26th January 2005

Akkaraipattu, Sri Lanka.

TSUNAMI STATISTICS CURRENT @ 24th JANUARY 2005

	Sri Lanka	My Area
Deaths	30957	10436
Missing	5637	876
Injured	15196	313
Displaced People	392048	75492
Temporary Camps	322	82
Damaged Houses – Fully	78199	29077
Partially	40911	n/a
Number of children losing both parents	896	164
Number of children losing one parent	3202	954

Dear Friends,
First of all let me say sorry for not being in touch sooner, but as you can probably imagine, we have been working crazy hours, 7 days a week, although there are some signs appearing that it might be starting to calm down a bit. My colleague Nazza and I came back to Akkaraipattu on the 5th of January and I was pleased to get back. We went to Colombo after being lifted out of Arugam Bay by helicopter and I think that was the right thing to do. A few days of rest and calming down after the tsunami were definitely needed. But it seemed to me that we were running away when our friends and colleagues were still in Akkaraipattu having nowhere else to go. But whilst in Colombo we were able to launch our own appeal as you know, and I have been amazed at the response we have had. Not only have friends, business colleagues, rugby clubs and players been in touch, but also people we don’t even know who have been passed a copy of the e-mail from those I have sent it to. I don’t know what the exact tally is yet as cash is still coming in and more is on its way. But between us we must have some 30000 pounds so far. People are so generous and we are so grateful to you all. We haven’t started spending any of it yet as I think I explained, we plan to use the money when people start to be resettled and begin rebuilding their lives.

When we got back, the problem was to find some job where we could be of help. With me being an accountant and Nazza a lawyer, we were not best equipped to help in setting up camps, putting in toilets and water or in dispensing emergency medical aid. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, aid agencies were arriving, rushing to an affected area and getting on with those tasks. That was the right thing to do at the time but, after a few days, it was obvious that a more co-ordinated approach was necessary to avoid shortages of aid in one area and a surplus in another. The UN assumed the role of the lead agency in the district and they asked us if we would set up and run an information and co-ordination centre for Ampara District and that is what we have been doing with the help of 2 UN staff. At the moment we have 52 international aid agencies from 18 different countries, as well as a 220 strong contingent of the Canadian Army and the various UN agencies, working in the District. Trying to get them to talk to each other, to co-operate and co-ordinate with each other and with national and local government agencies has not been the easiest task although this was not from a lack of will but as a result of their having too few people. When support staff started to arrive, the situation improved and regular meetings are now held between sector groups (e.g., Water & Sanitation, Food, Shelter, Health etc).

Our main job now is collecting information from the many camps temporarily (we hope) housing the displaced people and trying to satisfy daily needs by contacting those organisations who can meet them. It’s pleasing to report that the Tamil Tigers here are co-operating well with the relief agencies and Government, helping Muslims and Sinhalese as well as Tamils. In fact, the District Secretary in Akkaraipattu has handed over to them local government responsibility for relief operations even though this is supposed to be an area under Government control. Although the Tigers have committed many atrocities during both the war and the cease fire, in some things one has to admire them. They are extremely disciplined, can get things organised and achieved and don’t suffer from the bureaucracy of the Government. As for me, I am ok.

I don’t have nightmares about the events and I sleep ok. Although, at night when it’s quiet, I can hear the sea from my house and I sometimes feel a little apprehensive asking myself whether the waves breaking sound louder than usual. It took me 10 days before I could face going to the beach nearest me. When I got there I couldn’t recognize it. No fishing boats; no fishermen’s shacks; many palm trees and houses down; the road has gone and debris everywhere. It looked like a scene from World War 3. Its quite amazing really that the damage in all the affected areas extends for only about 500/600 meters from the sea. But the devastation in that area is total. The furthest the water reached inland was 3 kilometres at Yala East National Park, about 35 miles south of us, where it is fairly flat. Being a park, it is sparsely populated though the park tourist bungalow was wiped out and 12 Japanese tourists and their guides died. But no dead animals have been found. We are told that animals can hear or feel ultra sound which humans cannot (or we have lost the ability) and could therefore sense that something was happening and fled the area.

