Japanese push for Lanka’s war on waterfront
NEGOMBO: Two Japanese men are neck deep in water at Sharks’
Cove opening a new front in Sri Lanka’s battle against one of its
biggest killers — water.
The two lifesaving experts have been teaching 16 men how to save
people from drowning, one of the island’s top causes of death.
Sharks’ Cove, or Morawala, in Negombo features a deceptively powerful
surf. According to legend, sharks once came to Morawala to give birth,
but there are no sightings now.
The sea claimed five lives here in May alone — swimming is not a
widely taught skill on the island — and the lifesavers are just getting
ready to wade into the water for their training session.
Unlike the Baywatch television series, the lifeguards do not use
hi-tech flotation devices, beach buggies, helicopters or power boats.
Instead, they deploy plastic shopping bags, beach buckets and empty
cola bottles as flotation aides. Their amber-painted surf boards are
locally made.
Satoshi Funahashi, the Japanese Red Cross country coordinator for Sri
Lanka, said they are spending a modest US $ 200,000 over three years to
build an army of lifesavers.
Members of the small Life Saving Association have saved 3,200 lives
since 1947, but say the number could have been higher if they’d had more
help.
“Official figures show about 1,500 people drown annually,” the
association’s vice president Piyadasa Silva said. “Lots of cases are not
reported and we think the actual number is much higher.”
That figure excludes the estimated 31,000 people who perished in the
December 2004 tsunami which devastated the coastline.
Many drown on Sri Lanka’s golden sandy beaches and in lagoons, lakes
and white water rapids. But they also drown in irrigation tanks,
hydro-electricity reservoirs and even in drinking water wells.
The high number of tsunami fatalities made authorities focus on
coming up with a water-safety programme.
“We’ll train trainers who will go back and train their communities
and create awareness,” Funahashi said as men displayed their new
lifesaving skills on a sunny morning at Sharks’ Cove.
“The idea is to develop a beach patrol eventually,” he said as the
men jumped into the choppy waters and dragged out colleagues acting as
“victims.”
Red Cross official Rajeew Gamage said they plan to offer basic
training to another 2,500 people while nearly 300 will undergo a more
advanced course.
“We initiated this work because there was no lifesaving in this
area,” Gamage said.
“What’s strange is that although Sri Lanka is an island, only a few
people can swim. Very few know the basics of first aid or lifesaving.”
Swimming is not taught in most schools. The popularity of Sharks’
Cove and a few other beach spots along the west coast inspired the local
Red Cross to ask for help from their Japanese counterparts in Chiba who
are renowned for their lifesaving skills.
“There’s a strong and a complicated current here and those who go sea
bathing can get into trouble,” says Mashio Kanjo, 55, the chief
instructor.
Kanjo’s co-trainer, Naoto Tsuda, 40, said their basic training for
locals should help them in case there is another tsunami. People are
taught to simply float. Learning to swim takes longer.
Kanjo says language has not been a barrier. “Most of the teaching is
through demonstration and gestures,” he said. “It has been easy to
communicate. Sri Lankans pick up very fast.”
Fisherman Shantha Basnayake, 41, said he had saved about 25 people
from drowning along Wattala and Negombo, but believes he could have done
more if he had the Japanese training before.
He and fellow lifesaver, Ruban Bosco, 22, saved two girls and two
boys from drowning last month.
“While playing cricket on the beach, we saw them getting dragged out
and the boys were not able to help the girls,” Basnayake said. “They
were lucky we happened to be there.”
AFP |