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Sri Lankans work across religious lines to help with recovery

Jan. 10, 2005

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org

An ACT Report
By Rainer Lang

BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (UMNS) - Abdul Mahid stands looking at what is
left of his house. Unlike his neighbors, he is not searching through the
rubble - all that remains of his home.

"More than 50 of my neighbors died," he says. He is still dazed at
having escaped the force of the waves with his life.

Abdul Mahid lived and owned a store in Kattandkudy in Batticaloa, on the
east coast of Sri Lanka. Like other shop owners in the area, he lived
close to the beach. Whole areas of his town and villages nearby were
obliterated by the tsunami that crashed into the coastline Dec. 26.

In this part of town, the Muslim Quarter, 1,000 residents have been
confirmed dead, says the Rev. Nadarajah Arulnathan, who is coordinating
area relief efforts for the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka - a
member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together International.

For this Methodist pastor, the sea is now something to fear. The tsunami
claimed the lives of his sister and 18 other relatives.

"I get afraid when I see the sea," he says. But he has little time to
think and reflect on the devastating impact of the giant waves. From
early in the morning, until late at night, he is busy organizing
disaster relief.

The National Christian Council/ACT is heading the coordination of
medical assistance to 10 camps in the Batticaloa area, where about 5,500
were killed. Five of the camps are in fact church buildings - all packed
with people sleeping on thin mats on the bare floor. They had no time to
grab anything; they simply fled for their lives and now have nothing but
the clothes they are wearing. About 1,400 have sought shelter in the
Pentecostal church and 1,800 in the Methodist church.

"It is a big challenge to feed them," Arulnathan says.

A truckload of relief items, including food and clothes, was dispatched
Jan. 6 to the Batticaloa region to supplement what had already been
distributed to people displaced by the disaster.

Suganthi Manarotathan says that there are not enough mats, clothes and
bottles for the babies. The 23-year-old woman has two small children and
is staying in the Pentecostal church.

But there are also the orphans who need care, Arulnathan says. He is
caring for two children whose family died in the disaster.

He is pleased that nothing beyond logistical challenges have stood in
the way of relief efforts in the area - not caste, ethnicity or
religious affiliations. "People help each other," he says, describing
how Muslims, Buddhist and Christians have all come together to respond
to the emergency.

"But people are not ready to go back," Arulnathan says. The survivors
were traumatized, and some people suffered such severe shock that they
have not even come forward to ask for assistance, he says.

"People do not talk much at the moment," he says, adding that they need
trauma counseling. "Some ask themselves why they could escape. And then
there is nobody to help them identify those who died."

The people have been suffering for years, the pastor says. "They were
affected by the 20-year long civil war, by regular floods (such as) the
ones in the last three months, and now by the tsunami."

All of this is made worse by the fact that many people are still
missing. The huge waves carried people for long distances, and many may
still be covered by sand where they eventually came to rest. Some areas
are still not accessible because of the danger of landmines that were
washed out from the military camps and spread randomly. Whole areas must
be cleared of these mines first.

The sheer scope of the work that remains is staggering - and clearing
the compound of one of the Methodist churches close to the town is only
one of many tasks still to be undertaken. Beyond the church compound
lies a wasteland.

*Lang works for Diakonie Emergency Aid/ACT International. This story was
provided by Action by Churches Together at
http://act-intl.org/news/dt_nr_2005/dtsrilanka0305.html. ACT is a global
alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and
support communities in emergencies worldwide.

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United Methodist News Service
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