As far as the general situation is concerned, we appear to be coming to the end of the 1st phase of supplying emergency aid and relief. Roads have been patched up and temporary bridges installed so relief is getting through. Although there are some areas where relief so far is inadequate, by and large the displaced people are being sheltered in temples, mosques, schools, in the remaining refugee camps and in temporary tented camps. Water supplies have been organised and some sanitation facilities have been installed although not nearly enough as yet. They are being fed. The Government’s immediate objective now is to move out the people housed in schools into other camps so that schooling in the affected areas can restart being the 1st step in returning to a degree of normality especially for the children. The target date for achieving that was initially the 17th, then the 24th and now the 31st of January. The main problem is identifying land where permanent resettlement can take place so that temporary camps can be put up there or in the vicinity. There is nothing the aid agencies can do about this as it is a job for national and local government and, as usual, this is taking a long time. At first, the Government said there would be no rebuilding within 600 meters of the sea. They have since backtracked on this decision but haven’t yet stated what the new limit will be. So far, at least in this area, very little clearing up has been done and the physical effects of the tsunami are still very evident.

There are still many missing people and I guess a lot of these will be found when the clean up starts and that’s not going to be a pleasant job. The people will then need help with starting up their livelihoods again. On my beach for example, there were 24 fishing boats of which 22 are completely destroyed and most nets have been lost. People like these now have no homes, no possessions, no equipment and no insurance. Regeneration will be costly and take a long time. Once again, thanks for getting in touch. At times like this it’s so good to know that you are all thinking of us in Sri Lanka and are prepared to help.

I will give further reports from time to time but goodbye for now.

John.

2nd January 2005

 

Here’s my story and an appeal for help. I’m sure you will pass it on to the lads and to anyone else you think can help. I am going back to Akkaraipattu on Wednesday to start helping with the clean up operations. In the mean time it’s pouring hard there and many of the refugee camps are flooded. As if these people haven’t suffered enough.

On Christmas Eve together with a work colleague, I went to Aragum Bay which is a small resort on the south eastern coast of Sri Lanka about 1 hour from were we live for a few days Christmas break. At 9.10am on Boxing Day morning we were caught in the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka with such devastating effect. I was taking a shower when I heard the most tremendous noise (which I realized afterwards was the sound of fishing boats from the beach crashing into the guesthouse), people were screaming and shouting and water started to rush into the room. I grabbed a towel, ran outside and saw the massive wave that was approaching. Fishing boats, fridges, furniture and debris from the fishermen’s shacks were flying around everywhere and I was almost submerged but managed to reach a boat that was miraculously still floating at the same time as my colleague Nazza.

Just nearby was a van that had been traveling along the road when caught by the water and was filling fast and about to be turned over by the water rushing in it. We were able to help the family out through the windows and into the boat and climbed in ourselves. One of the local fishermen had also climbed into the boat and managed to keep hold to a tree so we weren’t thrown into buildings or other obstacles. Then as fast as it came in, the water started to recede and people, boats, trees and debris were swept back into the ocean but our fisherman managed to hold on until the water had gone. Amazingly I still had my towel and was able to avoid upsetting the locals too much by my otherwise naked state. Astonishingly, the sea had retreated some 600/700 meters from the original shoreline exposing the seabed and people, thinking it was all over, were going back to the beach area to salvage whatever they could and to look for their families. But it wasn’t over and out in the ocean a new wave was forming and starting to break some 2 kilometers from shore. This time we could see what was happening and was able to run to higher ground.

