Financial Times

Determination and recovering from scratch
By Iromi Perera in Hambantota
Hambantota town has been reduced to rubble by the fierce tsunamis but a few shopkeepers are trying to rebuild from what they lost. A pile of vegetables lay on the ground in the midst of broken building.

The bright colours of the vegetables are a stark contrast to its' setting. The owner of the shop is R. Saldin who has occupied this shop for 35 years in a building that was opened by the late President R. Premadasa in 1969.

He had sold vegetables, fruits and dry rations in his shop in the public market and when the wave came, he ran away without taking anything. The entire building was badly damaged and all shopkeepers lost their wares. A franchise shop, a barber's shop, a gold shop and other stalls had occupied the building but now it is only Saldin who is making a meagre living out of what is left.

Other shopkeepers are all cluttered in the little shop and none of them sees a very bright future ahead. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I have lost everything and I don't have any money to start again," said Saldin. He brings vegetables from Ambalantota and makes a little money selling them. He had lost close to a million rupees from the tsunami.

In Unawatuna, businesses face a different problem. Unaffected shops are open but have few customers. At the same time, there are no suppliers either. The affected are living on the rations they have received and even those unaffected are not buying much. Suppliers who come mainly from Galle are absent. Shopkeepers don't have money for supplies.

The main clients of tourist shops in Hikkaduwa are relief workers and foreign media passing through. Shops are open, selling souvenirs, leather goods, suntan lotion, and straw items etc.

Shopkeepers say there is nothing much to do but wait for the hotels to re-open for tourism to pick up. They are all positive that business will pick up soon.

In Galle and Matara, most of the shops are open, except those that were badly damaged. Many open along the coast are mostly food shops that are doing well as usual.

Hardware shops are also doing quite well due to the rebuilding and the great demand for material. In Bentota, life in the town is back to normal, with even a few well-lit bazaars.

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