Stories from the ground

 

 

 

 

 

1. Rohan Silva, OMI (Colombo Province) writes… (8-01-05)

Hope Beyond the Tsunami Disaster

 

As never before Sri Lanka suffers the loss of life and property. People and their habitats were engulfed within minutes. The Tsunami waves have come and gone, but the permanent damage done by this natural catastrophe is unfathomable. According to the present calculations over 34,000 bodies have been found. The number of missing persons is not yet completely counted.

 

According to local calculations the death toll may be over 40,000. Over one

million people have been displaced and they are compelled to live in refugee

camps. No one seems to know how long will they be confined to these camps.

People have no homes to get back to. They have not only lost the buildings

but also the loved ones. Many families are without a mother, a father and

some families have lost all the children.

 

St. Vincent’s Home is a safe haven to over 1500 victims. We have the basic

infrastructure, namely the space, to attend to this massive need. But the

big numbers demand greater facilities, and this is a big task undertaken by

the Oblate community at St. Vincent’s Home.  Sustaining 1500 persons is a

big responsibility. We moved a group of our children from their dormitory to

another in order to make room available for the refugees. But that was not

enough. We had to put up temporary sheds to accommodate the influx of

refugees.  Putting up sheds alone was not going to help. We had to see to

the sanitary facilities too. We put up 08 temporary toilets. Although there

is a regular supply of water from our existing water system, we get water

from outside to meet the demands of the Camp. We need to improve on these

facilities immediately to avoid health problems.

 

Apart from looking after the food and lodging of these refugees we also have

conducted a counseling programme for the victims. The Counselors are

expected to visit the Camp on a regular basis. We found that some persons

cannot have a sound sleep, and some scream during the night. The effects of

Tsunami on the small children are not yet seen. We have given our special

attention to the children and youth. With the help of the Children’s

Movement (La Kri Vi) we organized programmes for the children. In fact these

little children were able to entertain their elders by organizing a variety

entertainment. The youth are still to be organized and we hope to do it

soon.

 

Resettling these refuges remains a big task. They have lost every thing and

they might lose now even their property as the Government is insisting that

no houses should be built closer to the sea. The houses should be 300 meters

away from the see. Of course, the Government is promising to build Houses

for them elsewhere, but the fishermen would always like to remain close to

the see. They also have lost all their fishing gears. So, every thing must

be started from the zero level.  They are badly in need of support to

recommence their life again.

 

According to the Child Protection Authority there are many children who have

become orphans due to Tsunami. We have expressed our willingness to the

government to accommodate as many orphans as possible into our Home.

Welcoming new orphans, providing them with food, lodging, education and

protection will be a massive task for the community with limited personnel.

Depending on the number of orphans, recruitment of new staff is expected.

The children will have to begin schooling in the New Year. Most of them will

not have any books or study tools and these will have to be provided by us.

Furthermore, we need to recruit specialized staff in case of traumatized

children.

 

We invite you to join us in our constant prayer for the survivors of the

disaster that they may not lose hope in life, in the case of Christians that

they may have the strength to believe that God is with them in this hour of

pain, anguish and hopelessness.

 

We also invite you to support us to make the lives of the victims a little

more comfortable by improving that facilities we already have. Our priority

will be the poor, and this is our mission. At St. Vincent’s home our

priority will be the big numbers of orphans. We hope and pray that we will

 

2. Oswald Firth, OMI (1^st  Assistant General) writes… (28/12/2004 06:25)

SRI LANKA - A COUNTRY IN MOURNING…

 

Sri Lanka today is a country in mourning. According to figures available right now

over 11,000 persons have lost their lives, but prognostics are that the number will

rise to about 25,000 dead. Hundreds of thousands are without a shelter, and many are missing without a clue about their whereabouts. Today, unclaimed bodies will be buried in mass graves.

 

A tidal wave, also known as a 'Tsunami' (in Japanese), occurred on the 26th of

December around 8.30 a.m. when below the ocean tremours rising upto 9.0 on

the Richter Scale caused a mass of sea water rushing from about 4 km below the

sea and traveling at the speed of 540 km an hour, hit the eastern coast of India

(Chennai), and the Eastern, Southern and Western coasts of Sri Lanka. The

destructive force of the killer tidal wave is said to be a hundred thousand times

the force of the atomic bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima.

 

Most vulnerable among the victims were women and children who could not climb onto tall buildings or swim. A whole train with over one thousand passengers was simply swept off the rails and capsized. The rails were just a heap of twisted metal. Buses were floating as if they were plastic toys. Over 200 foreigners tourists were swept into the raging waves. Certain persons who were attending Sunday service in churches along the coastal belt were dragged into the foaming sea and disappeared. We have never had such a violently destructive natural disaster in the entire history of Sri Lanka.

