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#21 |
The Will to Live: From the Sri Lanka Tsunami Site |
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On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck near Sumatra. Immediately following the earthquake, a massive tsunami hit over ten countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Over 280,000 are estimated to be dead or missing (as of March 2005). With this display of the indiscriminate destructive power of nature, we are reminded that our existence on this earth is precarious. Just three months later, on March 28, 2005, another large earthquake occurred near the original epicenter in the ocean off of Sumatra causing further damage in the affected regions.
Chitose Noguchi, the National Director for CARE Japan (2005.7-, CARE International Japan),, a Think the Earth NGO partner, was in Sri Lanka assisting the project to improve the quality of life on plantations when the tsunami struck. Ms. Noguchi spoke about her experiences and what she learned from the relief efforts in the stricken areas immediately after the tsunami. In particular, she talked about the human will to live and how international cooperation NGOs should provide support.
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SRI LANKA : Districts Affected by Tsunami |
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 Severely Affected  Mildly Affected  Not Affected
 Areas CARE is responding |
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Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island located at the tip of India. The tsunami impacted an area from Jaffna in the north to Batticaloa and Trincomalee in the east and all the way south to Galle. The tsunami took about 31,000 lives and victimized an additional 500,000 while completely destroying 78,000 homes and partially destroying another 40,000.
We stayed at a hotel located on high ground on the way between Galle in the south to the capital, Colombo. The hotel was surrounded by rocks about seven to ten meters tall.
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Sunset one day before the tsunami struck * |
Sunset on Christmas day, the day before the tsunami hit, was very beautiful and held no hint of what was to come.
At 9:30 a.m. on the morning of the 26th, just as I was enjoying coffee on the balcony, the ocean started to swell. Something seemed wrong. I've been told that the tsunami looked different in different places, but it appeared to us as though the ocean was swollen. Then the waves became rougher. The waves began to break and the third big wave washed into the lobby of the hotel on high ground. It looked like all of the tall rocks surrounding the hotel were underwater. After about 15 minutes, the water receded. We weren't sure what had happened.
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The tsunami knocked over the coconut trees |
We thought that some people might have died because what had seen was so severe. Because the hotel generator flooded out when the wave hit, we didn't know what happened, as the radio, TV, and telephone were out. After a while, we began receiving pictures from the BBC news. As we watched the images of the water swallowing up people, trains, and buses, we just couldn't believe that this was all happening around us. We couldn't leave the hotel until the next day.
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| The tall rocks around the hotel were completely underwater |
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The water completely receded by the next day * |
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The foundation of a school |
When we finally emerged from the hotel, what first caught our eyes were bricks that marked where a school once stood. Everything had been swallowed by the ocean. The scenery was surreal. Bricks, concrete, and metal were twisted and broken. I could sense the power of the ocean in all the destruction. |
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Going to inspect the eastern coastline, where damage was severe |
We finally arrived in the capital of Colombo two days after the tsunami at about three in the afternoon. The trip would normally take two hours, but it took us 8 1/2 hours traveling along paths through the fields. The next morning, we went to the eastern coast, where the damage was the greatest, to observe and provide aid. |
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Village that lost 95% of its citizens |
A village in Batticaloa lost about 95% of their population and all of the houses had been destroyed. Only the foundations of the homes remained. The wells were polluted. Even the sturdier homes were left unstable. No one ever imagined that such a large tsunami could occur. Just as everyone began to think, "I donft' want to see water for the rest of my life," there came three days of rain so heavy that even the road wasn't visible. The few remaining homes became flooded during the rains. |
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# Natural disasters do not discriminate |
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The entire island of Sri Lanka, from north to south, was affected by this tsunami. Sri Lanka's largest ethnic group is the Sinhalese, making up about 70% of the population. Most of the population is Buddhist, and Christian Tamils and Hindis make up about 18%, with some Muslims and Malays. They all were affected.
The Hindi temple, made of concrete, was split in half; the front of the Christian church was standing while the back had been destroyed. The Buddhist temple had been washed away, and the local residents built a temporary shelter around the image of the Buddha. The disaster affected everyone without discriminating between Christian, Hindi, and Buddhist, or Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim.
