| |
As we arrived at the Yala
National Park, residents in the area advised us against going
further in but we persisted that we had to continue our journey
interior to the eastern end of the park to witness the devastation.
There were several groups of people, despair written all over their
faces, speaking to each other in muffled tones. Several four-wheel
drive vehicles were plying up and down inside the park bringing in
dead bodies. Rising to the occasion several gallant men had ventured
in, in rescue work and among them were local wildlife officials and
those from the Department of Wildlife Conservation head office in
Colombo led by their boss and a couple of our journalists from the
group, helping in.
We ventured further and saw vehicles and other heavy equipment
belonging to the Park Bungalow and the Safari Lodge washed away by
the tsunami tidal waves stuck in the mud. Among those items were
suitcases, clothes etc. which belonged to the occupants also stuck
in high branches of trees. We returned through Tissamaharama by
night - it was a dead city with groups of people at intervals on the
road and the hospital compound filled with anxious kith and kin of
tsunami victims.
On another day along with my family members we ventured downsouth to
see the tsunami destruction. The sights were appalling. The tsunami
waves had come inland to a distance of about 200 metres rolling on
to the roads several trawler boats. Cars tossed about had landed
nose downwards resting along partially destroyed walls of houses.
The Peraliya railway line was a twisted and mangled wreck.
Dotting the waysides were camping sites of `tsunami tents' where
displaced people were housed. The coastal belt and boatyards were in
chaotic disorder and several boats totally destroyed. The once
congested Hambantota town was bare and desolate.
Resurrection
Following on the heels of the tsunami waves, aid in cash and kind
from different quarters from both local and international agencies
came pouring in.
Vehicles loaded with food, dry rations, tents, medicines and clothes
etc. rushed to tsunami affected areas for the benefit of those
affected. These were distributed among the displaced - some of whom
were temporarily accommodated in temple and church premises, schools
and community centres.
The excitement and vigour of donors and helpers which rose
immediately out of the tsunami waves seems to have now waned. Still
there are camps and tents and refugees....living in unsanitary
conditions... hoping against hope that they would be able to once
again piece up together the broken strands of life and live a decent
life. Little children looking forward to normal school days again to
be equipped to face the future. What is the future of the youth in
tsunami affected areas poised to assume their place in society as
the next generation of leaders of the nation?
Lesson
"Our coast invited the tsunami" - man betrayed nature and nature
punished those guilty of it. It was evident that those who most
suffered were those who destroyed nature and its natural defences.
Mangroves, sand dunes, beach vegetation, coral reefs are among
natural treasures man plundered to erect structures which would
bring in monetary gains. The angry sea turned tables and the gains
were reduced to losses.
Heavy eco-system destruction were recorded from places where the
beach front features consisted of low stature sand dunes, cleared
areas, lagoons, outlets and bays. Modification of beach environment
for the construction of tourism facilities, boatyards, modified
water canals and settlements paid a heavy price.
Immediately after the tsunami, those in authority spoke about
erecting a green belt and a 100 or 200-metre buffer zone. Planting
of tropical trees suited to a marine ecosystem and the protection of
the coastline were under discussion.
Much research and rapid assessments were done on tsunami damage to
life and property and expenditures to be incurred estimated. It had
been reported that enough and more financial tsunami aid had flown
into the country from here and abroad. There were news reports and
pictures of outdated provisions being destroyed, medical drugs
stored indefinitely being unsuitable for human consumption,
materials in kind stagnating in store-houses and tsunami financial
aid unscrupulously drained into other avenues. Inequality in aid
distributions had been highlighted.
Restoration and rehabilitation work had been undertaken at intervals
to a certain extent...yet at snail space. There are questions that
the general public poses to those in authority and to those who
could make a difference to the lives of those innocent affected.
Has those in authority exercised maximum efforts to restore the
country back to normalcy? What of the nation's future? What action
has been taken to prevent natural disasters as colossal as the
tsunami recurring? How far is man educated and equipped to act in
instances of such disasters? How was the tsunami financial aid
utilised and those affected benefitted? How much of this planned and
proposed paper work being transferred into practical action?
One year has elapsed after the tsunami tidal waves swept our shores
and rolled inland... it's worthwhile to ponder as to whether
sufficient has been done so far for those affected and the country,
and where we actually are.
An expectant nation asks "when will all those tsunami tents
disappear and public life once again return to normalcy?".
|
|
|
