Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Amjad Mohamed-Saleem classifies himself as a 'global citizen' - born in Nigeria, educated in Ethiopia and Britain, and now based in Sri Lanka. Following careers in engineering and management consultancy, he joined British relief and development agency Muslim Aid in April 2005. He was posted to Sri Lanka to work on reconstruction after the Indian Ocean tsunami and is now country director. He also oversees Muslim Aid's Bangladesh operation and coordinates its international disaster response unit. On the rare occasions when he's not globetrotting or on the road in Sri Lanka, Amjad enjoys books, music, socialising and going to the gym.
What Sri Lanka can learn from the tsunami
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
I can remember it as if it were yesterday. At 4.30am on the 26th of December 2004, my phone woke me up ... It was my mother on the line from Colombo frantically saying there was severe flooding in the east of Sri Lanka and my grandmother had been affected. The rest of that snowy Boxing Day will always be a blur to me as reports came in of the tsunami.
I took one of the first flights from London out to Sri Lanka still unsure as to the gravity of the whole situation. The plane was half empty - it seemed there had been at least 150 last-minute cancellations. Touching down in Colombo, I was struck by the air of gloom in the airport - the staff seemed almost glad to see the arrival of someone to their country after the rapid departure of so many tourists. In Colombo everywhere from rickshaws to private houses was flying the traditional white flag of mourning.
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Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
I can remember it as if it were yesterday. At 4.30am on the 26th of December 2004, my phone woke me up ... It was my mother on the line from Colombo frantically saying there was severe flooding in the east of Sri Lanka and my grandmother had been affected. The rest of that snowy Boxing Day will always be a blur to me as reports came in of the tsunami.
I took one of the first flights from London out to Sri Lanka still unsure as to the gravity of the whole situation. The plane was half empty - it seemed there had been at least 150 last-minute cancellations. Touching down in Colombo, I was struck by the air of gloom in the airport - the staff seemed almost glad to see the arrival of someone to their country after the rapid departure of so many tourists. In Colombo everywhere from rickshaws to private houses was flying the traditional white flag of mourning.
...
Sri Lanka - what next after the battles?
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
There's a sense of inevitability in Sri Lanka at the moment. Each day the SMS news alerts and newspapers tell a story of an advancing Sri Lankan army venturing ever closer to Kilinochchi, the 'capital' of the Tamil Tiger rebels' self-declared homeland. Each night journalists who are embedded with the army report from the front line, mainly for the government-run or pro-government TV stations.
It's almost like seeing a race in slow motion. The countdown has everyone watching with bated breath, 15km! 10km! 5km! It has now become a question of when not if.
...
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
There's a sense of inevitability in Sri Lanka at the moment. Each day the SMS news alerts and newspapers tell a story of an advancing Sri Lankan army venturing ever closer to Kilinochchi, the 'capital' of the Tamil Tiger rebels' self-declared homeland. Each night journalists who are embedded with the army report from the front line, mainly for the government-run or pro-government TV stations.
It's almost like seeing a race in slow motion. The countdown has everyone watching with bated breath, 15km! 10km! 5km! It has now become a question of when not if.
...
Sri Lanka's forgotten displaced
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
When Mohamed Lateef got married and took over a rice farm, he was looking forward to settling down to a quiet life of farming and raising his family. But just a few months later his dream was shattered.
In 1990 the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam forcibly evicted Lateef and 70,000 other Muslims from their homes in northern Sri Lanka, and confiscated most of their possessions.
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Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
When Mohamed Lateef got married and took over a rice farm, he was looking forward to settling down to a quiet life of farming and raising his family. But just a few months later his dream was shattered.
In 1990 the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam forcibly evicted Lateef and 70,000 other Muslims from their homes in northern Sri Lanka, and confiscated most of their possessions.
...
Buddha's birthday and the price of rice
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
The global food crisis was bound to rear its ugly head sooner or later in Sri Lanka.
The first indication of this was the unwelcome news that the World Food Programme (WFP) and other United Nations agencies were cutting their food aid to displaced people in Sri Lanka as a result of the rising food prices. We felt it at Muslim Aid because we ran a school feeding programme with WFP in the south which has stalled because WFP has ended its operations there.
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Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
The global food crisis was bound to rear its ugly head sooner or later in Sri Lanka.
The first indication of this was the unwelcome news that the World Food Programme (WFP) and other United Nations agencies were cutting their food aid to displaced people in Sri Lanka as a result of the rising food prices. We felt it at Muslim Aid because we ran a school feeding programme with WFP in the south which has stalled because WFP has ended its operations there.
...
AID WORKER DIARY: The challenges of the Myanmar operation
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
There is an eerie calm in Yangon. While the authorities have almost completed the task of clearing the debris, the residents go about their daily business still shell-shocked by the worst natural disaster to hit Myanmar in 80 years. For those of us who have been involved in other natural disasters, it is another humbling reminder of mankind's frailty in the face of nature and the Creator. When our team landed in Yangon, we were struck by a scene of total devastation, reminiscent of the tsunami that struck south east Asia four years ago, with trees 8 foot in diameter levelled to the ground. ...
Next entries
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
There is an eerie calm in Yangon. While the authorities have almost completed the task of clearing the debris, the residents go about their daily business still shell-shocked by the worst natural disaster to hit Myanmar in 80 years. For those of us who have been involved in other natural disasters, it is another humbling reminder of mankind's frailty in the face of nature and the Creator. When our team landed in Yangon, we were struck by a scene of total devastation, reminiscent of the tsunami that struck south east Asia four years ago, with trees 8 foot in diameter levelled to the ground. ...