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| The Hindi temple that was split in two |
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Christian church with only the gate left standing |
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Beyond the rubble is the shelter built for the image of the Buddha |
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Marks left by the water that almost reached to the top of the door |
One of the more devastated places I visited was a hospital in the town of Kinniya, Trincomalee. Of the 145 patients and 10 staff members, only one doctor had been saved. The water-stained doors marked how high the water had reached, about the height of an adult. The water had risen so quickly that there was no time to escape. Even the 68 children in the orphanage were killed. |
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| Hospital with beds destroyed and where only one doctor survived |
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At the orphanagecthe children who wore these shoes are dead |
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Volunteers searching for bodies |
Even though it was reported that Sri Lanka had recovered the bodies of the dead more quickly than Thailand or Indonesia, volunteers were still searching for bodies and animal carcasses several days later on the eastern side of the island. |
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# Listening to the stories of the afflicted |
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A mother and her only remaining child |
We not only observed the devastated region but also visited them to ask the refugees about what they experienced. A fisherman recounted how a few seconds prevented him from saving his children, and he watched them be swallowed up by the water. A mother lost three of her four children. A woman was injured while escaping. There were many who wanted to share their stories. Because everyone in the village had experienced the same thing, they were all suffering and were not able to listen sympathetically. So, many survivors wanted to talk with us instead. |
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| A fisherman who watched his son get washed out to sea |
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Talking with victims from the hospital |
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# Because there are those who need help |
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Memorial services held at the local CARE office |
Everyone in the stricken areas had lost loved ones or all of their possessions. Recovery activities began two days after the tsunami and continued day and night. The next thing we knew, it was January 1st. We didn't feel like celebrating, but the director of the local CARE office suggested holding a memorial service, so we held a candlelight service. Each CARE staff member was also a victim. The memorial consisted mainly of people mourning the loss of family or those whose homes were underwater. Some mourned friends and some had lost their homes. But the service also provided encouragement and the will to work together and help those who were even more in need than those who gathered. |
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# Citizens work together to overcome the tragedy |
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Volunteers who stayed overnight to help fill relief packages (Batticaloa)* |
What surprised me the most was the fact that the citizens of Sri Lanka got together on the day the tsunami hit to help those in need. I felt the amazing energy of these citizens who came together to overcome this tragedy. I lived in Sri Lanka for three years, and even though there is a cease-fire in place, the strain of ethnic disputes still remains. But during this time of need, the people in need were helped regardless of who they were.
Young people from 15 - 20 years old gathered at the CARE office in Batticaloa to help pack rice, tea, sugar, and other essentials into CARE packages all day long. They only had crackers and water for nourishment, and they placed sleeping mats on the floor so they could stay several days to help out.
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Even small children volunteered (Colombo) * |
In the Colombo office, about 50 family and friends of staff members gathered to help when called upon. Whether elderly grandmothers or young children of four or five, anyone and everyone wanted to help out. Throughout Sri Lanka I could feel that spirit of helping your neighbor starting to work. |
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# Times of emergency are difficult ? supplies must be delivered |
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Undeveloped roads |
During emergency relief, the first thing to be sent is food and water. When reporting about our efforts, we write "hundreds of packages were delivered," but I experienced first hand how difficult this really was. We often couldn't use the normal means of transportation because bridges were out, roads had been damaged, and the ferries had been swallowed by the ocean. In the cases when food needed to be delivered by the next day, we had to take undeveloped roads through the jungle for several hours. It took eight or nine hours to reach places that could normally be reached in one or two hours. Even when leaving at five or six in the morning, we wouldn't arrive until evening. We had to read our lists and distribute the supplies in the dark. It was a very difficult situation. |
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| Getting stuck in the mud |
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Distributing supplies at night |
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# Who has the greatest need? |
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Distribution from the back of a truck |
With emergency relief, the TV images showing supplies being thrown out of a helicopter while people below fight for them come to mind. I had doubts about these scenes, but I saw such a scene even after several days had passed when the emergency had abated a little. As I mentioned before, it is a wonderful thing when people try to help each other, but when the inexperienced try to help, they'll do things like throw supplies from the back of a truck. Who will get that food? The strongest and the most aggressive, or in other words, the ones who fight off the others will benefit. But "relief" is for the weakest and the neediest and they won't receive any of the food distributed in this way. |
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CARE Staff talking to victims |
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Ms. Noguchi delivering supplies by hand |
At CARE, we first visit the afflicted and listen to their stories to find out how they are suffering, what family they have lost, and how their homes were affected. We ask if they have access to water and enough food, and then determine whether they need towels, soap, clothing, or even a mat to sleep on. The assessment of needs depends on the information we can gather, so we try to get a clear idea of the situation.
We provide water and food to meet the immediate needs, but also investigate what rights can be claimed for people who have lost their homes and the paper deeds to their property.
