A letter from Sri Lanka
January 08, 2005
Dear Friends,
As you probably know, Sri Lanka has been divided in civil strife for the past
45 years. There has been some peace in the last couple of years, although
occasions of violence occur on a random basis. After the tragedies of the
earthquake and tsunamis of December 26th and 27th, much of the country have left
their differences behind and banded together to aid in relief work, as the confirmed
death toll has now close to forty thousand, with thousands still missing. But
still, there are some who continue to perpetuate violence and feed on the innocent. Much
of the relief efforts have been concentrated on the South, Southeast, and Southwest
regions, which are predominantly Sinhalese and Buddhist areas. The Northern,
Northeastern and Eastern areas, which are predominantly Tamil, Hindu and Muslim
regions, have been neglected. In addition, news from viable sources has
arrived that trucks loaded with emergency medical supplies, dry rations and clothing
have been intercepted by Sinhalese before they entered the North, Northeastern
and Eastern regions of Sri Lanka, which are controlled by the LTTE (Tamils). These
areas have been severely affected by the tsunamis, more so than some of the regions
where the main concentration of government and foreign aid are been placed. The
LTTE has pleaded to the international community that they are receiving no help
from the government to aid in the relief work in these regions.
My family and I have been involved with an organization called the Inter-Religious
Peace Foundation, which is primarily composed of leaders and representatives
of the Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, Christian and Bahai faiths. Gatherings
of such leaders have been extremely controversial, but since the tragic circumstances,
such activity has been looked upon favorably. I have attached photographs
from a Requiem Mass held that was held to honor all the dead from this tragedy.
We also made food packets for about 25 people and drove down south to witness
some of the other tsunami disaster areas. What a sight. It is hard
to find words to describe the devastation brought by the waves. We spoke
to families, who were sitting on the rubble of what used to be their home. They
appreciatively took the food packets we gave them. When we asked them what
they really needed and wanted, they stated that they needed medical supplies,
hygiene supplies, feminine needs, underwear and clothes. Most of
the people we met were from fishing villages that had been wiped out, their boats
destroyed and their entire livelihood threatened, now especially as warnings
not to eat seafood are everywhere.
I will continue to update you with info as I get it. Please
continue to pray for the people here and in the other devastated areas.
Love to all,
Dilu |