 

On a personal note, over thirty of those persons who worked with us to reconstruct the East of Sri Lanka after the Cease-Fire have lost their lives. Those who are living have  lost their domicile. They are on the streets or in refugee camps. I am still struggling to search for the meaning of "life" and "reconstructing life" through all this carnage.

 

The tidal wave has struck families irrespective of their race or religion. Aid and assistance are flowing into the country: India is sending us three ship load of food items and medicines, three helicopters to salvage floating dead bodies and transport relief. One helicopter will serve as a sort mobile hospital. The USA too has promised helicopters and relief. So too has Japan and Norway.

 

 

Bishop Norbert Andradi, OMI (Anuradhapura) writes… (29/12/2004 05:42)

 

I thought of relating some news concerning the disaster that has befallen on our island nation and how it has affected the diocese of Anuradhapura comprising of the entire North Central Province.  I also wish to keep you informed of how the diocese is trying to face up to the situation.

 

I wish to keep you informed that the Catholic Community in Kokilai has been badly affected. I visited them yesterday and spent a few hours with them. All of them have been evacuated to a school at Track 12, Sripura, Padaviya. All their houses and other belongings have been washed away. The dead bodies of two ladies are to be buried today. There are about six to nine children who are missing. In all likelihood, they have been carried away. The Police, Army and other government leaders appear to have attended to their most basic and immediate needs. The fishermen requested our help in this moment of trial particularly, God willing, when they will have to rebuild their cadjan houses and restart their lives. Hence, some cash donations would be welcome.

 

Just this morning, I made a statement to Raja Rata Radio since almost nothing was reported in the media about Kakilai. There was an emergency meeting of the Provincial Secretaries and Heads of various Departments and Religious Leaders at the Kachcheri convened by the Chief Minister. I attended this meeting and I was able to keep them informed of the situation at Kokilai.

 

People of Kokilai, in particular, will need our help. Please hand-over whatever you collect either to Habarana Church or to the Bishop’s House, Anuradhapura..

 

ADDENDUM

 

1. A few more dead bodies have been recovered of those who belonged to the

fishing community of Kokilai.

 

2. Yesterday (28.12.04) I joined a group and went to Trincomalee. The group

comprised of the Chief Priest of the Jayanthi Viharaya of Anuradhapura, the

Governer of the North Central Province, Deputy Inspector General of Police

of the North Central Province, the Superintendent of Police of Anuradhapura

and a number of Ministers of Parliament . We were able to visit a number of

refugee camps where a large number of people affected by the disaster were

staying. We went to two Buddhist temples, Catholic Church of Nilaweli, a

Hindu temple and a Mosque. In each of those places there were large groups

of people affected by this disaster. We were able to distribute a large

consignment of food items. Among other things, we visited the Nilaveli

Beach Hotel. It was so shocking to see the extent of the damage water could

cause.

 

3. About 300 people who have came from Mampuri of the diocese of Chilaw are

 

4. Fr. Jeevendra Paul, OMI (Jaffna Province) writes… (27/12/2004 06:23)

Catastrophe of Tidal Waves -26.12.2004

 

This terrifying incident that hit Sri Lanka especially the Northern and the Eastern cost in the morning of Sunday the 26^th of December remains a night mare. The death toll has arisen to nearly to ten thousand in the North alone now. The people in these costal areas were taken completely unaware. It was just a matter of a few seconds. Families in a bulk, especially women, children and the aged are missing in hundreds. Thousands are injured being simply drifted and twisted by the waves. Now the hospitals are overflowing with the injured and almost all those in the costal areas have lost homes and properties.

 

The worst is the trauma of looking for the missing, identifying the dead and taking care of the remaining orphaned people. The costal areas like Chakkoddai, Point-Pedro, Manalkadu, Chempeyampattu, Thalayady and Mullaithivu are also predominantly Catholic populated fishing villages. There are also Hindu and Muslim villages in the Trinco and Batticaloa districts. The Holy Family sisters and the priests whose residents were just along the sea were miraculously saved as they were all attending in the Church the Sunday Mass. The Sri Lankan Forces rooted in the so called High Security Zone (along the costal belt) were all uprooted some have died and many soldiers were also injured.

 

The volunteers especially the youth in Jaffna and are in the forefront helping and giving assistance to the needy. The Oblate Priests and the Scholastics are doing their best in the Jaffna Peninsula. Most of the people are willing and do share what they have like food items, clothes, mats and pillows. Of course there is a shortage for medicine and hospital facilities. The Oblates also have joined the other volunteer forces in transporting goods and distributing the helps to the villages.

 

I have never heard or seen such a catastrophe that took place within a few minutes and taken absolutely innocent lives of our people, who have gone through enormous hardships, pains and losses due to the past civil war. What we saved - many lives and properties during the two years of ceasefire have been swallowed up by the sea. The whole experience is shocking. So far Priests and Nuns who were at the costal areas also are saved miraculously but some have lost parents, brothers, sisters and relatives.