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Overview and Issues
The small-scale fisherfolk communities
affected by the tsunami are mostly made up of Muslim people,
along with smaller numbers of Buddhist people and a number
of different types of sea gypsies including the Mor Gan and
the Urak Rawoi. In all some 186 villages were impacted. Around
700 fisherfolk lost their lives and over 1,000 fisherfolk
are still missing. The tsunami totally destroyed housing,
fishing boats, fishing gears and farming areas in 30 of the
affected villages, with moderate damage occurring in a further
124 villages. The destruction and damage includes over 2,000
fishing boats, 37,377 fishing gears and 15,534 fish farming
baskets all rendered unusable. Both natural fisheries and
fish farms have been badly affected. Fisherfolk have faced
problems regarding compensation for lost or damaged fishing
boats, fishing gears and fish farming baskets, with funds
arriving too slowly and being insufficient to cover the loss
and damage incurred. Housing is being rebuilt, but fisherfolk
have sometimes had to choose from a small number of inappropriate
designs or else accept an amount of money some feared would
be insufficient to build a new home. The problem of a lack
of clear or secure land tenure, a problem before the tsunami,
now means fisherfolk may not be able to return from relief
and rehabilitation camps to the areas they originally inhabited.
If they are relocated far from the sea, their traditional
livelihoods will be threatened.
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