Exactly one and a half decades ago in the early hours of December 26, 2004, the devastating tsunami struck the shores of Sri Lanka, reportedly claiming the lives of estimated 35,322 people and displacing 516,150 people. Moreover, another 4,100 people went missing. There were 1,071 children who lost their parents in this horrendous natural tragedy.
Thousands of people lost their primary source of livelihood. The damage to infrastructure and capital assets was colossal which had been estimated at around US$ one billion particularly in tourism and fisheries sectors.
This violent and mighty tidal wave that was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude struck almost 14 districts out of 28 regions of Sri Lanka. On that fateful Boxing Day, the giant and grey sea wave all of a sudden came rolling over the shores and subsequently the ground inland to a distance over four-six kilometres with clashing rapidity rumbling and tumbling everything that was on its way.
Despite the fact that there was an ongoing civil war at that time, the people of all communities shunned their animosity and acted in unity to help those who lost almost everything! As there had been no such disaster experiences before, Sri Lanka was quite unprepared for the tsunami. But, with a massive community response followed by Government and international action, it was able to implement an initial relief effort that could be termed a success.
During the next two-three years, a new kind of settlements came up termed as “Tsunami Villages”. Many families who led dignified lives before the tsunami were forced to be herded into these despicable dwellings.
The Daily News visited several Tsunami villages in Galle, Akmeemana and Habaraduwa which included Haritha Gama (Eco Village), China Friendship Village, Coca-Cola village, Netherlands Alumni Village, Katupol Watta alias Kingsburry Village, Akkara Vissa (Twenty Acre) Tsunami village and Red Cross Village and talked to some of the people who survived the disaster.
Mahadura Chandrasiri Jayasekara, 63, at No. 23/A, SED
GALLE Tsunami Houses, Dadella, Galle
I was running a small boutique adjoining my residence in Mahamodara, Galle. I lost my 15-year-old son and my father-in-law in the tsunami tragedy.
On that day, I was arranging my shop for the day’s business while my wife was sweeping the front compound of the shop. At once an enormous torrent gushed breaking through the back door of the wooden shop with an exploding sound by which I was thrown out and dragged away and knocked against a parapet wall of a house on the other side of the Colombo – Galle Highway. Thereafter, the huge wave carried me further away until I was enmeshed in a barbed wire fence onto which I clung on for some time. After the seawater receded, I got down and returned to my place to see my house and shop were badly destroyed.
When I looked for my daughter who was inside the house at the time of the disaster, I could notice that she was hanging on to a rafter of the roof of the damaged house yelling out for help. With much difficulty, I got her down and came out of the destroyed house.
Then we saw my wife was limping towards home with much difficulty. She and I were badly injured. When I asked my wife about my younger son, she said when the wave came he had been in front of the boutique and on her request, he had run into to the house to fetch his grandfather who had been inside the house.
However, although we looked in the vicinity for the son and my father-in-law we could not find them. Later, we could locate the bodies of them clogged in the main trench which carried rainwater to the nearby tributary of Gin River.
My eldest daughter had gone for her tuition class and on her way she had got caught to the tidal wave near the Galle Central Bus Stand and together with some of her friends had been drifted for a distance of about four kilometres from Galle town. Luckily, she together with her friends had been rescued by people and taken them to a house at Milidduwa Junction and treated them with great kindness and care.
We live in a house at the Red Cross Society Tsunami Housing Scheme. But, I lost my primary livelihood. I could not reopen my destroyed business place. I was a private sector employee with no pension. Now, I depend on my wife who is a retired government employee and my son and daughter.
P.P.G. Sani, 65 Haritha Gama
The water tank stand and storage tanks built in our village by a German organisation have now been undertaken by the Water Supply and Drainage Board. They have supplied pipe-borne water to the tank and handed over the control of it to a community organization led by a Buddhist monk. Now they charge exorbitant rates for the water supplied by the board. They charge about Rs. 40 per one unit which is unfair.
Mahamed Saleeth, 54, Devata,
Galle
I lost my wife, daughter, my wife’s brother, her two sisters, two children of my wife’s’ brother and the child of her sister. Ninety-six of our relatives died. We were given houses on a plot of land belonging to a mosque. There are 70 households in the settlement. The houses are very small and we undergo many difficulties to live in such a congested locality.
After I received a set of nets and fishing gears, no one looked into our grievances. An American organization donated funds for the construction of houses. A contractor from Kandy built the housing scheme whose works were below standard. Now we face many problems owing to the low standard constructions.
Many who talked to us in our visit to tsunami villages aired similar grievances. We understand that even after fifteen years, tsunami survivors still struggle to survive. They made serious allegations against the state authorities including the respective Local Government authorities, divisional secretariats (DS), police, school authorities, community leaders and politicians.
Tsunami victims have been given houses under the patronage of various international organizations and foreign countries. However, no government has paid prompt consideration over the post-tsunami recovery processes. Day by day diverse social, economic, cultural and community problems are piling up and being aggravated.
The attitudes of society towards these tsunami villagers have a seriously adverse impact on them. Society and some government institutions disregard them. Some people consider tsunami people as inferior and backward humans. This malicious reaction of society towards these destitute people should be unconditionally halted. The government should be vigilant over this serious social issue and take wise measures to rectify the problem before it becomes aggravated into a major social problem.
Power of the wave - west coast
(To be continued)
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