Vakarai comes alive

Text and Pix: Shanika SRIYANANDA

The strong waves that hit the Vakarai beach once were no more. The rise and fall of the blue ocean reminds the rise and fall of the LTTE in Vakarai. The area which was predominantly under the control of the LTTE is now looking forward for a facelift to end the poverty and resurrect men and women who had suffered for over two decades under the shadows of the LTTE.

Among other resources, the golden beaches of the East are having full potential to make the Eastern Province thrive. Vakarai beach is such a spot to attract tourists.

Improving daily

Sallathiv is another coastal area along the Vakarai beach where fish is relatively in abundance. With the security improving daily in the East, the seas have already attracted the fishermen in the South to have good `catches'.

Twenty eight-year-old Muththumalar has `migrated' to Sallathiv for a few months to earn more. More fisherfolk are coming to Sallathiv as it is totally safe to continue their livelihood. "We came here last month and hopefully we would live here for some months", said Muththumalar. She has two children. Her toddler, just one and half years old is learning her basic steps to walk independently in the beach.

The waves gently kissed little feet to make her feel safe as well as ours. We were a bunch of journalists from Colombo, whose hearts were still beating high and, eyes carefully scanning for `terras' (terrorists) were around and would our legs be blown off by a Jonney - anti-personnel mine buried by the LTTE.

Living

The small hut, covered with takaran sheets and thatched roof, was built some metres away from the sea as the family does not want to experience another tragedy - the tsunami.

Living with less facilities, the family is happy and confident that they could earn a good income at Sallathiv rather than Chilaw. "Earlier, we were hesitant to come here, but now people here are not scared as tight security prevails in these areas", Muththumalar said introducing her neighbour Sivaranjini.

An expectant mother, Sivaranjini came to Sallathiv with her husband and the small daughter two months back. Being a fisherman in Chilaw, her husband too had decided to come to the East as the daily catch there is more than in Chilaw.

Francis was about to leave for another struggle in the sea. These fishermen from Chilaw did not come here for fishing earlier, and they said that they did not dream of fishing in the East coast before it was liberated from the terrorists. Francis recalled some incidents where some fishermen `disappeared' in the seas off the East.

Own huts

"We knew that income and the catch is good here. But none from the South and even the fishermen from these areas did not do much fishing when the LTTE was here. But now our friends are coming here as the security is good", he enthused.These fishermen hope to stay Sallathiv until the season is over. "In Chilaw it is the off season. That is why we have decided to come here", Francis said.

These temporary residents, who do not have fences and demarcations to claim the land ownership, have erected their huts close to the beach as it facilitate them to safeguard their boats which are anchored along the beach.

From 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. they can fish, but night fishing is still restricted to them due to security reasons. Each fisherman earns a daily income of Rs. 2,000 to 3,000. Apart from selling fresh fish to mudalalies at the beach, they also trade their daily catch at the Valachchenai fish market, where fish is loaded to be sent to Colombo.

These fishermen's wifes who are experts at turning raw fish into dried fish, earn a sufficient income by making dried fish and Maldivian fish. More than its own inhabitants, these fishermen from the South see the potential of turning these unspoiled beaches into fine tourist destinations. The blue sea and the golden white sandy beaches of the East can be the lure to develop the once beaten land of terror. Deputy Minister of Tourism Faiszer Musthapha, who is keen to develop a well planned strategy to develop the tourism in the East, said that exploring the natural beauty of the Eastern region would help boost tourism in the region.

"They saw destruction and terror until the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government liberated them. They need development, and tourism can be the effective tool to rehabilitate the East", he echoed.

Master plan

In a fact-finding tour, Deputy Minister Musthapha, who joined the Chief Minister and the Minister of Tourism of the Eastern Province Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, has ensured the technical and capacity building support to draw a five-year-Master Plan to tap the potential coastal stretch of the region to convert into fine tourist destination.

The remnants of destruction of the decades long war still brings fear into one's minds.

But the development of new roads, new bridges, new houses and smiles of people in Vakarai and its beaches show that normalacy prevails in the region.

Like the fishermen in Chilaw, who are brave to `migrate' to the East, if local tourists start enjoying the unspoilt beaches, the Eastern Province will surely boom.