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| Monday, 24 January 2005 |
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Batticaloa picks up the pieces by Ranil Wijayapala in Batticaloa Clad in a palayakart sarong - unique to Batticaloa - and a white T-shirt Malliyanathan looks forlornly across the devastated land located close to famous Kalladi bridge, his eyes trying to search the traces of what was once his home.
Buried under mounds of sand carried along with the fury of the tsunami tidal wave, the Navaladi village which was once home to more than a 3,000 people located overlooking the lagoon made famous by its mythical singing fish, now resembles a desert. It seems a difficult task for Malliyanathan to trace the land on which he once dwelt. The palmyra palm fences which separated each dwelling having being swept away by the tsunami tide into the lagoon that fateful day in December. There only remained the foundation of his home as if it had stood in defiance against the giant battering. There was a trace of a smile on his face as if this sole remnant of his past existence offered a symbolic hope for rebuilding his life anew. "I have my land to put up a house and engage in fishing", Malliyanathan speaks after visiting his village two and half weeks after the disaster.
His youth and his lifetime friend, Sashikumar, who was standing by him, may have given the necessary strength to this 25-year-old father to bear the painful memories of losing his beloved wife and two children to the surging seas. Recalling the events of that fateful day Malliyanathan was confident, experience out at sea as a fisherman, was enough to ignore his four year old son's warning, 'Appa the sea is coming towards us'. It was too late by the time he realised that his knowledge on the vagaries of the sea accounted for little besides his little son's warning. The massive waves were bulldozing into the land, a story he had never heard even in his grandparents' time. But he didn't have time to react. Malliyanathan and his wife, couldn't find a way to run as they were trapped between the sea and the lagoon. The killer waves came from the tree tops engulfing all of them in their tiny land, only sparing Malliyanathan while his wife and the two children were swallowed by the waves. Out of a near 3,000 population in the Navaladi village only around thousand people survived from massive onslaught of the tidal waves on December 26. Everyone has a bitter story to relate in this area located in the horn of Batticaloa in the Eastern part of the country. Despite the traumatic memories, Malliyanathan courageously stands beside his friend, determined to return to his habitat and pick up the pieces of his shattered life. He is loath to part with his familiar surroundings of his village which he considers as the best place to continue his only livelihood known to him, fishing. Malliyanathan faces no problem in resettling in his own land as it is located 200 meters away from the sea. But he has to rethink a lot before resettling on the scene of the tragedy. According to Malliyanathan's neighbours who were digging through the mounds of sand to unearth whatever belongings they were receiving enough food from their Sinhala brethren, Government and NGOs at the welfare centres. They have medication, clothes, food and all other needs at the welfare centre. "We thought that Sinhala people were our enemies . But we realised that they were not. It was not our people in the Batticaloa town who helped us but the Sinhala people who came there from various parts of the country.The Army personnel also helped us", Wasanthi a neighbour of Malliyanathan tells. Wasanthi and her two teenaged children had saved their lives from the killer waves after climbing a tree top. Wasanthi too is anxious to return to her land. "We will come back to this place after we get at least a temporary shelter for us to live", she said. In the case of Wasanthi, she has her husband and the two children, to live for. But, it will be a big problem for Malliyanathan. "Who will be there at home to cook my meals once I come back to this place. My son won't be at home to welcome me saying 'appa' when I return home after going to sea for fishing". Malliyanthan's sentiments should raise many a question in the minds of those who are making efforts to resettle the people with painful memories in the same location where they had their bitter experiences. The environment at the welfare centres helps the people with bitter experience to keep their heads high and to keep their minds strong. It gives them a chance to share the limited resources they have, cook their meals together and live as one community. But what is the guarantee Malliyanathan will be able to live in this same mentality in his isolated home in Navaladi two three months after he resettles there. "There may be neighbours grieving over the demise of their loved ones at their isolated homes. The voices of the people pleading for help will haunt in our minds", Malliyanathan says to his friend. It is only but practical to assign first priority to help the children traumatised by their bitter experience. But can we ignore the sentiments expressed by Malliyanathan about his future? His sentiments suggest that his mind will be vulnerable to a nervous breakdown once he becomes isolated as an individual from the community he lived in. A huge responsibility devolves on relevant authorities seriously engaged in the task of resettling these people and the society at large to come out with the right formula on the most appropriate methods to be deployed in order to give these victims a feeling that they have not been abandoned by society . It will be a matter of ensuring the people saved from the tsunami tragedy to retain their mental equilibrium, rather than sending them over the edge through ad hoc management. |
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