There were 6 or 7 waves in total arriving at about 5/7 minute intervals. Fortunately, the 1st wasn’t the biggest otherwise more people would have died. The largest was in fact the 6th and just about finished off any structures still standing. Together with the villagers and about 50 tourists we spent the rest of the day and that night on high ground. Many had suffered severe injuries and apart from a holidaying Danish nurse no medical help was available although a local detachment of the Special Task Force (Sri Lanka commandos) brought in some medical supplies like bandages and painkillers. People were wandering up and down looking for loved ones and friends and there was some joy as people were reunited and much anguish as the next body brought in was recognized as a dead husband, wife or child. It was heartbreaking to see how many of the dead were children.

To get to Aragum Bay you have to cross a lagoon by a bridge that had been washed away so there was no way out by road. But on Monday morning a helicopter from the Sri Lanka Air Force arrived and started taking out the injured then families and finally people like me. Before we left, the family that we had helped from the van turned up to say thanks for helping. They had no need to do that of course but I was very moved that they had taken the trouble to find us. Looking back now it’s hard to understand how I survived with just a few scratches and so many others died or were badly injured. Had I been a further 30 seconds in my room I would not have got out. Had the wave taken us one-way and not the other, we would not have got to the boat. Had our fisherman not been so strong we would have been swept out to sea. And so it goes on, all these little things added together that enabled us to survive. Nazza and I have lost friends.

A German girl I know was on the back of my motorbike on Christmas Day when we went to see the crocodiles in the lagoon. On Boxing Day she was dead and her partner in despair that he hadn’t been able to save her. Almost everyone we work with has suffered deaths in their families. You have seen the pictures on your televisions and believe me; in the coastal villages the devastation is massive. We can do nothing for the dead. But we can help the survivors. In the wave I lost my motorbike, my mobile, my glasses and everything else I had with me at the time. But I’m in a position to replace those things. As in all these tragedies it is the poor that suffer the most. In Akkaraipattu where I live and other villages in Ampara District, it is the poor living in palm thatch shacks that have suffered the deaths and totally lost the little they had before. We can help the survivors but we need cash and that is why Nazza and I are appealing to our friends in Italy and UK for help. As an example of the situation, I include an extract from an e-mail appeal written by Jaufar who is one of our work colleagues. He sums it up very well.

I am forwarding this request letter on behalf of the earthquake-affected people of my village of Maruthamunai situated in the eastern coastal belt of Sri Lanka consisting of nearly 20,000 people. On 26th December at 8.35am an earthquake hits the entire village and seawater submerged entire village for 2 hours. It has brought untold hardships to the community. So far 1000 dead bodies are recovered only from my village and I have lost nearly 20 family members. More than 15,000 people are evacuated and kept at many refugee camps in and around the area. People need food and clothes immediately. And now its rain started and shelter for them is a severe problem. Since this earth quake hits all over the island, government machines are not in a position to support the people well.

Jaufar wrote that the day after the wave. As of today, 2734 bodies have been recovered in his village.

The situation now in Ampara District. The area where we work has been the most affected by the tsunami. The tolls are around 9000 bodies recovered so far in Ampara District. Some 180,000 people have had to be relocated to schools, temples, mosques and refugee camps. All the villages along the coastline, including the few roads, have been devastated. In an email to day Jaufar writes: Food and clothes are immediate needs that has been addressed to some extent with the help of local communities. Within another couple of weeks time people will need more supports for the reconstruction of their shelters. As I understand the situation, this huge task has to be started by the government. This process will take decades for government. So what I require from the philanthropists is to assist our area people for a short term solution.

