This quote was engraved on the Tsunami memorial in the town of Hikkaduwa where we are staying.
“On the 26th December 2004 the fury of nature erupted from the deepest recesses of the earth, unleashed a violent force in the form of a Tsunami that struck a wide part of South and South East Asia bringing destruction and death in its wake. Its fury knew no frontiers, no creed, no tribe and no nation”
We witnessed the remains of the Tsunami at first hand as we drove in – with boats still stranded in fields, foundations of houses in the grass but with their brick walls gone and the most poignant of all, remains of tiled kitchen sinks which had been left standing as the homes and people around them were washed away. Sri Lanka lost 50,000 people, many of whom were in this area, so it is another poignant moment as we sit in the evening on the very beach that was so badly hit. We were here for the 4th anniversary on Boxing Day and witnessed a Buddhist ceremony of commemoration just off the main road, including what we think were orphans of the tragedy praying along with Buddhist monks. Bizzarely, we were the only tourists present. Many of the people we have spoken to have shared their Tsunami stories about how they escaped by hanging onto trees or just running for their lives. The guest house where we are staying which is run by a British couple shut down for 11 months to help with the reconstruction effort, helping to build new homes, accommodating victims and generally helping the local community. They tell us that a lot of the aid money has been squandered and whilst some people got greedy and rich others never received a penny. It is evident that the thousands of homes that were destroyed have not all been replaced despite signs to KPMG village and the Coca Cola School, clearly set up with money raised at the time – but there is no evidence of this delivering real reconstruction. Such was the death toll in this area that there was no time for proper Buddhist rituals, the bodies had to be bulldozed into mass graves. But the beaches are beautiful and the natural environment has recovered well. Our guest house overlooks an inland saltwater lagoon and on the morning of the Tsunami their first sign of the tragedy was when the lagoon started to fill with debris such as fridges, cars, and rooftops. A large statue of Buddah has been raised in commemoration. This taller than the tall coconut palms that surround it and is reportedly the maximum height of the wave – if so then this is incredible, but it clearly explains the devastation. It is here at Hikkaduwa that the hundred’s of people died on the train. The train has only recently been removed. Our tuk tuk driver kept referring to the Tsunami damage as "everything very broken Sir" - this summed it up perfectly.
We also stayed in Unawatuna on the South Coast which was also devastated – looks like they haven’t learned too much – all the hotels that have been re built are right on the water line. But whilst some of the hotels have been sorted, even four years on, the homes are still not fully rebuilt.
“On the 26th December 2004 the fury of nature erupted from the deepest recesses of the earth, unleashed a violent force in the form of a Tsunami that struck a wide part of South and South East Asia bringing destruction and death in its wake. Its fury knew no frontiers, no creed, no tribe and no nation”
We witnessed the remains of the Tsunami at first hand as we drove in – with boats still stranded in fields, foundations of houses in the grass but with their brick walls gone and the most poignant of all, remains of tiled kitchen sinks which had been left standing as the homes and people around them were washed away. Sri Lanka lost 50,000 people, many of whom were in this area, so it is another poignant moment as we sit in the evening on the very beach that was so badly hit. We were here for the 4th anniversary on Boxing Day and witnessed a Buddhist ceremony of commemoration just off the main road, including what we think were orphans of the tragedy praying along with Buddhist monks. Bizzarely, we were the only tourists present. Many of the people we have spoken to have shared their Tsunami stories about how they escaped by hanging onto trees or just running for their lives. The guest house where we are staying which is run by a British couple shut down for 11 months to help with the reconstruction effort, helping to build new homes, accommodating victims and generally helping the local community. They tell us that a lot of the aid money has been squandered and whilst some people got greedy and rich others never received a penny. It is evident that the thousands of homes that were destroyed have not all been replaced despite signs to KPMG village and the Coca Cola School, clearly set up with money raised at the time – but there is no evidence of this delivering real reconstruction. Such was the death toll in this area that there was no time for proper Buddhist rituals, the bodies had to be bulldozed into mass graves. But the beaches are beautiful and the natural environment has recovered well. Our guest house overlooks an inland saltwater lagoon and on the morning of the Tsunami their first sign of the tragedy was when the lagoon started to fill with debris such as fridges, cars, and rooftops. A large statue of Buddah has been raised in commemoration. This taller than the tall coconut palms that surround it and is reportedly the maximum height of the wave – if so then this is incredible, but it clearly explains the devastation. It is here at Hikkaduwa that the hundred’s of people died on the train. The train has only recently been removed. Our tuk tuk driver kept referring to the Tsunami damage as "everything very broken Sir" - this summed it up perfectly.
We also stayed in Unawatuna on the South Coast which was also devastated – looks like they haven’t learned too much – all the hotels that have been re built are right on the water line. But whilst some of the hotels have been sorted, even four years on, the homes are still not fully rebuilt.
All in all, this was a very poignant reminder of how very lucky we are.
