TAS - Australian Red Cross
TAS - Australian Red Cross
TAS - Australian Red Cross
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PAGE 6<br />
INTERNATIONAL NEWS<br />
A troubled paradise<br />
Sivapalam Sundaram not only survived the 2004<br />
tsunami but also a violent 30-year civil conflict<br />
in Sri Lanka. Photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> /<br />
Nadeeka Arambewela<br />
Sivapalam’s home town, an<br />
idyllic seaside village in<br />
northern Sri Lanka, has seen<br />
tsunami destruction and 30<br />
years of war. Sivapalam has<br />
lived through all of it. Now he<br />
talks about rebuilding his home<br />
with the help of his surviving<br />
family and <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
Sivapalam Sundaram used to fish the<br />
waters every day. Then they turned on<br />
the village. He tells of the deafening,<br />
deep roaring as the wave charged<br />
through the town. The 2004 tsunami<br />
stole his wife and left him clinging<br />
desperately to his fence, fighting the<br />
water. He then sought safety at the<br />
Hindu temple (kovil) with what was left<br />
of his family.<br />
Displacement and fearing for his life are<br />
not new to Sivapalam. He has not only<br />
survived one of the most destructive<br />
natural disasters in recent history but also<br />
a violent 30-year civil conflict in Sri Lanka.<br />
Sivapalam lives in Mamunai village –<br />
an isolated, breathtakingly beautiful<br />
seaside village located in the Northern<br />
Province. However, the white sand and<br />
palms disguise the brutal fighting that<br />
this village has witnessed. In years<br />
following the tsunami, the conflict<br />
intensified and the villagers were<br />
largely housed in Internally Displaced<br />
Persons camps.<br />
Now Sivapalam has returned to his<br />
village after his release from the camp.<br />
His adult son has come back and they<br />
have built two adjacent temporary<br />
shelters with palm fronds and tin sheets<br />
so that they are never too far from each<br />
other. Even with this shelter they are<br />
exposed to the elements and the<br />
monsoon season is near.<br />
Sivapalam is not too worried about the<br />
rains, though. He shows me how his<br />
kitchen garden has been moved to<br />
accommodate the foundations of a new<br />
house that will be built using the funds<br />
contributed by <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>. For<br />
the first time in years, he will have<br />
permanent shelter and a lockable door.<br />
The Post Conflict Recovery Program<br />
(PCRP) is a construction program<br />
driven by participants and has proven<br />
to be successful in other conflict and<br />
tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka.<br />
Cash grants are given to participants<br />
like Sivapalam to start building. An<br />
accompanying livelihoods and water<br />
and sanitation grant offers extra<br />
support. <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> works closely with<br />
participants, managing and monitoring<br />
the program, and ensuring that people<br />
are technically supported throughout<br />
the construction process.<br />
Sivapalam’s granddaughter waves to<br />
us from behind a tin sheet that forms<br />
the wall of her current house.<br />
Sivapalam nods quietly with a look of<br />
pride as he acknowledges the little girl.<br />
Her blitheness presents a contrast to<br />
the contained emotion of her<br />
grandfather who has survived so much<br />
destruction and pain.<br />
The war and the tsunami have left a<br />
lasting legacy on those who have lived<br />
through them. Although one cannot<br />
erase memories of the past, continued<br />
support will slowly rebuild lives and<br />
renew hope. It is this hope that will<br />
nurture the next generation of villagers,<br />
like Sivapalam’s granddaughter, and<br />
foster positive stories of seaside life in<br />
the north of Sri Lanka.<br />
For more information on our work with<br />
vulnerable communities overseas or to<br />
find out how you can help by<br />
volunteering or making a donation go to<br />
redcross.org.au or call 1800 811 700.<br />
With shelter materials accessed via funds donated by <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> to the Post Conflict<br />
Recovery Program, Sivapalam Sundaram is rebuilding his home. Photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> /<br />
Nadeeka Arambewela