M.K. Ahula kicks the scratched teapot with his toe.
Nearby, the waves are beating on the grey stones, hiding the
rubble in the sand. Between the broken bricks and mud, silver
lady’s shoe pokes out.
Ahula pushes his bicycle over the devastated area between the
beach and the road, passing the remnants of a wall and a broken
palm tree. This is all that is left of his house.
The giant wave washed everything away on 26 December, including
seven members of his family, among them two babies, his mother
and his eldest son.
It is hard to recover from such a disaster. M.K. Ahula gives
the sea a quick glance. “I hate it”, the 34-year-old
fisherman says softly.
Things were very different not so long ago. He used to be fond
of sailing far out to the sea until the beach was just a tiny
yellow stripe with the palm trees as a grey background. At night
he saw the lights of his hometown, Galle, reflected in the water.
The sea has now taken his boat and nets. If he still had his
wooden craft, he would certainly sell it.
Ahula pedals away. The rainy season has created large puddles
in the bumpy road. Water splashes to both sides. But he does
not care about it. To his left and right the street looks as
if it had been bombarded.
The flood took anything that was not fixed to the ground with
concrete, flushing the rubble through the narrow alleys with
terrible violence.
Broken wooden beams and bent steel roofs are all that remains
of the fishermen’s huts along the coast. In the centre
of the city, the old Portuguese fortress rises up against the
sea.
On the green lawn in front of it people are gathering around
a small lorry. They keep handkerchiefs against their noses and
faces. When the breeze stops, the smell is unbearable.
M.K. Ahula stands against his bike. The four dead bodies are
so heavily swollen, that relatives hardly recognize them. Today
the 34-year old will not find out anything about his three missed
relatives.
The Buddhist Mahagoda temple stands at a safe distance from
the devastating sea. It seems like an idyllic picture for a
postcard: the old walls surrounded by lush greenery; high trees
protecting it against sun and rain, in the shadows stands an
old Morris Minor car.
The calmness of the temple gives the impression that the city
was never struck by the tsunami. At first sight, there is nothing
to suggest that almost 30,000 people in Sri Lanka and almost
150,000 in Asia and Africa perished in the disaster.
But the harmony of the temple is misleading. Inside its walls
are 100 people robbed of everything by the sea, looking for
shelter.
A minivan rolls through the temple gate, carrying a team of
young Sri Lanka Red Cross volunteers. The pebbles crunch under
their feet. Like so many other volunteers these youngsters,
aged between 18 and 25, are on the road to provide first aid
treatment.
A total of 2,500 volunteers are on duty, cleaning wells, distributing
goods and searching for the missing. Sometimes they simply offer
hope.
Such as to 72-year-old carpenter L.P. Seteen, who clutches his
umbrella. It no longer has a handle, but it was the only thing
he could grab as he ran from his house.
Softly, he tells Red Cross leader Nandana Wickamanyake how he
was able to save his own life. “Thanks to God, none of
my family was killed. I am so thankful for this,” the
old man tells the volunteer.
Meanwhile other Red Cross volunteers put on bandages and disinfect
wounds. Many of the homeless were injured when they escaped
the wave.
Wickamanyake is proud of his group. “We have been on duty
for days. Everybody is contributing all their energy. We must
set an example. Now is the time for everyone to start cleaning
up and rebuilding,” explains the 35-year-old.
About 4,000 people have died in Galle district. The last mass
graves have already been filled, and so heavy Caterpillar machines
are digging fresh ones.
Close by Buddhist monks pray for the victims. Gradually, all
traces of the destruction will disappear. But for now, the grief
is palpable, and it will remain long after all the damage from
the tsunami has been repaired.
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Seven
members of M.K. Ahula's family perished in the tsunami.
Now this fisherman hates the sea (p12338)
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Galle's
fishing fleet has been badly damaged by the tsunami (p12345)
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Red
Cross volunteer Nandana Wickamanyake offers comfort to
72-year-old tsunami survivor L.P. Seteen (p12341)
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Some
2,500 Sri Lanka Red Cross volunteers have been active
since the tidal wave struck, recovering corpses, offering
first aid and distributing aid (p-LKA0120)
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The
clear-up is under way in Galle, but the grief will remain
long after the rubble has been removed (p12358)
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News
