Tsunami victims smile through tears in Sri Lanka

December 27, 2011: On Monday people in Asia marked the seventh anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 that killed more than a quarter of a million people. Sri Lanka remembered the 35,322 people it lost during the worst natural disaster ever to hit the island nation.
Thanks to some timely and long-term assistance by the Catholic Church’s social service arm, Caritas, thousands of people have managed to smile through the tears, and seven years on, they are leading happy and successful lives.
Priyanthimali Munaweera, 52, a Buddhist woman from Palliyamulla near Matara on the south coast, was running a grocery store. The giant waves destroyed her shop and almost killed her husband. “We were left with nothing and nobody came forward to help us,” said Munaweera, the mother of four children.
Thanks to Caritas, Munaweera is now the proud owner of a thriving business printing textbooks. Caritas has helped not only her but also other women in the village, providing them with equipment and necessary training.
Father Damian Arsakularatne, director of Caritas SED Galle, says the tsunami did not discriminate by race or creed and his group too did not want to do so either.
Caritas Galle in addition to bringing rapid aid to victims, including the erection of temporary housing, has also built over 1,400 new homes and repaired another 800.
Father TS Sylvester from Batticaloa on the east coast said some people in the area still feel that they were excluded from tsunami humanitarian programs introduced by the government.
Fr Sylvester until last August served as the director of the Caritas branch in Batticaloa, which suffered heavy damage during the tsunami.
Since the disaster, Caritas Batticaloa has constructed 6,000 houses in the area. It has also carried out livelihood restoration and savings programs, and provided psychosocial help for children.