills my cup with tea. The locals pop in for coffee, a newspaper, a chat. The greet me warmly and one elderly man enquires as to my health. I am beginning to like this city. I take a photo of Stano, one hand on the counter, the other akimbo.

I need to read a real paper. I find a busy, colourful shop with the hoarding announcing, 39 Gourmet Deli and Convenience Store. I stop to admire the beautiful selection of cut flowers. They must be romantic people these Greeks, Spanish, Italians and Indians. I buy milk, tea, chips and orange juice, and ask the guy behind the counter for the best paper in town. He recommends THE NEW YORK TIMES. We get talking and I find he is from Nepal. “Namaska” I greet him. “How do you know my languages ?” he asks. I explained I worked there for some years. His name is Gurung. He explains his father was a Gurkha in the British army and he is from Pokhara. We spent five cherry minutes discussing Nepal. I take a photo of Gurung smiling proudly. I know feel secure. I have two friends in New York, Stano and Gurung. I promise I will come and see them tomorrow morning.

I walk the streets and love the openness of people and shops. There are many dry cleaners and shops announcing Laundry. The large ground floor windows at Polaris Cleaners are flung wide open and women busily press clothes. I walk down Lexington street watching Manhattan come to life.

I go back to the Hotel and shower. I look forward to the big dat at the UN headquarters. New York has put me in a great mood.

I will post some photos when I am back of the people I met and let you know how the event at the UN went.


INVITATION TO THE UN TODAY
You are invited to attend the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Event,presenting a report on lessons learned from the five countries most affected by the tsunami tragedy: India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The report will be presented to the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, President Bill Clinton by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark in her capacity as UNDG Chair, and the Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Republic of Indonesia, H. E. Marty Natalegawa.

The presentation will be followed by discussions on the experiences and lessons learned.

When: 3:00 – 6:00pm, Friday, 24 April

Please be seated by 2:45

Where: Trusteeship Council Chamber, the Secretariat



The Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Event will offer a unique opportunity for various partners to engage in cross-border learning, take stock of the amassed knowledge and share best practices of the recovery and reconstruction efforts following the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004. The high-level event is jointly organized – and co-chaired – by the United Nations Development Group and the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to
the United Nations. The proceedings will also feature the official release of a new global stock-taking report entitled The Tsunami Legacy: Innovation, Breakthroughs and Change, a summary of the report’s major findings, as well as an opportunity for representatives of the five countries to detail their specific experiences of the recovery.

Significantly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, President Bill Clinton, will be on hand to offer remarks on the recovery process. They will also be the first recipients of a copy of the new report, handed to them by the Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Republic of Indonesia, H. E. Marty Natalegawa and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark in her capacity as UNDG Chair.

After these presentations, the floor will be opened to the invited guests, which include Permanent Representatives from all UN member states, heads and directors of all UN agencies and UNDP Bureaus, representatives from major NGOs and UNDP staff.

The report on The Tsunami Legacy: Innovation, Breakthroughs and Change looks broadly at the lessons drawn from the massive recovery efforts that followed the disaster zeroing in on the experiences from the five worst affected countries: India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It details the arduous task of ensuring that all victims of the tsunami – even those less visible in the initial damage assessments – would get access to and benefit from the aid. Responding to the danger of exclusion, recovery actors in all five countries embraced new and innovative strategies for ensuring that victims and vulnerable groups would get the required assistance.

Indonesia: New beginnings for young survivors

I spent last week in the Tsunami affected areas of Aceh, Indonesia, where the Red Cross is nearing the end of its Tsunami recovery operation. As I travel about inspecting the work we have done, I hear so many stories from Tsunami survivors. Here are a few of them.

Four years after the disaster, Masrizal and Bahtiar are looking to the future. Along with nearly 500 other young people, Bahtiar is participating in a vocational training programme provided by the American Red Cross and the Indonesian Red Cross

Masrizal is a sensitive and quiet young man. At age 27, he has a strong vision and a desire to enrich himself and help others. But beneath his stoic demeanor lies a moving story of tragic loss and new beginnings.When the December 2004 tsunami struck, Masrizal lost his entire family, his home and all of his earthly possessions in a matter of hours. His village of Lamlumpu, in Aceh Besar, was utterly destroyed and many of its residents killed.“My parents and siblings disappeared in the waves, together with most of the other people who lived in my village,” he says. “It left me all alone in the world.”

