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Liz Bernard, Staines member and SWPS teacher writes -
Just to let you know that I am back safely in England. Take
a little time to read Tammy's (my daughter) account of our experience.
It was certainly a Christmas we will never forget! Love Liz
Hell hit earth - My escape from
the Tsunami -
British Red Cross Appeal for Asia Earthquake and Flood
From Tammy:
As many of you know, I have been lucky enough to
have survived the Tsunami disaster.
I spent Christmas in Sri Lanka, in Beruwala on the
SW coast, a two hour drive south of Colombo.
On the morning of the 26th December at about 9.30am
the first freak wave hit the Sri Lankan coast. The wave came about
200-300 metres on land and flooded the bungalow in which I had
been staying in, alone. I fear that by the time the third wave
hit, my bungalow would not have still been standing. Fortunately,
I was not in bed at the time, otherwise I would not be writing
this to you now.
After the first wave had hit the coast I sought
shelter in the neighbouring hotel that my mum was staying in.
At this time I had no idea of the severity or the cause of this
freak wave. On our way up to my mum's room we passed many tourists,
with their bags packed, evacuating the building. Only at this
point did we even begin to grasp at the severity of the situation.
On entering the hotel room we went to the balcony to survey the
destruction of the hotel gardens. As we did there was an enormous
roar. I looked up to see the most enormous wave, towering above
us (we were on the 3rd floor). The wave was moving towards us
at an almighty speed, shaking the hotel as it charged in to the
courtyard, effortlessly tearing down everything in it's way. There
were people down below screaming and running for safety and those
above on the balcony hung towels and sheets down, trying to pull
up those on the ground. Panic and fear filled the air. I have
never seen anything so frightening in my life. At that point I
truly believed that we would die. I could not believe the hotel
would be able to withstand the impact of such a powerful force.
I knew then that we had to flee the hotel. If the hotel went down,
there was no way we were going to be in it when it went. The next
few minutes are somewhat of a blur, as we grabbed a bag each and
charged for the stairs. We made it down to the reception to find
that the wave had surrounded the hotel and we were flooded in
all directions. We left our bags, taking only our passports with
us, and began to wade through the water. Tears streaming, heart
pounding, we made our way up the driveway towards the road, dodging
the debris rushing past us, clutching my mum's hand. Once on dry
land there was total bedlam. People were rushing in all directions,
no one had any idea why or what had happened. There was no instruction
as to what we should do. Mothers were crying, in fear they would
never see their sons again who had last been seen fishing. The
injured were being dragged by their limbs to dry land, from hotels
all along the coastline.
The hours that followed were of shere panic and
bewilderment. No one knew what to do in a situation like this,
it was nothing like anything Sri Lanka had ever experienced before.
We were moved from place to place, still tightly gripping to my
mum's hand, seeking somewhere that maybe safe should another wave
hit. We hid in a temple, a school room, in a hotel, on the top
of a four storey shop, and then later a little further inland
in a villa. But still we were less than 1000 inland and there
was a constant fear that the a wave would still reach us. Throughout
the day we received bits of information in regards to the earthquakes
and we were able to piece together an idea of what happened to
cause, what we know knew to be, the Tsunami.
I was meant to be flying back to Dubai in the early
hours of the following morning. It became evident that this was
not going to be possible. There had been rumours that the airport
was closed and even if they proved to be just that, and the airport
was in fact open, there was no way i would be able to make the
journey up the coast road as it was blocked with the debris of
the beach side shanty towns. And there was no chance that my mum
would have let me out of her sight for< an second.
My mum, her friend Ruth and myself were finally
taken in by wonderful Sri Lankan family. They had so little but
gave so much. They took us into their home and fed us and gave
us a place to sleep. Not that we slept, we sat up all night in
fear that another Tsunami would come our way.
