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UPI ID : enb@axis.com
UPI ID : enb@axis.com
Insights from SSA Cyclone Ditwah Survey: More State support needed for Malaiyaha communityCentral Province experienced not just flooding but also the most number of landslides in the islandSource: File photo By Shashik Silva Daily Mirror Early warnings hadn’t reached many areas. Some data collectors said they themselves never heard any warnings in estate areas, while others mentioned that early warnings were issued but didn’t reach some segments of the communityWhen climate disasters strike, they don’t affect everyone equally. Marginalised communities typically face worse outcomes, and Cyclone Ditwah is no exception. Especially in a context where normalcy is far from ‘normal’, the idea of returning to normalcy or restoring a life of normalcy makes very little sense. The islandwide survey conducted by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA), between early to mid-January on Cyclone Ditwah shows stark regional disparities in how satisfied or dissatisfied people were with the Government’s response. While national satisfaction levels were relatively high in most provinces, the Central Province tells a different story. Disaster response can’t be the same for everyone. The Malaiyaha Tamil community has been double marginalised because they were already living with structural inequalities such as poor infrastructure, geographic isolation, and inadequate services which have been exacerbated by Cyclone Ditwah.The Central Province (Sinhala: මධ්යම පළාත, Tamil: மத்திய மாகாணம்) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, covering an area of approximately 5,674 square kilo meters. It is home to a diverse population of around 2.8 million people and includes three main districts: Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara Eliya. The capital city is Kandy.Only 35.2% of Central Province residents reported that they were satisfied with early warning and evacuation measures, compared to 52.2% nationally. The gap continues across every measure just 52.9% were satisfied with immediate rescue and emergency response, compared with the national figure of 74.6%. Satisfaction with relief distribution in the Central Province is 51.9% while the national figure stands at 73.1%. The figures for restoration of water, electricity, and roads are at a low 45.9% in the central province compared to the 70.9% in national figures. Similarly, the satisfaction level for recovery and rebuilding support is 48.7% in the Central Province, while the national figure is 67.0%.A deeper analysis of the SSA data on public perceptions reveals something important: these lower satisfaction rates came primarily from the Malaiyaha Tamil population. Their experience differed not just from other provinces, but also from other ethnic groups living in the Central Province itself.The Malaiyaha Tamil community’s vulnerability didn’t start with the cyclone. Their vulnerability is a historically and structurally pre-determined process of exclusion and marginalisation. Brought to Sri Lanka during British rule to work for the empire’s plantation economies, they have faced long-term economic exploitation and have repeatedly been denied access to state support and social welfare systems. Most estate residents still live in ‘line rooms’ and have no rights to the land they cultivate and live on. The community continues to be governed by an outdated estate management system that acts as a barrier to accessing public and municipal services such as road repair, water, electricity and other basic infrastructures available to other citizens. As far as access to improved water sources is concerned, the Sri Lanka Demographic Health Survey (2016) shows that 57% of estate sector households don’t have access to improved water sources, while more than 90% of households in urban and rural areas do. With regard to the level of poverty, as the Department of Census and Statistics (2019) data reveals, the estate sector where most Malaiyaha Tamils live had a poverty headcount index of 33.8%; more than double the national rate of 14.3%. These statistics highlight key indicators of the systemic discrimination faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community.Some crucial observations from the SSA data collectors who had enumerated responses from estate residents in the survey reveal the specific challenges faced by the Malaiyaha Tamils, particularly in their efforts to seek state support for compensation and reconstruction.First, the Central Province experienced not just flooding but also the most number of landslides in the island. As a result, some residents in the region lost entire homes, access roadways, and other basic infrastructures. The lost of lives, livelihoods and land were at a higher intensity compared to the provinces not located in the hills. Most importantly, the Malaiyaha Tamil community’s pre-existing grievances made them even more vulnerable and the government’s job of reparation and restitution more complex.Early warnings hadn’t reached many areas. Some data collectors said they themselves never heard any warnings in estate areas, while others mentioned that early warnings were issued but didn’t reach some