From Dust: The Untold Story of Life After the Tsunami

After the tsunami struck South Asia in 2004, Western countries pledged billions of dollars in aid, but few of the survivors interviewed in From Dust have benefited from this show of international goodwill. Shortly after the catastrophe, the Sri Lankan government began enforcing a law preventing people from rebuilding homes within 100 meters (approx. 109 yards) of the coastline. Director Dhruv Dhawan follows three men affected by this policy: Ravi, a young man who cannot rebuild his home; a fisherman named Siril living in a transitional shelter with his family, whose eventual move inland will inevitably change his livelihood; and Cameron, an Australian aid worker who literally cannot get a reconstruction project off the ground. Sri Lankan officials claim that the “100-meter rule” is a safety measure and that people will be relocated, but for most of the homeless waiting in the rubble, this seems like empty rhetoric. In fact, Ravi, Siril, Cameron, and others suspect that the government wants the prime beachfront property for foreign investment in hotels, a suspicion that Deputy Minister of Tourism Faizer Mustapha bluntly confirms here. The representative stories in From Dust paint a sad portrait of the consequences when opportunism follows disaster. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Wadland)