Caritas commemorates tsunami anniversary

BY E. WEERAPPERUMA

CARITAS Sri Lanka - SEDEC on December 20 commemorated the First Year Tsunami Anniversary at national level at the BMICH with the participation of religious dignitaries representing Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Catholics and Christians.

The event was attended Apostolic Nuncio of Sri Lanka Archbishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Mario Zenari, Archbishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis, Bishop of Chilaw Rt. Rev. Dr. Frank Marcus Fernando, Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticoloa Rt. Rev. Dr. Kingsly Swamipillai, Bishop of Galle Rt. Rev. Dr. Harold Antony Perera, Priests, Nuns and Brothers, Minister Tissa Vitharana, UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya and the representatives of the families affected by the December 26th tsunami.

The distinguished invitees at the ceremony lit the memorial lamps in memoria honouring those killed by the disaster. The clergy representing the respective religions prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed and prayed for those who live with the experience of the tragic event.

In his address Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Mario Zenari recalled that the late Pope John Paul II, expressed his deepest sympathies during the "Angelus Prayer" and had appealed to the international community for solidarity for the affected people.

"Immediately in the days following, the Holy Father sent through the Pontifical Council `Cor Unum' and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the first financial aid US $ 500 million for the immediate basic needs of the tsunami victims and directed the rest to long-term projects through the local network, His Lordship said.

"In the midst of divisions, hatred and conflicts, a great wave of compassion and solidarity from the world constituted a light of hope for all humanity in our times. The principle of solidarity, highlighted by the primary of love, the distinguishing mark of Christ's disciples represented one of the fundamental principles of Christian view of social and political organisation," he said.

Addressing the commemorative meeting Secretary-General Caritas International Duncan MacLaren said the Organisation he represents was the social arm of the Catholic Church and pointed out that " as Catholics proud to have worked together with Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims as well as other Christians in rebuilding the communities which will have the opportunity better their life, reduce poverty and live in harmony together".

MacLaren said that there were lessons to learn from the disaster.

"There are two important lessons the tsunami teaches us. The first is that such natural disasters are blind to religion and ethnicity. Tamils and Sinhalese were swept away, as were Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Equally people of all religions and all races gave to the appeals to assist the survivors.

The group that suffered most was the poor, they who live at the edge of poverty were pushed over into misery. We must ensure that poor and the marginalised come out of the tragedy better and less vulnerable than they found themselves at the time. Caritas Sri Lanka will remain here to empower them and to ensure the funds remained used wisely for the benefit of those suffered", he added.

"We are not here just to build houses but homes where children will be decently brought up and family can be restored. We are not just building infrastructure such as hospitals and schools but the basics for a community that will care for one another and live in peace.

We are not just helping to reconstruct the society but look forward to a better society one that tries harder to get rid of extreme poverty that makes people more vulnerable to natural disaster, and live free of fear of war, death and destruction.

It is to create a world where all ethnic groups and all religious communities work for the common good", he said.