segments of the community. According to the resident data collectors, the police announcements reached only as far as the sections they were able to drive their vehicles, and there were many estate roads that were not suitable for vehicles. When warnings did filter through to remote locations, they often came by word of mouth and information was distorted along the way. Once the disaster hit, things got worse: roads were blocked, electricity went out, mobile networks failed and people were cut off completely.Emergency response was slow. Blocked roads meant people could not get to hospitals when they needed urgent care, including pregnant mothers. The difficult terrain and poor road conditions meant rescue teams took much longer to reach affected areas than in other regions.Relief supplies didn’t reach everyone. The Grama Niladhari divisions in these areas are huge and hard to navigate, making it difficult for Grama Niladharis to reach all places as urgently as needed. Relief workers distributed supplies where vehicles could go, which meant accessible areas got help while remote communities were left out.Some people didn’t even try to go to safety centres or evacuation shelters set up in local schools because the facilities there were already so poor. The perceptions of people who did go to safety centres, as shown in the provincial data, reveal that satisfaction was low compared to other affected regions of the country. Less than half were satisfied with space and facilities (42.1%) or security and protection (45.0%). Satisfaction was even lower for assistance with lost or damaged documentation (17.9%) and information and support for compensation applications (28.2%). Only 22.5% were satisfied with medical care and health services below most other affected regions.Restoring services proved nearly impossible in some areas. Road access was the biggest problem. The condition of the roads was already poor even before the cyclone, and some still haven’t been cleared. Recovery is especially difficult because there’s no decent baseline infrastructure to restore, hence you can’t bring roads and other public facilities back to a ‘good’ condition when they were never good, even before the disaster.Water systems faced their own complications. Many households get water from natural sources or small community projects, and not the centralised state system. These sources are often in the middle of the disaster zone and therefore got contaminated during the floods and landslides.Long-term recovery remains stalled. Without basic infrastructure, areas that are still hard to reach keep struggling to get the support they need for rebuilding.Taken together, what do these testaments mean? Disaster response can’t be the same for everyone. The Malaiyaha Tamil community has been double marginalised because they were already living with structural inequalities such as poor infrastructure, geographic isolation, and inadequate services which have been exacerbated by Cyclone Ditwah. An effective and fair disaster response needs to account for these underlying vulnerabilities. It requires interventions tailored to the historical, economic, and infrastructural realities that marginalised communities face every day. On top of that, it highlights the importance of dealing with climate disasters, given the fact that vulnerable communities could face more devastating impacts compared to others.(The article is based on a survey conducted by the Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka in early to mid-January 2026. The writer is the Chief Operating Officer and a researcher of the association)
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S., on December 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. Justice Department/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo 'Likes to have cash': Inside Deutsche Bank's slow split from EpsteinBy Tom Sims and John O'Donnell February 11, 2026Deutsche continued services after saying it would end Epstein tiesBank's relationship with Epstein revealed in 2020 settlementEpstein's arrest prompted Deutsche to finally close his accountsFRANKFURT, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank continued to provide services for Jeffrey Epstein after telling the disgraced financier it would end the relationship in late 2018, only closing all his accounts after his arrest in July 2019, U.S. Department of Justice files show.Among the services Deutsche (DBKGn.DE), opens new tab provided to Epstein after the German bank told him it would cut its ties was quickly arranging an order made on April 9, 2019, for 50,000 euros ($59,300) in cash in "large bills" ahead of a trip to Europe, the documents show.This triggered a search for Epstein's ID by bank employees after Deutsche discovered the one on file expired in 2015, they show.Epstein still held at least nine accounts with balances totalling $1,776,680 with Germany's largest bank as of May 3, 2019, a Reuters examination of the U.S. documents shows.Reuters has reviewed hundreds of the Justice Department documents related to Epstein and Deutsche, released in recent weeks under pressure from victims and members of Congress.The documents, which may not be comprehensive, offer a window into how Deutsche continued