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The other important thing to remember is to hand over the relief supplies explicitly. The supplies can also be handed over physically, but the important thing is to be sure that the supplies reach the people they are supposed to reach. During these times of emergency, a large volume of supplies are handled. I observed that many people would take large volumes of supplies to refugee camps and leave them, believing that the supplies would reach those who need them. But, there are cases when all of the supplies end up stored at the mayor's place. If the mayor is a good person, then there is no problem, but if he's greedy, he can sell them for a profit. The person who delivers the goods believes the supplies will reach those who need them, but they should take extra responsibility to be sure the supplies actually reach the people who need them.
It is important for the person who actually receives the supplies to sign for them, creating a paper trail. By doing so, the records can be checked to see who received what by what means later. |
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# Victims who are not waiting for aid only |
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The victims have the will to live. For example, uninjured children became laborers. The children took the lead to clean up the rubble and debris from the tsunami. The community supported each other, shared meals and helped each other build new homes. |
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| Children clean up the debris |
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Fixing a community meal |
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The ocean around Sri Lanka returning to calm |
The fishermen tried to go back out to sea. After the tsunami hit (I think everyone knows this) however, no one wanted to eat fish. No one wanted fish from the sea where so many tens of thousands were lost. But as the recovery continues, the market demand increases, and the jobs for both fishermen and the sellers are secured. When providing relief, it is better to help these kinds of people get back on their feet, rather than just bringing in supplies. People need work to be able to get back on their feet. |
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| Fishermen repairing their net |
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Fish for sale again |
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Self-reliance during peaceful times becomes strength during an emergency |
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Ms. GAURI |
CARE had been managing a capacity building project on the eastern coast of the island. I talked with the team leader about the current situation.
Ms. GAURI, 17 years of age, was the team leader for the women's group which was operating the community bank. She had been involved with the CARE project for about one and half years. She commented, "We lost all of the tens of thousands of rupees that we had saved and even lost one of our members, but we learned how to live without relying on men through this project. So, we will start again and save our money again."
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Mr. BARATARAJARU in the yellow shirt |
The agricultural team leader studying chemical-free agriculture is 22-year-old BARATARAJARU. He said confidently, "We lost all of our cultivated fields and there will be no harvest this year. But, we have the know-how. So, I am confident that we can rebuild."
If you look only at the emergency relief sites, all you would see was the process: a large disaster occurred and aid was given. However, I feel that when you use development aid projects everyday to not only build things but to also develop the abilities in people and have them learn techniques and information, then they have the confidence to rebuild even after a major disaster. |
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If you learn to depend on external aid, when disaster strikes the tendency is to think "I can't do anything myself. Someone must help me." When you believe that you have capabilities within you, it leads to the confidence to rebuild when something bad happens. |
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Looking at the expressions of the people in the refugee camp, you could see that some were truly suffering. But there were also children playing innocently. How could they be smiling after going through what they had just experienced? People really do have the will to live and that will shows through during these trying times. We tend to think that victims are to be pitied and that we need to go help them. But I felt that we were often trampling on their dignity. They have the will to live and the strength to recover. What we need to do is recognize that fact and give them the support they need to get back on their feet. I think that is the important point.
Adults and children have the will and strength to live. I reaffirmed that the role of an international aid organization is to encourage this feeling and support it.
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Chitose Noguchi - Short Biography
Chitose Noguchi was born in the U.S.A. in 1971. Her father's job took her to live in the United States, Canada, Holland, and Singapore. She graduated from the Law Department at Tokyo University in 1994. She attended graduate school at George Washington University and earned a Master's Degree in International Development in 1996. After working at an international consulting firm in Washington, D.C. while earning her degree, she joined CARE, one of the world's largest international cooperation NGOs. She worked for CARE Sri Lanka, CARE Japan, CARE USA, and CARE Vietnam (Vice-Chair), before being appointed the National Director and Bureau Chief for CARE Japan in January 2004.
Photographer: Harsha De Silva - Short Biography
Born in 1967 in Sri Lanka, Harsha De Silva moved to England with his family at age five, and was educated in London. After a brief stint in photo journalism (his photo of the student protest against the Tiananmen Square Massacre in London was featured on the front cover of The Guardian in June, 1989), he moved into commercial and advertising photography. From 1991, he assisted John Mason, photographer, in London for a year, and assisted and worked as a photographer in NY the following year. At the end of 1992, he returned to London to set up as a photographer. He has worked in the areas of commercial and advertising, fashion, social documentary, and travel photography in countries including the UK, US as well as Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. He currently resides in Tokyo, Japan. |
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Report: Chitose Noguchi, CARE Japan
Photographs: Harsha De Silva
(Photographs marked with an asterisk (*) were taken by Chitose Noguchi)
Edit: Mariko Harada, Think the Earth Project
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