HE IS RIGHT!!! And I can add the level of devastation is beyond any imagination. So I am asking all of you to send whatever you can in financial support that myself, Nazza and Jaufar can use to buy basic items that people will need within two/three weeks to shelter their families and start up again. We will put the money to use in the Ampara District, the most affected area. I work there, and the humanitarian organizations we work with have outstanding reputations. They will let Nazza and me directly administer any money you send. Nazza and I are the 1st donors to this appeal and as you read this a consignment of milk powder, water purification tablets and blankets are on their way to our village. We will personally make sure that every penny we receive goes directly to those in need that have been hit by this disaster. Remember that over here, 1 pound can buy locally 10 pounds worth of goods so even small amounts can make a real difference. Please forward this appeal to friends, business colleagues, clubs, associations etc. that you think can help. It would probably be a good idea to include an introduction from yourself saying that you know me, that the appeal is genuine and not a scam (what a sad thing to have to say but that’s the times we live in).
Thanks for your help, John Ramsey

Details of how to give were included in John’s report but they may now be out of date so are not included here

14/11/2004

Hi from Paradise Island,
I trust all is well with you all and you are not suffering too much with the cold. Here it seems the same every day  bloody hot although our rainy season has just started so it should get a bit cooler for a couple of months.
Its now 8 months since I arrived in Sri Lanka and I guess my life is settling down into something of a regular pattern. Just like in UK, I work Mon-Fri although weekends are somewhat different from home. Anyway, I thought I would try and give some idea of life for me here.

Country Background
When I was asked by VSO if I would go to Sri Lanka I jumped at the chance to live and work in what I saw as a tropical island holiday destination. The beaches are just as one imagines. Swaying coconut palms, white sand and shimmering water – the ideal escape from bleak northern winters. Sri Lanka also boasts 7 world heritage sites and 12 major game and nature reserves inhabited by leopards, elephants, monkeys, crocodiles and deer plus dozens of bird species. However, all this masks the reality of life for most of Sri Lankas people. In the 60s and 70s Sri Lankas economy was comparable to those of Singapore and South Korea. But 20 years of civil war has stifled economic growth and inward investment and diverted Government social spending to the war effort and Sri Lanka is now truly a 3rd world country. Today, although there has been a cease fire in operation for the last 2 years, no peace agreement has yet been signed.  The new government elected 6 months ago is talking about holding peace talks and everybody hopes the LTTE (Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam- the Tamil Tigers) will not lose patience. You may have heard or read of the recent bomb explosion at a Colombo police station. It was a female Tiger suicide bomber and was presumably meant to show the government that the Tigers are still a force to be taken seriously. The last thing this country needs is a resumption of hostilities.