I was exhausted from the adrenalin of the day and
from the tears that had been pouring since our ordeal began. But
sleep was the last thing on my mind. I feared dying. I contemplated
how my last hours o earth were going to be spent, of all the things
I had wanted to do in life, but would no longer be able to and
of my friends and family that I would leave behind.
The night was long and I could feel myself being
eaten alive by the hundreds of mosquito's that inhabited our temporary
sanctuary. Eventually the sun rose and there was a vague sense
of relief that we were all still alive. But the ensuing news reports
of further earthquakes, monsoon rains and strong winds sent us
back in to despair.
The family that had taken us in kept reassuring
us that we were safe. But I had little faith, this had never happened
before, how were they to know if we were safe? The children tried
to keep us entertained and we whiled away a few hours by giving
the older children English classes.
Eventually, there was a light a small light at the
end of the tunnel. Ruth had gone for a walk and as luck would
have it she had a chance meeting with the tour Rep from the travel
company that she and my mother had booked their holiday through.
There was a coach leaving for Colombo in 5 minutes. AND WE JUST
HAD TO BE ON IT!
We said our farewells and thanked our hosts for
their kindness and we fled. The coach was only for those who were
with the travel company, so I lied and jumped on the bus. There
was no way I wasn't going to be allowed on it! The bus took us
to a number rof hotels along th coast so that we could rescue
what remained of our possession's. At each hotel my heart pounded,
dreading the sight of another wave..... As the bus made it's way
inland my heart finally began to return to it's normal pattern
and my grip on my mum's hand loosened a little. But it wasn't
until we reach Columbo and the rescue centre that I managed to
let my self even begin to think that we might be safe.
A large Conference centre had been made available
as a sanctuary for all the tourists in Sri Lanka. People were
being bought in by bus from all over the Island. there were piles
of mattresses and sheets in the entrance way and some desks for
the Sri Lankan tourist board. We grabbed a mattress each and found
some space in the huge hall. Tourists from all over the world
sat and exchanged horror stories, over cups of tea and coffee.
After talking to the Sri Lankan tourist board, it
became clear that as I had not booked my holiday through any tour
company, there was little anyone could or would do to help me
get home, to Dubai. I was told I would have to make my own way
to the airport and then sit in the
airport for as long as it took for me to get on a flight. I knew
that the airline I had come with only had one flight a day, so
if i was unable to get on the first flight, I was going to have
a long wait ahead of me. My heart sank and to top it off, one
of the Sri Lankans was beginning to shout at me. That was it.
The flood gates opened again, and i was awash with tears, again.
An English man and his son were stood behind me
and had overheard everything. They were getting a taxi and going
to the airport and they offered that I could go with them and
the rest of their family and they wold wait with me at the airport
while i tried to get a flight. This seemed to be my only option.
So after a tearful goodbye with my mum I grabbed my belongings
and set off for Colombo airport with a family of total strangers.
I had about an 8 hour wait ahead of me until the
flight, that I hoped to be on, was due to depart. Nearer the time
of the flight I went to go and argue my case and somehow I managed
to talk my way on to the flight. Much relief all round. I had
to borrow a phone to let my mum know the good news.
I cried the whole four hour flight back to Dubai.
i think it must have been a mix of relief, fear that my mum was
still there and shere exhaustion.
I cannot even begin to explain the the true fear
of believing you are going to die. The sense of helplessness watching
women crying for their lost children. But despite all of this
we found kindness and loving people, prepared to give to total
strangers, despite their losses.
The people of Sri Lanka stand to lose a great deal
more with the threat of disease, starvation and lack of drinking
water. If you, or any of the companies you work for have the means
to give money to the organisations working towards helping those
left fighting for their survival and trying to rebuild their lives,
I know it will go a long way.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I
wish you all a happy New Year.
To make donations, please click on the link below:
http://www.redcross.org.uk/news_subsection.asp?id=40238
To donate over the phone - 0870 60 60 900
Please forward to colleagues and friends.
Much love
Tammy
xx
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