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Three months after the tsunami...
Living in limbo
By Vidushi Seneviratne and Esther Williams
Three months have passed. But there was no pirith ceremony or dane for most victims of the disastrous tsunami. Their loved ones who survived still beset by feelings of insecurity, despair and hopelessness were forced to abandon their traditional rituals due to the more pressing issues they now face.

To a casual onlooker, life seems to be moving on. Schools have resumed, fishermen are back at work and tourists are gradually venturing back to the once idyllic beaches. However, the mounds of debris and the broken buildings are a constant reminder of the terror that happened just three months ago. Most towns along the scenic coast are still dotted with clusters of tents housing the thousands affected by the December 26 tsunami.

"It is very difficult living in these conditions. The tent gets unbearably hot during the afternoons and water comes in when it rains," laments M. W. Manoja who now lives at a Unawatuna refugee camp with her father and two younger siblings. She lost her mother to the tsunami, and the family wonders how much longer their present plight would continue. So do the 241 other occupants of the camp.

While some of the tents were approximately 10 X 5' others were less than 4X4' with most of the occupants' belongings heaped into a corner and the bed taking up most of the space. A water supply and communal toilets have been installed by the Municipality and other INGOs. Food at the camps is supplied through a ration card system that entitles them to a meagre supply of dry rations on a weekly basis.

At Wellawatte, Hikkaduwa, the situation is seemingly under control through the intervention of INGOs. People who lost shops and houses within the 100-metre buffer zone have been accommodated in tents. Others beyond the buffer zone havebeen given temporary homes made of wooden planks. Construction of concrete houses alongside is a sign of a step towards permanency.

Not knowing what the future holds is their biggest worry. "We have been promised so many things but nothing has materialised," Prageeth Liyanage of a refugee camp at Dadella, Galle says. "We can rebuild our lives if we know how much longer we would have to live in these conditions," adds this mat weaver. "We have tried to get bank loans but they ask for land deeds and other documents. Don't they know that all that has been washed away?" he asks, speaking for over 300 others living in the camp.

The tsunami unleashed its wrath on most of the schools along the south coast. The Gintota Maha Vidyalaya for example, lost six students and two teachers. Six school buildings were also damaged. Principal S. R. Chandrasekera said that they would be having a small ceremony on April 6 in memory of those who were killed. "But we have more pressing issues to consider. Parents are worried, some even urging us to relocate the school."

Grade 12 student Prabodha Sevanthi and her family whose house and shop were reduced to rubble live at the camp in Dadella. "We have no house or money to have a piritha for the many relatives who died," she says. Explaining how crowded their camp was, she says, “My parents have asked the government to give us a house away from the sea”.

Located quite close to the waterfront, the Sri Sumanajothi Vidyalaya in Unawatuna that had over 100 students on roll, was destroyed. The students, most of whom are from economically-deprived families, have been asked to go to the Nortan Bonista Vidyalaya in Rumassala that is much further away. The villagers claim that a fibreglass factory attached to the Fisheries Ministry is being built in place of the school. "This is a school that has seen so many generations of students through its gates. We want it to be rebuilt as soon as possible," says a visibly upset villager.

Ven. Sudeera Thera of Rathnodayaramaya, Rathgama took the initiative of organising a camp for the displaced people of the area soon after the disaster struck, with NGO Caritas supplying tents and beds being donated by the Prince of Monaco. Around 26 families still continue living in 4X4' tents around the temple. When asked if any religious observance was planned to commemorate three months following the deaths of residents in the locality, he said that the imminent fear of another tsunami predicted for March 25, by certain groups/individuals had forced them to cancel preparations.

R.H. Wijepala, of Dadella, had organised an all night pirith ceremony for March 22, on behalf of all those who lost their lives to the tsunami. "Though we have our financial difficulties, we decided to do this merit for every citizen who died. All our businesses and livelihoods have been washed away, but we are slowly rebuilding," says this Justice of Peace.

The Sheik Abdul Rahuman Shrine at Kachiwatte Magal, overlooking the Galle Harbour has seen a number of deaths of people living around the adjoining 1300-year-old mosque. Entire families were wiped out, according to Mohamed Haniffa of the Trustee Board. Almost all who come to pay their respects at the shrine seem to walk over to the water's edge barely 10 feet away and look into the water with a sense of fear - probably wondering when it will strike again.

"We have planned a pirith ceremony and alms-giving but it will not be held on March 26 because all priests are booked for ceremonies elsewhere," explains Acting Mayor of the Galle Municipality, Fawzul Niyas. Of the displaced in the town, he says that many were helped by private NGOs and seem to be moving on, having resumed their livelihoods.

A multi-religious ceremony directed by the Prime Minister was scheduled for March 25 and 26 in the vicinity of the navy camp at Tangalle. Organised under the patronage of the Vajiragiri Viharaya, Tangalle, the ceremony will include the observance of sil and anusasana, followed by a dana, pirith and Bodhi pooja. The programme will also see the awarding of scholarships to 1,000 orphaned children in the Hambantota district.

A haunted atmosphere still lingers at the site of the world's largest train tragedy in Peraliya. Three of the dented compartments have been realigned beside the new track. A pirith ceremony was planned for the 26th followed by a dane on the 27th at a nearby temple for about 5000 people.

How soon the tsunami survivors will be able to get back to a normal life is the burning question.Three months have gone. Though basic needs have been met to a certain extent, the future of the displaced still seems bleak.

Still in Shock
Life for Aluthgamaguruge Ranjith Nishantha epitomises the loss of hope. Losing their 16-day-old baby to the tsunami, his wife is now mentally disturbed and on medication. "We lost our only child and now my wife is seriously ill. She has been in deep shock and it's going to take a long time for her to come to terms with our loss," he says, tears streaming down his face. His young wife seems to go about life oblivious to the tragedy, a psychological response to block out the painful memories.

"Though I'm a fisherman, I cannot go back to sea because someone needs to watch her all the time," Ranjith said. Having lived very close to the beach at Hikkaduwa, the couple have been offered a tent. But using a tiny strip of land in which he had grown a few banana trees, Ranjith has built a little wooden shack they live in, all by himself. Pointing at some concrete houses that are being built by a private organisation beyond the 100-metre buffer zone, Ranjith and others in the area say that getting a house depended on the connections with the individuals in charge of the project.

"We are in a most helpless situation, with no one to turn to or ask for assistance from. All we want is a house to live in," is his final plea. Taking away lives and livelihoods the tsunami has changed them forever.

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