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| Thursday, 06 January 2005 |
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Playtime best cure for tsunami children by Simon Gardner, MULLAITTIVU, Sri Lanka (Reuters) Thousands of children whose lives have been upturned by Sri Lanka's worst natural disaster need two things above all, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund said on Monday - clean water and playtime.
The children of this tiny northeastern fishing village in Tamil Tiger rebel territory were either swept to their deaths by a savage tsunami a week ago, or were scooped out of the water and taken to the safety of refugee camps or relatives' homes inland. The trauma of losing parents, brothers and sisters will be with them for years. But playing with friends will help them recover, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told Reuters on a visit to the rebel-run north. "The biggest challenge is to make sure the children stay alive - to avoid the outbreak of disease. One of the biggest problems now is that the still water may be as dangerous as the rushing water that killed in the first place," Bellamy said.
Hundreds of freshwater wells along the coast were flooded with seawater, and brackish, stagnant water needs to be pumped out of them. Sri Lanka was grappling with mosquito-borne dengue even before the tsunami, but there are as yet no signs of major epidemics of illnesses like malaria. "What children mostly need in a traumatic situation such as this is some normalcy, because this was so abnormal," Bellamy added. "Normalcy means being back with family members ...- being able to play, that's what children like to do. Going to school. That's the best thing." Rescue officials say a disproportionate number of children and women were among around 30,000 people killed when giant waves crashed into the Indian Ocean island's southern, eastern and northern shores on Dec.26. They were weaker swimmers and slower runners than adults who survived. The government says so many children have been orphaned that it has appealed for doctors, psychologists and paediatricians to pitch in and give counselling. "Counselling will help. But it isn't a matter of counselling as such," Bellamy said. THE CRUELTY OF PEACE Clutching puzzle pieces at a refuge for children in the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi, 35 miles (55 km) due west, nine-year-old Duwani was one of the lucky ones. Eighty of her schoolmates were swallowed up by the tsunami. She just wants to play. "I like games very much," she said shyly in her native Tamil, as Bellamy inspected a home for mentally disabled children that has been converted into a makeshift refuge for 36 children. Duwani's school, back in Mullaittivu, like the rest of the village, was decimated. Adults who depended on the local fishing industry are having to cope with deeper trauma. Many had already been displaced from their homes during the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) two-decade war for autonomy. Many had only returned to their homes after a ceasefire was agreed three years ago, fuelled by hopes of lasting peace after a civil war that killed 64,000 people. Sections of wall left standing near the beach are pockmarked by bullets fired in the 1990s. "What is particularly tragic about this particular location, is that many people had come back here when the peace process started," Bellamy said. "So it's a war and then some hope, and devastation again. It doesn't seem fair." Tensions between the Tigers and the government had reached fever pitch in the weeks before the tsunami, and the rebels had threatened to go back to war unless they were given autonomy. But both sides are collaborating now they have a common enemy to fight as they rebuild destroyed lives, and Bellamy sees a window of opportunity to put an end to war and to rebel recruitment of children as soldiers. "One should look for opportunity from adversity," she said. "I would hope both the government and the LTTE could take advantage of this unfortunate, terrible situation, and perhaps engage in more dialogue." |
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