Remebering the Tsunami, Sri Lanka
Meet Amilla.
His story is like so many others here in Sri Lanka. Five years later and the Tsunami is still a vivid memory.
Amilla is a surfer. He was on the beach the day the Tsunami hit the coast. As he tell us his story, you can see him reliving it. Every movement and word feels as if it were happening all over again.
He has a big smile as he speaks,
He is still awed by the events of that day.
He tells us that he remembers thinking to himself that the sea had never looked so beautiful. He just remembers how beautiful it looked and as a tourist walked by, he said to him “something is wrong today, the sea does not look the same.”
A few minutes later, water was rushing to his feet. He thought that it might just be high waters because of the full moon, but the next thing he knew, the water was up to his waste.
He ran to grab his surf boards as they were being swept away. He was responsible for the inventory and didn’t want to lose them. But then, he was hit by a sandbag in the ribs. He bent over in pain and when he straightened back up, the water was over his head.
He now knew something was wrong, but he said that he was laughing and crying at the same time.
He couldn’t believe what was going on and he couldn’t stop laughing, yet he was crying. He was in complete shock.
He swam out to sea knowing that this would be his only chance. Buildings were crumbling and if he went to shore, he would certainly be crushed. He swam and swam and found others. People were panicking, but he told them to stick together. Surfers were in the water and they could rest on their boards.
They stayed in the water for 30 minutes. Waiting.
And then the sea came back out suddenly. They were standing on the ocean floor, he couldn’t believe what was going on.
That is when he ran home to find his family. People were crying, one couple couldn’t find their son. He said “I was the only local, I had to help” He searched for their son and found him in a cupboard, he was safe. The family was in shock and he told them to get out of here. “You are safe, go”
He ran home through the flowing water and glass shredded his feet and legs. Water was everywhere and he could not see.
His family was not there.
His cows were still there. The mother cow wasn’t tied up, but she would not leave here baby. It was tied to a pole, but it had survived. After he untied the cow, he ran in haste and because the water was still high and flowing, he fell into a well. It is impossible to think how he survived.
It was time to get on high ground and he made his way to the temple. His family was there along with the rest of the community.
He was one of the lucky ones.
30,000 Sri Lankans died that day. His family and friends survived. All but one girl that he knew quite well. He found her body cut up on the shore later that night when he and his friends went to the beach to see what was going on.
They felt that they were the surfers, they were able to speak English, they knew the water, they could help.
Sri Lanka has slowly been rebuilding since the Tsunami. But corruption has mired the process. Amilla’s parents lost the deed to their house in the disaster. They didn’t have a copy and therefore were evicted off of their land.
Money has not made its way to the people and even Amilla’s family now has loans and debts as they had to buy another piece of property due to their eviction.
We donated money to the Tsunami like so many others in the west, just like so many others are doing now for Haiti.
It is upsetting to hear stories like this. People have the best intentions, but their money doesn’t make it to those that need it the most.
You can read more about the Tsunami 5 Years later at TheTravelTarts Blog. Anthony visited Banda Aceh a couple of months ago and here is his experienc Banda Aceh – 5 Years on Since the Tsunami
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I remember watching the news when the Tsunami hit, seeing the destruction and death – it was completely devastating. Immediately I called the Red Cross to make a donation. It is sad to here that corruption has lead to such consequences for the survivors.
Alouise´s last blog ..Toronto – it’s not as bad as people say.
It is sad that corruption is rampant here. The stories of how people prey on the unfortunate are many and much of the aid from the Tsunami went to the rich and powerful.
The people are still rebuilding there lives even after 5 years.
What an amazing experience to live through – I’m sure Amilla must feel very blessed that he and all of his family survived, but how sad what’s happened afterwards.
I think your post is a good reminder that people should be careful about how and where they donate to disaster relief – some agencies are better able to ensure that help actually reaches where it’s most needed.
Another thing people should remember after a disaster is that while it’s admirable to want to jump on a plane and go help in person, only those that have the skills needed to really and truly be of immediate help (medical personnel, those trained in search & rescue or cadaver recovery, or those who can operate heavy machinery to move the tons of debris that needs moving) should be among the first to respond – otherwise, you’re just one more body burdening an already overtaxed supply chain….after things have stabilized somewhat, and simple laborers are needed to help with reconstruction, that’s the time that more volunteers should head that way.
