It happens at the most unexpected of moments and in the midst of crowds. There is a blast and a boom….followed by stillness, soon shattered by the agonized cries of the dying and the wounded, maybe men, women and children, for bombs do not discriminate against race, caste, age or gender.
Thereafter, comes a frenzy of activity – the wounded being ferried to hospital and the media converging on the spot to get the best story or the best photograph. Even in hospital the injured are inundated by visits from politicians.
The tragedy, however, is that a few days later, everyone has moved on with their lives, except the victims and their families.
Lives shattered but the world passes by. Not any more, for now there is a line for such victims to hang on to, not only to get some financial support but also to know that there are people who care for them out there.
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| The blind couple |
Launched in October 2008 by the Association for Lighting a Candle it is aptly named ‘Lifeline Project’.
For S.M. Gunaratne, coming from a humble home in Poonagala, Bandarawela and studying hard in his final year at the Jayewardenepura campus, the Deyata Kirula exhibition at the BMICH in 2007 was a break from the tedious routine.
He was walking around when an accidental explosion at a stall displaying weaponry and bombs left him seriously injured. “He couldn’t hear, he couldn’t see. Part of his left hand was blown off,” says brother S.M. Manatunga.
Gunaratne’s life changed irrevocably that day. A left-hander, he had to learn to write with his other hand and even after many operations he has regained his sight only in one eye while his hearing is also still impaired. The road to full recovery is long.
He and his family felt alone and abandoned. The compensation granted by the security forces was soon over. He was desperate to complete his degree and get back some semblance of normalcy to his life.
That was when Lifeline stepped in to look after his medical bills, travel costs and also the much-needed counselling costs.
Although according to Manatunga words are inadequate to describe the support of Lifeline, “Loku udawwak”, says it all.
Lifeline was an idea which took seed in former journalist Minoli de Soysa’s mind, for she had witnessed many a blast site and reported on them. She wanted to be more involved in the lives of bomb victims and their families, but did not have the facilities and infrastructure to do so.
The Association for Lighting a Candle, a charity working in different spheres had the facilities and when she approached them they were only too willing to take her on board.
“This project is designed to help those devastated by random violence to regain and rebuild their lives,” says Chief Coordinator Ms. de Soysa.
For a small family of three – father, mother and daughter – living in Piliyandala, life was routine. That was until April 25, 2008. The father was on a Piliyandala-Madapatha bus just about four km from home that evening after work, when terror struck in the form of a bomb. Finding consolation in the fact that he had survived and attempting to get back to their life before the blast, he is now working from home and also undergoing intensive physiotherapy to regain the use of his lower limbs. Lifeline is helping out by proviing some funds towards the child’s education.
Presently Lifeline has under its wings eight such families including a blind couple who were caught in a blast at the Fort railway station in February 2008 and a family from Buttala.
“We look at the needs of each family,” Ms. de Soysa says, explaining that she is seeking an organization in Jaffna to work with war-affected children.
In addition to financial, medical and counselling support, Lifeline would like to provide extended medical care including surgery, prosthetics and training in an alternative means of livelihood if the victims are disabled or destitute, she says.
We need help from surgeons, lawyers, counsellors, psychiatrists, government officials, fund-raisers and those who can provide employment to our beneficiaries, she says, with the plea to help Lifeline help these hapless people who are victims of circumstances not of their making.
(Those who wish to join the programme can contact Ms. de Soysa on minoli2000@hotmail.com) |
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