I went to the church to help distribute food and clothing. The packages are being taken to a Buddhist temple where homeless families have been staying.
While I was there, I talked to two women, Visaka and Sandomali, both of whom came from Galle, on the south western coast of Sri Lanka.
Visaka’s uncle was swept into the sea, and all her relatives are now homelss. Their houses no longer exist in any form – not even any rubble left to indicate where their homes once were.
Sandomali’s aunts and uncles and cousins are all gone. All. The village she grew up in is completely gone.
Everyone I spoke to at church lost someone, whether friend or relative. No one is untouched.
While I was gone, the editor of the magazine I write travel magazines called. He told Fahim about two women, Emma and Julianna, who also work for the magazine. They were down in Galle, and when they saw the tsunami coming, they scrambled onto some rocks. They were there for two days. They’re fine now, just dehydrated.
His wife’s friend was with her family at a beach. They saw the tsunami coming and ran for their vehicle. His wife’s friend was the only one to not reach the vehicle in time. The car was swept away, and her entire family is gone.
Catherine, another writer for the magazine, is married to a Sri Lankan, also from Galle. Her husband went to check on his relatives in Galle, only to find that everyone he knew – all his relatives, friends, neighbors, are all gone. All the property is gone. Everything.
I’m too drained right now to update statistics. All I want to do is go bawl like a baby. I’m tired. And I have lost no one and lost nothing. I can’t begin to imagine how everyone else feels.