Trisha Miller´s last blog ..How to Find the Right Editor for Your Book
All excellent points Trisha. I agree that people should thoroughly research any disaster relief agency they give to. Make sure that some of the money gets to the victims. Often much of your donation to large charities goes to the administration fees and salaries of the people working for that large organization. With a little research we can all make sure that some of our money is reaching the people that really need it.
Good story! I think that with all the numbers, we often lose track of the individual stories. It’s really a tragedy when you consider that something like this happened to thousands of people and this is just one of the stories.
Thanks, Kyle,
It is easy to loose track of what really happened here and the toll that it took on everyone. Individual stories like that of Amilla help us to remember what happened in Southern Asia in Dec. 2004
Great story guys. I am always in awe when I read personal accounts of situations like this. It such a testament to the will to survive. I often wonder how people live through such things and even live through the memories after the fact. It makes sense to run into the water and float but I would’ve been scared of being swept out to sea.
Bethany´s last blog ..Blood, Drugs & Sangria – How To Vacation In A War Zone. Part four of a five part series.
Hey Bethany,
I agree it is a testament to the will to survive. When Amilla was telling us his story you could just see him reliving it all over again in his eyes.
I think I would have been scared of that as well but because he was a surf instructor I guess that was his first instinct.
5 years passed so quickly. Makes sense that if you’re a strong swimmer or in this case surfer, you’d want to go out into the water to avoid being crushed or drowned on land.
Which happens so many times, the best laid plans are derailed by people’s own greed. It happened in Sri Lanka and I’m sure it will happen in some cases in Haiti. But help does get through and I like to focus on the positive benefits when the aid reaches and helps the people it was meant to.
brian | No Debt World Travel´s last blog ..Are You Broke, Married, Have Kids or Older? Consider a Round the World Trip
That is true Brian. Even if a little gets through to help it is better than nothing. And it looks overall like Sri Lanka has recovered nicely.
Whoa, what a story. And such level-headedness on his part through such an ordeal. I can’t even fathrom what that must have been like.
Candice´s last blog ..Another Reason to Love Newfoundland
Hi Candice, I can’t imagine it either. But we got a good sense of it while watching him retell the story. It was like he was reliving it. I think that the safest place to be was in the water we have learned.
Great story guys! I think I felt the same when I saw Banda Aceh in late 2008 – and how they’ve bounced back. You can read more about this here:
http://www.thetraveltart.com/banda-aceh-5-years-on-since-the-tsunami/
There are hundreds of thousands of stories like this throughout the many countries that were affected by the tsunami.
Thanks for posting this!
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I am from Sri Lanka and have been living abroad for a while now. Thanks for visiting my beautiful country and sharing your experiences.
The Tsunami was probably the biggest natural disaster Sri Lanka ever faced. I agree with you about the relief money not reaching everyone who need it. That’s why people need to donate carefully. It is an emotional time and people tend to think that their immediate donations will help tremendously. No doubt it does, but a large portion of it goes to the pockets of people who don’t deserve it and more importantly towards the unnecessary expenses of those internationally renowned relief organizations. I have close friends and family who volunteered during the immediate post-Tsunami times and they can tell how money was spent. Upgrading their vehicle fleets of to luxury vehicles, upgrading their headquarters to luxury conditions… your hard earned dollars that you spare go to these as well. It is always best to wait for a few months or years and donate your money to local charities (best if you know those who are coordinating) when the rebuilding really begins.
On a more positive note, a person who is very close to me had a tiny clay shack (illegal) on the beach that swept away. Within a few months time, the government gave them new two bedroom apartments with electricity and running water for free.
http://www.chamaree.com/?p=236
That is excellent advice Lankan Gal. We always hear about floods of money coming in to places like the Red Cross after a disaster. With the millions that movie stars, countries and individuals are always contributing, you would think that these disasters would be cleaned up immediately. it just proves how the money never gets to where it is intended. It is an excellent idea to wait to donate. We have heard so many stories here in Sri Lanka since posting this article. People that lived inland and weren’t affected by the Tsunami would go to the beach to collect bottled water even though they have always been perfectly fine drinking well water, other people were jealous of receiving money to rebuild even though their house wasn’t destroyed and so on. It is shocking. I am not even surprised that people used the money to upgrade their facilities and vehicles. I have been in the corporate offices of a large charity and I was shocked to see them taking up an entire floor of an expensive office building downtown Toronto. Do they really need that extravagance?
That is wonderful about your friend that received the new apartment however. And on a positive note from us, we have seen great charity and aid given while we were here as well. It is not all bad and some aid does get through and many foreigners that have a special place in their hearts for Sri Lanka gave a lot as well.
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