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| Thursday, 20 January 2005 |
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How Southern settlements were wiped off the map by W. T. J. S. Kaviratne, Ambalangoda special correspondent
During my frequent visits immediately after tsunami to the worst affected Southern coastal villages of Akurala, Kahawa, Seenigama, Thelwatta, Urawatta and Madampagama, situated inbetween Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa, I had the opportunity to listen to harrowing experiences of both the young and the old who miraculously escaped the monstrous tidal waves. Just like the scenes from a horror film, those who survived recounted their bizarre experiences. Akurala is a coastal village in the Galle district famous for its lime industry and these villagers have been engaged in mining both the seabed and the landside for lime stones for generations.
People of Akurala and Wenamulla villages believe that there are hundreds of bodies in the deep abandoned lime pits. Some of the pits closer to the road are full of rubble. The whole area is completely polluted by the partly buried bodies of tsunami victims. Rannulu Samanthika (33) who was widowed after her husband was killed by a villager of Akurala over a land dispute in 2000, has been leading a very miserable life due to poverty. She has to feed and educate five children. I came across this family in the welfare centre of Batapola Central College located in the Ambalangoda Divisional Secretariat area. Her children Sasanka Kumara (6), H. Nikini Priyadharshini (8), H. Sumith Kumara (11) and H. Sameera Kumara (13) had narrowly escaped death when their tiny house was washed away by the tidal waves.
Samanthika used to weave coir rope and earn a few rupees for daily expenses. She was at a house in an adjoining village called 'Duwa', during the first flow of water while her children were at her own house. Her eldest son H. Sameera Kumara is a student of Kahawa Rathanasara Vidyalaya and knows to swim. He was able to rescue his small brother Sasanka Kumara and bring him to a safer location on a wooden plank by rowing it over the waves of water, according to the other neighbours who witnessed this life saving attempt. The other children were rescued by the people, when they were found on a roof top. Janandani Dharmawickrama (38) works as a clerk in the Balapitiya courts. During the crisis, she was in a bus passing Ahungalla. Due to the flow of water the bus ran off the road and landed on a parapet wall and she escaped with other passengers by running towards a hill. On her return home to Akurala she could not find her mother Dadimuni Ayra Mendis (69) but found the house damaged. Her body was found on the afternoon of December 27 on the rail track near a signal post about a kilometre away from the house. On hearing the shouts, the mother had run away with cash amounting to five lakhs of rupees kept in a bag. Her body was found with the bag round her neck without the cash. Even the dead woman's ID was shown to me found by the people who discovered her body. Dead woman's daughter, Janandani, believes that her mother was strangled to death to get the money.
During their absence, their almirah at home which was kept locked, was hacked and jewellery worth more than one and a half lakhs of rupees was removed. A spate of robberies had taken place in all the coastal villages faster than even the tidal waves, according to the villagers. Arnaud Dupont - a French national who escaped tidal waves at Akurala provides humanitarian assistance to rebuild the lives of the villagers of Akurala. Arnaud Dupont first arrived in Sri Lanka in 2000 and since then he has been a regular visitor to Akurala. He has served two years as a soldier in the French army. The serene atmosphere which prevailed on the beach stretch with a lesser number of tourists, the inherently friendly nature of the simple village folk of Akurala and the presence of sandy reef were the factors that attracted Dupont to Akurala. On the day of tsunami, Arnaud was having his morning cup of tea before breakfast around 9.30 at 'Sunny Guest' a newly built two storeyed building still found with few damages on the landside of Akurala. This was the only building found at Akurala, after the tidal waves engulfed the coastal stretch. He saw people on the beachside running towards the landside over the parapet wall of the guest house, instead of coming through the gate. Hundreds of people on the beach both children and women were seen caught up by the first flow according to Arnaud. First flow was seen gradually getting higher in reaching the land. After about 10 minutes, when the water subsided upto waist level Arnaud could rescue many of the people struggling in the submerged garden of the guest house and beyond it. Over 30 people were rescued by Arnaud before the arrival of the second tidal wave. French embassy personnel contacted Arnaud after five days and enquired from him whether he wished to go back to France and offered free tickets for the purpose but he refused. Arnaud continued stay at Akurala and making arrangements to rebuild Akurala with the assistance he was optimistic of obtaining from his friends in France. His father who was a technician of manufacturing equipment required for dentistry in France had already contacted the members of the Dentists' Association to obtain funds to rebuild Akurala on the request of Arnaud. An organisation comprising the residents of Akurala called 'Challenge Akurala,' had been formed by him. Funds collected from France through this organisation will be utilised in improving the living conditions, infrastructure and the economy of the people of Akurala, Arnaud further said. |
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