My Area
The north and east are effectively under the control of the LTTE and the area where I live in the south east suffered grievously in the war. It resulted in there being 4600 war widows, 2700 ex detainees and 1700 disappeared. 2200 still live in refugee camps and 75% of the locals are living below the poverty line. Apart from poverty, one of the main problems in the surrounding villages is lack of water and sanitation.
I went to a village school the other day where one of the NGOs is working on putting in a well. At the moment there are 270 kids and no water or toilets. One of the locals gave us lunch at their house. Only 2 rooms, mud floor, thatch roof which is not watertight, no water except from the river, no gas or electricity and problems with elephants eating their crops.  Lunch was very simple but I never cease to wonder how it is that people with virtually nothing are happy to share what little they have with you. Whereas the richer we are the less likely we are to want to share anything.
The area is one of the main rice growing parts of Sri Lanka and at this time of year the paddy fields are a bright green carpet. We will soon be coming up to the time of the 2nd crop of the year and the fields will then be full of coolies gathering in the harvest and giving them some hard earned wages. Harvest times provide the only occasions for most of the villagers to earn a bit of cash and lose a finger or two through careless use of the knife.
I live in Akkaraipattu on the south east coast, which at 10 hrs from Colombo is about as remote from the capital as you can get. Its a lively town of about 20000 which because of the war has become ethnically divided. Tamils (Hindu) live on one side of the main road through town and Muslims on the other. Both are Tamil speaking ethnic minorities with Tamils forming 18% of the population and Muslims about 9% with both being concentrated in the north and east (the rest of the country comprises Sinhalese who are mainly Buddhist). There is little interaction between the 2 groups however. We have for example 2 post offices  1 Muslim and 1 Tamil. Tamils go to Tamil shops and Muslims to theirs. Muslim kids go to Muslim schools and Tamils to theirs.
Sri Lankan army Special Task Force camps surround the area but dont interfere in normal daily life although the other day just outside town they did pick up a couple of Tigers armed with grenades and hand guns. This week a visiting anti LTTE politician was shot and killed in the middle of town at 2 in the afternoon. Despite a police escort a Tiger guerilla managed to bump him off and disappear into the local market.
No supermarket in town just a collection of small local shops selling local produce. We get coconuts, pineapples and bananas all year and mangoes, mangosteens, papaya, passion fruit, guavas, rambutan (like lychees), etc when in season. The local fishermen sell their catch in the market and one can buy from shark and tuna to a small fish like whitebait
which I particularly like. The butchers shops are quite off-putting  open fronted stalls with meat hanging up covered in flies. Goat from Tamil butchers and beef from Muslim. No pork from either of course. No cuts of meat, they just carve off a chunk which needs marinating for 24 hours and then cooking for hours but its still pretty tough. Going to the chicken stall in the market is quite an experience. He will kill you a chicken, skin it and gut it in about 3 minutes but its the tastiest protein around in my view. Local bread is good but the cakes could use a bit of imagination. Fresh milk is available but there is no chilling or pasteurising facility and its expensive. Most people use powered milk including me.
What I do enjoy is buffalo curds which are like Greek yoghurt and I have it with fresh fruit, honey or coconut treacle. The only blot on all this is my lack of culinary skills. Im no Jamie Oliver.
Daily temperatures seem to hover between 30c to 35c with 95% humidity and it doesnt get much cooler at night. Unfortunately there is no air conditioning in Akkaraipattu but all houses and offices have ceiling fans which are reasonably efficient if you sit under one. I keep mine on in the bedroom to get a good sleep at night. But I seem to be getting used to the climate and no longer find it too oppressive.
Im just about getting used to driving on the roads here. I guess most mornings I almost kill about 3 locals as they have absolutely no road discipline. Apart from cows and goats wandering up the high street, pedestrians will blithely step out in front of you and look at you in astonishment when you screech to a halt. Trishaws will shoot out of side roads without looking or stopping. In town a stretch of the main road is dual carriage way although you wouldn’t think so. Riders and drivers will use whatever side suits them. There is also 1 roundabout which is a most hairy experience as again bikes, motorbikes, busses and trucks will go whichever way or direction is shortest for them. If any of these were dropped on the M25 they would be dead in 5 minutes.

