Anatomy of a Disaster

ANATOMY OF A DISASTER explores how corruption directly affects the lives of people at the grass-roots level. Transparency International estimated that corruption costs developing countries $1.26 trillion a year … this would be enough to lift the 1.4 billion people (who get by on less than $1.15 a day) above the poverty threshold and keep them there for at least six years.

I envisage my film will influence donor countries and Non-Government Organisations to address corruption by boosting technical assistance, training and financial support to countries like Sri Lanka. I hope to enlist the support of Transparency International, the Chandler Foundation, the International Aid Transparency Initiative and the MacArthur Foundation to use the documentary to raise awareness in their advocacy campaigns. Since the media plays an important role in exposing corruption and holding government officials accountable, I hope my film will engage the media to spotlight the role of corruption.

Anatomy of a Disaster seeks to ignite global accountability by exposing how humanitarian aid meant for tsunami victims was weaponised to corrupt democracy and entrench dictatorship in Sri Lanka. My vision is to transform public understanding of how aid misuse fuels repression. By connecting with survivors, whistleblowers and investigators two decades after the 2004 tsunami, the film reveals the long shadow of tsunami corruption and its role in Sri Lanka’s economic collapse. The campaign will inspire international audiences, journalists and policy advocates to demand greater transparency in post-disaster funding and to protect those who expose corruption. I aim to unite citizens, reformers and global institutions around a shared call: that humanitarian aid must do no harm and how working closely with grass-roots organisations leads to better outcomes for the people targeted to benefit.

The film will act as a catalyst for educating people about the challenges of delivering effective relief aid. The Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, in evaluating the impact of the tsunami response, observed: “Everyone, from NGOs to UN agencies, was under pressure to spend money and to produce quick results.” This pressure mainly came from private donors, often individuals, who wanted to see their donations being spent immediately, and not over the long term.

Audiences will gain an understanding and increased awareness about the politics of humanitarian aid. They will become educated about the pressures of short vs long-term aid and what measures they can take to ensure greater accountability. The film will encourage audiences to engage in the issue and lobby their governments and NGOs to prioritise funds towards anti-corruption capacity building in developing countries.

I have been working with people from Transparency International (TI) in Sri Lanka in the development of my film, and am currently in discussions with Veronika Rasickaite, the Internal Communications Coordinator at the Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin, about a potential partnership.

I intend to work with TI to develop assets and support materials that they can use in their advocacy work. I also intend to reach out to the Chandler Foundation, the International Aid Transparency Initiative and the MacArthur Foundation who all work in this policy area.

The call to action I would like to see from audiences is for greater accountability for relief efforts and a campaign for politicians to increase their humanitarian aid and change their policies, directing more aid towards grass-roots, long-term aid efforts rather than big infrastructure projects that are often undertaken to benefit the donor country. Recent data suggests this tied aid comprises more than 20 per cent of bilateral aid. The OECD notes that tied aid can increase procurement costs by 15 to 30 per cent, and in some cases up to 40 per cent for food aid.

Working with grass-roots groups helps shift power away from traditional top-down humanitarian systems toward locally led responses. It makes humanitarian aid more effective, equitable and sustainable, turning aid from a temporary fix into a foundation for long-term community empowerment.