30/5/05
Wake up 7am after great launch at the splash, pack bags, fly off at 10, nice
to sit down for a bit…
1/6/05
Arrive at Hikkaduwa, 24hrs travelling, quick munch, early night..
2/3/05
Head to Peraliya where the train crash happened, village flattened, thousands
died.
Since Lee and Angela’s last visit to the camp, Oscar and Alison (who
arrived about 5th Jan) had left the village that they had spent almost 5 months
rebuilding (see peraliya.com).
Train carriages left as monument, post tsunami house behind (one of very few).
The Medical clinic they had set up was now only open 2/3 days a week and we
met the new nurses who felt frustrated as they should be doing more work.
Chamila, a local girl who has been working mainly as a translator, has opened
the Tsunami juice bar across the road, in a temporary shelter. She seems to
be the main hub of the village at the moment as there is no one really in charge
any more and is looking for a couple of volunteers who think they could step
into Oscar and Alison’s shoes.
Trading with only 1 round table and a few stools, Chamila is doing a great
job managing, so Yaluwa have supplied 2 new tables, 8 chairs and have 2 glass
food cabinets being made for the café.
Slowly, people at Peraliya are
being re-housed from tent to wooden shack to permanent building,
but this is taking time and the 100m rule is making the fisherman’s
lives extremely difficult, watching their boats/engines/nets etc.
(see interviews)
Another lady, D.M.G. Indralatha, who owns a pile of rubble down from
Chamila’s place, used to run a furniture/antiques shop. Yaluwa has paid
for a temporary wooden structure (inside 100m) to be built so she can open
the shop again to furnish the new houses being built. This will have a knock-on
effect as the locals can get back to work to supply the shop with goods to
sell.
The Tuk Tuk we bought for
our friend Lal, has now become a Yaluwa friendly vehicle, and is
available to use when we need it free of charge, Daz is doing well
in that mad traffic!
10pm:
Head off towards Arugam Bay, Lal’s got the van, drive through the night.
3am:
Flat tyre in the middle of Yala National
park, spare’s flat as well. Lal heads off on foot with wheel,
Lee and Daz sleep.
12.30pm:
Arrive at Arugam, attend meeting at the school about the
proposed government takeover.
The Tourist Board have told the people of Arugam Bay that anyone not registered
with the them (majority of businesses and everyone else in the area), will
be forcibly removed and all structures, permanent or not, will be bulldozed
THIS WEDNESDAY - (See Press Release).
Arugam Bay has evolved over the years in an organic way, and is one
of the most beautiful places on earth as anyone who has travelled here
can verify.
It seems that major business influences from outside of Sri Lanka are putting
pressure on the government to claim this land from the people who have rightfully
owned it for generations. No news of this atrocity seems to be available outside
the area, and the people here are very scared as they are no strangers to the
militaries forceful tactics.
A peaceful demonstration has been organised by the
local leaders for Monday, when the government are coming in to mark
out the 200m area with concrete posts, in the middle of someone’s
front room or not.
Lawyers for the village are trying for an injunction to stop this happening,
as the area proposed will, quite literally, be set in stone.
More news on this as it unfolds….
We have met plenty of people down here on a permanent basis, running projects
ranging from kids art therapy projects and playground construction to building
small villages for those who lost everything.
Yaluwa are sponsoring an under 18’s surf competition on Sunday 5th
June in an effort to encourage the younger generation back into the water
after their experiences.
Pics and stories to follow. |
