Unsung heroes
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The postman trudges up the hill, pushing his battered bicycle to deliver letters and finds (to his horror) the home of a recipient of one of the letters, has disappeared under an earth slip.A Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) worker on top of a light post is electrocuted while trying to restore power in an affected area; an Air Force pilot is killed as his helicopter crashes while trying to avoid casualties during a mercy mission; four officers of the Navy go missing in a boat attempting to rescue civilians; a CEB worker atop a electricity pole is spotted having a hasty lunch due to his workload; an 8-year-old child donates his piggy bank to an organisation coordinating relief work; grama sevakas wade through floods to reach the affected; and divisional secretaries burn the midnight oil in ensuring a smooth process.
These are the unsung heroes of Cyclone Ditwah. Several foreigners also helped in relief work and clearing roads. What about the scores of volunteers mobilised across Sri Lanka who gave their time, money and energy to help those in need? Sri Lanka is indeed a blessed nation as people came together in a show of strength and solidarity to help the affected.
This was also similar to the effort by Sri Lankans to help those affected by the December 2004 tsunami. The tsunami killed 35,000 people and left nearly a million homeless, while Cyclone Ditwah caused fewer loss of life – nearly 700 dead — but more destruction across the whole country.
Rather than pontificate from air-conditioned rooms in the capital on what should be done or what went wrong, hundreds of volunteers fanned out across the countryside to help others. What was also admirable was that communities in the largely-unaffected south took loads of relief to flood-stricken areas. This was a classic example of unity in diversity extending a helping hand to all communities without division.
There were some challenging moments internationally, when Pakistan sought permission for its relief-laden aircraft to fly over Indian airspace to reach Sri Lanka. It was eventually granted that permission – an example of sworn enemies coming together to help a neighbour in distress. It was also probably a rare occasion where Indian and Pakistani forces were in one country helping with relief work.
My thoughts, in the second week after Cyclone Ditwah wrought havoc in the country, were on these moments in life when Sri Lankans rallied to help, and as I glanced through several newspapers on Thursday morning, the phone rang. It was ‘Cardboard Sando’, the muscle man from the nearby petti-kade. It was a welcome call, one of many from my friends, to discuss the tragedy that befell Sri Lanka.
“I say……many people have been supporting the victims of the cyclone. I also helped with my family to provide meals to those affected,” he said. “Yes……..there was so much of cooked meals that some were wasted, as volunteers were unable to reach affected communities,” I said.
“The next phase is in rebuilding the affected areas; that is a huge challenge. In addition to government resources, helped largely from financial and other relief by international donors, Sri Lankans here and abroad, and foreign nationals also helped,” he said. “Now Sri Lankans’ resolve would be tested to the maximum when rebuilding starts. There is a great need to come together in this stage too,” I said.
The authorities are counting the costs of reconstruction which largely would benefit from nearly Rs. 2 billion that has been deposited in specially designated bank accounts, from donors, local and overseas Sri Lankans. In a report in the Sunday Times Business last week, initial loss estimates ranged from US$ 200 million to $ 2.9 billion, with the final toll “likely to reach 1-3 per cent of GDP” (approximately Rs. 300-900 billion).
Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Commissioner-General of Essential Services who is leading the recovery effort, has said that they would need some $6-$7 billion to rebuild homes, industries and roads. The World Bank is carrying out a rapid post-disaster assessment to quantify damages, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is considering a Sri Lankan Government request for nearly $ 200 million under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), the approval of which will take precedence over ongoing commitments under the current Extended Fund Facility.
While the IMF and Sri Lankan authorities in October reached staff-level agreement after the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s reform programme in which Sri Lanka will have access to about $ 347 million in financing, focus will be more on the RFI as against the IMF’s current engagement in Sri Lanka. While the $ 200 million is expected to receive Board approval shortly, the IMF will resume its (already completed) Fifth Review with an IMF team visiting Sri Lanka in early 2026 for this purpose.
There was an interesting comment from a social media news platform where it was suggested that the government should utilise the expertise and experience of nearly 600,000 retired government employees in the country in the rebuilding phase. “There is no doubt that retirees who have good experience in various professional services such as administrative service, planning, engineering, accountants, doctors, surveyors, etc., will volunteer to serve the country,” Lankae-news said.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said it has been actively supporting national relief and recovery operations in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka, key partners and its members. The chamber together with NGO Janathakshan, played a key role in coordinating emergency response efforts, ensuring rapid and efficient assistance to affected communities.
From November 28 to December 6, the chamber mobilised volunteers across its Secretariat, member companies MAS Capital Pvt. Ltd – Intimates Division, Aitken Spence PLC, and university student groups, contributing more than 190 hours of service and answering over 40,000 emergency assistance requests to support the DMC’s 24-hour Emergency Operations Centre.
Well let’s move on to find out what the trio, conversing under the margosa tree, has to say as Sri Lanka recovers from this terrible tragedy.
“Godak kattiya sahana weda wala yedila mae davas wala. Eka thama Lankawey agaya (Many people are helping in relief work. This is the beauty of Sri Lanka),” said Kussi Amma Sera. “Magey samahara nadeyo kandukara sahana madyasthana wala inney. Egollo kiyanawa apahu geval walata yanna bae kiyala mokada thama anathuru sahitha nisa. Egollanta aluth idam saha mudal denavalu geval hadaganna (My relatives in a relief centre in the hill country say unfortunately they can’t return to their old homes as the danger still exists. They are being given new land and money to build a home),” added Serapina, who has relatives in Kandy. “Magey dakuney inna yaluwo goda denek wiyali salaka saha wathura arang giya Badulley kattiyata udaw karanna (Many of my friends in the south took dry rations and water to help those in Badulla),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.
As I wind up in the second week after the disaster, my mind focuses on the victims and a hope – with state intervention and support of all Sri Lankans – that their lives would be transformed and they would be able to move on from the tragedy of death and destruction. The government also needs to be better prepared in heeding warnings of cyclones for which the Meteorological Department needs to be properly equipped – through resources and modern modelling techniques – for early warning on such natural disasters.
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