Even
before any warnings were issued about the giant earthquake that
struck Indonesia on 28 March, people in Sri Lanka feared a second
tsunami. Circling rumours of an impending disaster reached fever
pitch the previous weekend, forcing the Red Cross to postpone
relief distribution at one site.
That weekend’s poya (full moon) ceremony and an exceptionally
high tide coincided with the three-month anniversary of the
26 December tsunami, a traditional time for Buddhists to commemorate
deaths by praying and giving alms.
The tsunami killed more than 31,000 people in Sri Lanka and
displaced 500,000.
In the southern district of Matara, a planned distribution of
sleeping mats, hygiene kits, jerry cans, bed sheets, mosquito
nets and other relief goods had to be postponed from Friday
to Saturday because so many people, including Red Cross volunteers,
were absent.
“Many of our volunteers are young, and their parents took
them away to the temple on Friday,” says Mr H K M Premadasa,
chairman of Welipitiya Red Cross division in Matara district.
“They were afraid there was going to be another tsunami
so they went to the temple to settle their minds.”
Temples, mosques and churches were places of physical and spiritual
refuge during the disaster and are still seen as safe sites.
About 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 18 million people are
Buddhist; about 15 per cent are Hindu, eight per cent Muslim
and seven per cent Christian.
Srimathie Amarasekare, 62, a school registrar, lined up for
relief on Saturday in the courtyard of Welipitiya branch. But
she moved from the coast to her daughter’s home to avoid
any possible tsunami at the weekend.
“People are saying there could be another disaster. Sometimes
we get scared because we live near the sea, maybe 200 metres
away.”
When the alarm came on 28 March about 11pm local time, people
were ready to warn others and evacuate their homes near the
sea. Loudspeakers on vehicles drove through villages, horns
sounded, temple bells rang and text messages warned people to
move inland.
The mass night exodus from the coast happened quickly and peacefully
around Sri Lanka. By morning the risk of a tsunami was gone
and people could resume their normal lives. Even three months
on from the disaster, some people still feel under immediate
threat.
On 28 March, millions of people were exposed to a genuine threat.
While some people are already returning to normal life after
December’s tsunami, others will take decades to overcome
the trauma, says American Red Cross regional psycho-social delegate,
Dr Joseph Prewitt-Diaz. Some will never recover.
The American Red Cross is one of six Red Cross or Red Crescent
societies from around the world running psychosocial programmes
with the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society in 10 districts. In 2005,
American Red Cross psychosocial programmes are projected to
reach more than 200,000 people on the island.
The solution, Prewitt-Diaz believes, from his experience years
as a Red Cross disaster mental health expert, is to engage people
repeatedly in communal activities close to the element they
fear most – in this case, the sea.
“It’s getting people to do things near the water,
practical activities like cleaning up the environment,”
he says.
He tells the story of taking some children out in a boat. He
jumped into the water and started playing with soccer balls.
The children soon followed.
“That was the day the kids went back into the water. Originally
it was because they were interested in the balls. But that’s
how they overcame their fear.”
At a school opposite the Red Cross branch, paint splashes are
evidence of this approach to psychosocial support. Children
and adults worked together to paint chairs and desks in bright
primary colours. As well as being a constructive communal activity,
the blue and red furniture is a reminder of a new start.
A mural commissioned by the psychosocial team on a wall at the
school emphasises the healing power of every day life. Scenes
from children’s lives show a virtuous circle, with messages
in the Sinhala language such as “share your feelings,”
“keep up your daily routine,” “eat well and
take time to relax,” “exercise and play,”
and “join others to keep your environment clean.”
The motto at the bottom is “together we will move forward.”
An accurate and effective warning system helps people feel secure
enough to move on with every day life, together.
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Tsunami-affected
Sri Lankans await a relief distribution in Welipitiya,
Matara district. Many are afraid of a new tsunami (p12778)
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Sri
Lankan Red Cross volunteers bundle up relief items such
as mosquito nets, sheets and jerry cans for people affected
by the tsunami (p12779)
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A
woman in Welipitiya leaves the Red Cross distribution
site laden with non-food items (p12780)
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A
mural on a school wall, showing a virtuous circle, emphasises
the healing power of every day life. The motto at the
bottom sums it up: “together we will move forward”
(p12781)
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