Nothing
can prepare you for the devastation in Sri Lanka.
As we headed down the coastal roads from the capital Columbo towards
Galle in the South West, the landscape changed… piles of debris
lay by the roadside – scraps of people’s possessions, rubble
and rags.
The
fear factor amongst people in Sri Lanka remains high with rumours
abounding of a repeat tsunami.
On
several occasions panicked residents have fled to the hills for
safety and police have even been called in to calm situations down.
But amidst the wreckage, there is rebuilding.
Emma Campbell and I worked alongside the Banbury-based charity Habitat
For Humanity, helping families build new homes to replace their
temporary accommodation, which currently consists of tents.
Family
after family told us how the tents were sweltering in the daytime
and too cold at night – and plagued by mosquitos.
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| Emma
Campbell films for BBC South Today |
Arriving
in Galle we heard the same story again and again – how the
giant wave of Boxing day wiped out businesses and jobs.
The fishing industry and the tourism industry – the two mainstays
of the economy here - were all but erased. It could be another five
months before the hotels are open again.
My
translator on the trip, Jerome, played guitar and sung in a band,
playing the bars and restaurants at the coastal resort of Unawatuna
Beach.
Along
the shoreline of the Indian Ocean almost nothing remains standing.
For many the future is very uncertain.
We
spent seven days with Habitat volunteers – and have seen huge
progress in just a week.
Brick-by-brick,
day-by-day, the houses are going up, schools are opening again and
aid supplies are getting through.
Banners reading “Sri Lanka thanks the international community
for all its support” hang across the streets.
It seems this is the beginning of a very long road to recovery.
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