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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| June 6, 2005 |
Colombo, Sri Lanka – Supporting Tsunami Survivors on the Way to Recovery |
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| Banner welcoming Peace Boat participants in English and Sinhalese |
Half a year since the tsunami of December 26, 2004 devastated the eastern and southern areas of Sri Lanka, Peace Boat arrived in the port of Colombo in support of the country’s reconstruction process. After enduring a civil war between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and the Tamil Hindu minority since 1983, Sri Lanka had only recently implemented a ceasefire in 2002. With the peace process and reconciliation talks progressing, the government was able to concentrate on socioeconomic issues such as unemployment and infrastructure; that is until the tsunami damaged a significant portion of the island country and left 40,000 people dead and countless others homeless in a mere 20 minutes. Peace Boat in partnership with the NGO Sewalanka Foundation has been working to help rebuild homes and livelihoods of the people of Sri Lanka since the ceasefire and continue to do so in the wake of the tsunami of 2004. |
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| Swept off its tracks by the tsunami of 2004, the train now stands as a memorial |
Three hours south of Colombo sits the village of Kahawe, one of many coastal villages affected by the tsunami in which Sewalanka is helping to recover. Peace Boat participants were first taken to the site where train cars traveling between Colombo and Galle were swept off the tracks by the tsunami and displaced miles from each other, killing 1,600. The train cars are now displayed together as a memorial to the victims of the tsunami. Here, too, a village of new homes was rebuilt inland while the shells of former homes along the beach lay untouched. Since the tsunami, the government has not allowed the reconstruction of houses within 100 meters from the coast unless a building permit was granted before the tsunami. There is suspicion among the local population that the beaches where their homes once stood will soon be peppered with hotels. |
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| There are 80 households in Kahawe, many still bearing festival decorations |
With help from Sewalanka the people of Kahawe resettled into temporary homes also rebuilt inland from donated wood and community-assisted concrete made from sand, giving them the opportunity to rebuild their lives; while other villagers have had to find refuge in temples, mosques or donated tents. “[The local population of the south] are fairing much better than the east coast, where rubble had yet to be cleared up even when I went there in March [of this year],” said Mr. Toshio Shibuya, a professor of Sri Lankan studies who also journeyed to Kahawe. He noted that the distribution of aid has been uneven between the south and the east, perhaps reflecting the ethnic conflict that continues to linger between the Sinhalese south and the Tamil east coast. |
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| Young dancers perform a traditional dance at the welcoming ceremony |
After arriving at Kahawe, Peace Boat participants were welcomed with temple flower wreaths, and fragrant oils were lit in a traditional ceremony. The village leader thanked Peace Boat for donating water purifying equipment earlier in the year, and thanked participants for visiting the village “because Peace Boat participated in building our dream.” In honor of the continuation of the peace process as well as to honor the victims of the tsunami, Peace Boat participants handed the village leader 1,000 homemade paper cranes as a gesture of goodwill. |
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| As part of a community project, a villager weaves rope out of coconut tree bark |
The community center where the ceremony was held was built by Peace Boat and Sewalanka in cooperation with the people of Kahawe. It will serve as an outlet of hope for the 200 people living in the 80 village households once it is completed and equipped with computers and resources that can help the local population find jobs to regain their livelihoods. Before the tsunami, their livelihoods were formerly based around fishing and tourism, but since then many have been more concerned with finding permanent homes before they seek new boats and nets. Thus with assistance from NGOs and the government, tsunami reconstruction began with the building of housing found in villages like Kahawe. “Following international standards about issues such as water and sanitation, people can stay in Kahawe for up to three years, however the real dream is to provide permanent housing,” said Mr. Ajith Tennakoon of Sewalanka Foundation. “This can happen in two years with the cooperation of NGOs and the government.” |
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| Peace Boat participants try traditional drumming with village elders |
Sewalanka not only provides temporary and permanent housing and infrastructure such as the community center, but also much needed resources such as therapy to help those affected by the trauma of the tsunami as well as immediate food supply, furniture and cooking supplies. In addition, hand looms were donated to groups of families in efforts to buoy community spirit through project work. Using coconut tree bark as the raw material found in abundance in this area, the looms are used to produce ropes that are stitch together to make bags that collect raw tea leaves.
Peace Boat participants were invited into homes still decorated with remnants of a recent Buddhist festival. Each family took great care to make their homes comfortable and personalized, with items that survived the tsunami deemed all the more precious for having been found. “I lost my brother and a niece to the tsunami, and my shop which used to be on the beach is gone,” said Ms. Nishadi Dirukshi. “But I am happy to have a home and my children. So I feel my mother and I have hope.”
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