Compassionate and concerned

But Masrizal says the experience made him more compassionate and concerned about the well-being of those around him. He says he often thinks of his mother and tries to emulate her. He remembers her as a warm and lively woman who was at the centre of community life.“My mother was always involved in community events,” he says. “She was easy to talk to and I felt like I could tell her anything.”More than a year ago, he received a new house from an international organization near where most of Lampulu's surviving residents have settled. He has also found a job at a local blood testing laboratory, where he works part time.

Badly injured

Like Masrizal, 20-year-old Bahtiar also lost nearly everything to the tsunami. Caught up in the waves, he was badly injured but luckily managed to survive. Unfortunately, both of his parents and five of his siblings did not.“There was nothing left from our home - it disappeared completely,” Bahtiar, who was aged 16 at the time, recalls. “I felt sad and confused, but thankfully I had my relatives to care for me during that time.”His surviving family members helped nurse him back to health and supported him while he completed secondary school.

Sustainable income

Four years after the disaster, Masrizal and Bahtiar are looking to the future. Along with nearly 500 other young people, Masrizal is participating in a vocational training programme provided by the American Red Cross and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI). The training, which is part of the psychosocial support programme, aims to help tsunami-affected youth like Masrizal to gain the skills they need to earn a sustainable income.“We are allowed to choose the type of training based on experience and interest,” Masrizal says. “Once I complete the course, I hope to earn more money and establish my own business.”Participants can choose from a range of courses, including carpentry and computer skills.

The training, which is part of the psychosocial support programme, aims to help tsunami-affected youth like Masrizal to gain the skills they need to earn a sustainable income.


Masrizal has chosen a course in electrical repair while Bahtiar has selected a mechanical repair course.“I want to continue my education and go to university,” Bahtiar says. “Hopefully the income I earn from being a mechanic will pay for my school fees.”

Incredible recovery

Though Aceh has seen incredible recovery and growth in the four years since the disaster, it remains one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. Now that houses have been built and major infrastructure repaired, economic recovery assistance is one of the most pressing needs for survivors.With tsunami-related aid from the government and international organizations coming to an end, it is vital that young people have the skills that they need to continue on the path to recovery and self-sufficiency. The training is being implemented in partnership with local government agencies who help identify local experts to act as facilitators and provide professional certificates to participants successfully completing their course.On the last day of vocational training, Masrizal receives an “A” score for the course.“The more skills and knowledge that I have, the better my life will be and the more I can contribute to my community,” he says.

Bahtiar receives his training certificate.


Psychosocial Support Programme (PSP) in Aceh

The PSP programme is working in 160 villages and 139 schools in Aceh Besar, Banda Aceh and Aceh Jaya. After over two years of support in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh, activities in these two districts are ending while activities in Aceh Jaya will continue through December 2009.To date, 388 community and school facilitators have been trained to design and implement psychosocial activities. 5,624 individuals have been trained in psychological first aid, equipping them with the skills to sensitively respond to the needs of those affected by crisis. It is hoped that these individuals will be able to continue to support their communities in times of need long after the programme ends.With Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the University of Indonesia, the American Red Cross is designing and supporting a Master’s degree course in disaster psychology. The first course will begin in February 2009 with 20 students from across the country. As PMI staff and volunteers, these students will trained and prepared to respond the psychological needs of disaster survivors nationwide.

Masrizal proudly display his training certificate.

Special thanks to Wilda Anggraeni, American Red Cross in Aceh, Indonesia for some of the text and photos.

Finale: I am off to New York tomorrow night, 22 April, to be there for the presentation of the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Report to the SG of the UN and Bill Clinton who has been his special adviser. It will be great to see New York again. The last time I was in New York was 1986 after going to the North Pole with Will Steger, and I appeared on Good Morning America in Polar bear trousers, seal skin boots, Beaver mitts with a badly frostbitten face. Dan Rather was the host on the show. That night in 1986, after 4 months of isolation, I hit New York town and had quite a party.