11th January

I was picked up at the airport by Nalinda (Help Lanka’s Galle co-ordinator) and his friend Lahiru. As we reached the final stages of our 5-hour drive to Rathgama and entered areas that had been hit by the tsunami, I felt quite peculiar. No, not peculiar. I can’t quite find the word. But you know how when you read something in the news it always seems somehow other-worldly, no matter how of-this-world it is? Well, I suddenly felt I was in a world that had, just over 2 years ago, been invaded by the ocean which now laps at the shore again as though it has nothing to be sorry for at all. I was interested by Lahiru’s memories of discovering his dead relatives, but could tell he was still affected by the experience so didn’t push him on the subject. We stopped just outside Hikaduwa at a tsunami memorial built by the Japanese. It is huge, white, calming Buddha facing the coast. Thinking about it now, its poise, with a hand of compassion facing West, could be seen as more than a memorial to those who suffered or died. It may also be intended as a spiritual gesture, warding off any more incursions.

I’m living with Nalinda, Help Lanka’s Galle co-ordinator, and his mother, Mrs. Mendis, who is the teacher at Nirasha School . Mrs. Mendis speaks little English. This is not a problem, as Nalinda can translate.