to bank Epstein, delaying ending a relationship that began in 2013."As we said in 2020, we acknowledge our error of onboarding Epstein in 2013 and the weaknesses in our processes ... We have repeatedly stated that we deeply regret our association with Epstein," Deutsche said in a statement.Deutsche did not answer detailed questions from Reuters about the transactions reported here, which show the relationship with him continued for months.The Frankfurt-based bank said in a statement it "notified Epstein in December 2018 that the bank intended to close his accounts. The bank worked to ensure that Epstein's assets were transferred out of the bank in the following months".The depth of Deutsche's relationship with Epstein was confirmed in 2020 when it agreed to pay regulators $150 million as part of a settlement for banking the convicted sex offender for five years.That agreement, signed by both Deutsche and its New York regulator, said the bank decided to end the relationship and informed Epstein by letter on December 21, 2018, "that they would no longer be servicing his accounts".The actual letter, which appears in the DOJ files, gave Epstein until February 28 to clear his accounts, allowing for some services until then.The released files show that, while winding down Epstein's multiple accounts with the bank, it still offered him services well beyond that deadline.These included help with the return of a 10,000 euro deposit from a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Paris, as well as at least two currency orders for more than 6,000 euros each.The files show it took news of his arrest on July 6, 2019, almost seven months later, for Deutsche to make a final clean break with Epstein by officially closing the accounts.In the hours after Epstein's arrest made headlines, Fabrizio Campelli, then Deutsche's head of wealth management and now a board member overseeing its investment bank, sent an email to a deputy with a news report of Epstein's arrest saying: "Can you please confirm that he is not a client now?"Campelli declined to comment through a Deutsche spokesperson.The ensuing email traffic shows numerous Epstein accounts in Deutsche's system, although by then with no balance. Two contained a few dollars, less than $35, including the so-called Butterfly Trust account that regulators said was at risk of being used for covering up crimes.Epstein's arrest triggered an internal email to Deutsche staff listing 28 accounts, with the subject line: "URGENT!!! Need to close accounts ASAP - please prioritize today".Deutsche has previously said that it contacted law enforcement immediately after Epstein's arrest to cooperate.The New York State Department of Financial Services was sharply critical of the bank in the 2020 settlement for making scant checks on Epstein's payments, including those to models, despite press reports that said he brought "young girls ... often from Eastern Europe" to the U.S. on his private jets.The regulator declined to comment for this report.Deutsche also settled with Epstein victims for $75 million.Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl and served less than 13 months in prison.Deutsche took him on as a client in 2013 after JPMorgan had decided to close his long-held accounts with the U.S. bank.On January 3, 2019, Epstein's office wanted to know how much cash he could take out daily with his Deutsche debit card. The answer from the bank was $12,000 a day.On February 28, the day of the deadline, Deutsche's relationship manager for Epstein, Stewart Oldfield, asked another employee for a list of accounts closed as of that date."Compliance is asking me, so actually closing out the zero balance accounts is important," Oldfield wrote.Oldfield, who no longer works for Deutsche, did not respond to requests for comment sent through LinkedIn and to three email addresses.In a letter dated March 18, 2019, on Deutsche letterhead, Oldfield wrote to another bank that was taking Epstein's money: "we are not aware of any problems relating to the operation or use of" the Epstein accounts.Deutsche continued to operate one Epstein account, called Southern Trust Company, with more than $30 million moving in and out in March 2019, one statement shows, in what appears to be Epstein's money leaving Deutsche for new accounts.In April 2019, an Epstein account at Deutsche made more than $100,000 in transfers to various aviation firms, another shows.Deutsche also arranged another $7,500 in euros to be sent in cash by FedEx to an Epstein aide in New York, as well as the 50,000 euros on short notice. Both requests were made in a single email on April 9.When asked by a colleague for an explanation for the big sum, Oldfield said: "This is a fairly typical withdrawal for them. Jeffrey has an apartment in Paris and likes to have cash with him when he travels there."($1 = 0.8430 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and John O'Donnell in Frankfurt. Additional reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes. Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Alexander Smith
போலிச் சுதந்திரம் பொசுங்கட்டும்!விடுதலை, தேசிய சுயநிர்ணயம் ஓங்கட்டும்!நாடாளமன்றவாதம் ஒழியட்டும்!ஈழவாக்கெடுப்புக்குப் போராடுவோம்!புதிய ஈழப் புரட்சியாளர்- Eelam New BolsheviksENB