My Work
I work for the National Forum of Peoples Organisations which is a Colombo based NGO (Non Government Organisation) and its essentially an umbrella body dedicated to improving the capacity of its member NGOs. So I work with 4 member NGOs based in Akkaraipattu. Each of my NGOs has essentially the same aims of peace promotion, poverty alleviation,
improving ethnic relations, running pre schools, vocational training, health counseling, installing communal wells and toilets etc.
My work entails helping with funding proposals to be presented to international donors such as Unicef, Unhcr, EU, Oxfam, Save the Children etc and with reporting back to donors with all proposals and reports being in English of course. At the same time Im helping to improve basic accounting and financial controls. None of the NGOs has computerised accounting so at the moment Im putting in some Excel spreadsheets whilst researching cheap and reliable software packages available in Sri Lanka. Each of my NGOS has its own micro credit scheme with all details of loans, savings and interest for up to 2500 account holders kept completely manually.
There is certainly enough to keep me busy for some time. Management culture is completely different from in the West with no manager seemingly able to take decisions. All decisions are taken in committee so that no one individual is responsible for mistakes or failures. Work moves at a much slower pace than in the West and it certainly takes ages to get anything done.
We get loads of days off though with all Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian festivals recognised as well as Poya (full moon) Days of which of course there is 1 every month.   I am a little envious of other VSO workers in Sri Lanka though especially those in education and medicine who work directly with beneficiaries. I tend to be mostly office bound but one can only do that which ones experience and training allows one to do. Social Life   Its certainly very different from UK. Whoever would have thought I would spend Saturday night doing my ironing. No bars or restaurants in town just a few greasy spoon cafes. All have the same rice and curry menu and the hygiene standards leave a lot to be desired. They make most British transport caffs seem like the Savoy Grill. But they are cheap with rice and curry costing around 20p. There is a cinema showing only Tamil films but an experience never the less. Plenty of mosques, Hindu temples and 1 Methodist church. I live in the Muslim area close to a mosque and of course am woken at 5 in the morning by the 1st
call to prayer. Everybody here is friendly enough but my Tamil and their English is not really good enough to hold much more than rudimentary conversations in most cases. One of my neighbours is an English teacher and he likes to
discuss the differences and similarities between Islam and Christianity. My immediate  neighbour worked in Saudi Arabia and has reasonable English. His wife likes to ask about life for women in the west for being Muslim she has little freedom outside of the house. But they look after me giving me meals 2 or 3 times a week.   There is 1 other Westerner in town and we have dinner together once a week and usually go exploring together at weekends.
Once or twice a month we go to Aragum Bay for the weekend which is around 1hr 30min south by motorbike. A few hotels and western surfers. Good to talk to other westerners even if most are Aussies. I particularly enjoy wearing my Rugby World Champions t-shirt though.
Last Sunday we went on an elephant hunt. Plenty of poo and footprints but no elephants to be seen. But we did stumble upon a Tamil Tiger training exercise in the jungle and Im sure they knew we were around before we saw them as these guys are pretty professional. Fortunately they were friendly enough sharing hard boiled eggs and tea and even let us fire their Kalashnikovs which was a 1st for me.
Im certainly quite lucky with my job in that I get to Colombo and/or Kandy every 6 weeks for team meetings. In fact I returned on the overnight bus (9 hours) recently after spending 5 days in Colombo meeting friends, pigging out on western food and 1 or 2 beers of course. Whilst there I went to see a 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying game between Sri Lanka and Thailand. Sri Lanka managed to come from behind at half time to win 35-14. After having beaten India
previously they now go forward to the next round of matches. It may not have been too skilful but it was entertaining. Both sides had some speedy backs but the forwards lack the size and power to take on any of the majors. I guess any decent club side would have beaten either.
Living in the community rather than being a tourist does provide deeper insights into the culture of the country and allows you to see and live life as a local. Whilst its not always easy, with every day bringing a new experience, life is far from boring.

I would enjoy coming to another reunion lunch but my plans for the moment will see me out here for 2005. But if any of the guys want to come and stay with me for a couple of weeks and help out they will be more than welcome. We can only pay local wages though of 3000 rupees per month (about 15 pounds).

Regards to you all.

04/04/2004

Hi Bill and others

You asked for news from us so its greetings from me in Sri Lanka. I have been here a month now and I am out here with VSO (vso.org.uk) The 1st 3 weeks we spent in Colombo but have now moved to Kandy which must be the nicest town in Sri Lanka. Its centred around the lake and surrounded by rain forest covered hills. Its elevation at 500m means it less oppressive than Colombo.

Our first 6 weeks here are spent trying to learn some language – in my case Tamil – which is quite intensive and hard work (may be something to do with my age) .Then its off to our placements. I shall be going to work in Akkarapattu a small town on the south east coast mostly paddy fields and fishing. Some fabulous beaches and good surfing at Aragum bay about 1 hr south. Because of the civil war there have been no tourists to the east so it remains quite unspoilt.
It will be interesting to live in an area effectively under the control of the Tamil Tigers.

I’m not too sure yet exactly what my work will be but its likely to involve training in my skill area of financial management. I do know I will be working with 4 NGOs in the area engaged in the peace process and ethnic integration. I will give more details when I’m settled in over there.

Will close now as we off for a swim at the hotel next door – apparently was the British Governor’s summer residence in colonial days.
Cheers for now.

John