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The
girl behind the gripping picture This TV image of a group of girls at the Galle town bus station being swept away as the water level rose had left a world wide audience in tears. The picture showed the rising water swallowing up the bus stand in a real life story that went beyond any work of fiction. Now a young girl who was among that group has come back to tell her story to the man who captured the horrifying scene that was shown all over the world. On that fateful day fourteen-year-old A.W.Chathuri Madhara of Pitabedda, Matara and 16 of her relatives had come to Galle town to proceed to Gampaha for an alms giving. They had left Pita Bedda around 7 a.m. and arrived at the Galle bus stand at about 9 a.m. Although all 16 had come to Galle together, when the tsunami struck, some had been at a boutique having tea while Madhara, her younger brother and four other girls were at the bus stand. "The water came in suddenly and I grabbed on to the wall closest to me. I lost grip of my brother, whose hand I was holding onto. I could see the whole place filling up. I clung onto the wall desperately. But as I clung on, one by one many of those around me were being swept away by the force of the water," she recalled. Once the water receded, a kind stranger took her to his house and she remained there till her father came looking for her. From there the two of them had proceeded to a church closeby where they sought shelter and managed to find some of the other relatives who had accompanied them. Miraculously her nine-year-old brother too survived the ordeal. Although he was washed away during those horrifying moments in the bus stand, he was later found sheltered in a temple. Although Madhara and her immediate family members survived she continues to be haunted by the terrifying ordeal of December 26. |
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