1 - RETURN TO COLOMBO

I RETURN TO SRI LANKA. My Sri Lankan Airline flight from London to Colombo is usually packed with noisy Brits heading to Sri Lanka’s exotic beach resorts and a few British-based expatriate families going “home” for the holidays. Not so this time. Almost all are brown faces, many those of elderly women traveling alone, grim and pensive. Of about a dozen or so westerners, there are five young Americans wearing bright yellow T shirts bearing the sign “Volunteer Minister” of the Church of Scientology. A few middle aged western men travel alone; it is hard to tell if they are UN or NGO types, or diplomats returning to post.

On my right a middle aged Sri Lankan woman, buried in her prayer book, tells me she’s heading for a spiritual retreat in India. On my left a gentle lady plays solitaire; across from me a woman is deep into a TV re-play of a Sri Lankan romantic tragedy. Music is very subdued and the announcements by the chief steward polite but brief. Even the pilot sounds cut and dry going through usual welcome and flight plan.

I open the in-flight magazine “Serendib,” the latest edition before the Tsunami, full of shiny photos of suntanned and shapely youth frolicking on the sunny beaches along the coasts of the Maldives and Sri Lanka. One cannot imagine anything more exciting and yet more tranquil in those blue horizons. A mobile phone company advertisement shows a foreign girl beamingly gazing into her phone. She’s alerted to a prompt by her adoring companion “tell them you are on Paradise!”

As the altitude drops the quiet is broken by infants and small kids crying and passengers reaching for their bags.

Back in Colombo, newspaper headlines report the seemingly endless stream of visiting dignitaries. Today it is US Under Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, described as a master military strategist in the war in Iraq; yesterday it was the Archbishop of Washington; some days ago, the tours of UN Chief Kofi Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and a Japanese delegation. All come to express sympathy to the President for the nations’ losses, all want to see the devastation and embrace a child.

The papers report offers of huge sums of money – in billions – for relief and reconstruction. The World Bank and IMF are said to pitch in as never before. On another page, aid donors are reported to worry that tsunami relief funds will be spirited away. There are appeals for equitable allocation of goods and fear of corruption. “Visiting Canadian Prime Minister makes plea for equitable disbursement of funds.”

But for a person who says he has lost everything – “all gone” – a smile, a cup of tea, feels more real than a billion dollars in international aid.

Among other news headlines I read: “President is expected to come up with a master plan for building the nation,” “Japan pledges the largest aid,” “FOSTER CARE BEFORE ADOPTION IS MORE SUITABLE!” (an article in response to fears of child trafficking and the threat of predatory pedophiles. Remember “Operation Babylift”: soon after the fall of Saigon?); “Innovative laws needed for relief to bereaved families;” “Speedy handling of foreign ships to meet the demands” “Money to tsunami affected families.”

And this headline, “POST TRAUMA CONFLICT IN THE OPPOSITION PARTY,” describes a split as certain factions agree with the government aid distribution policies and others don’t. The common tragedy blurs political identities.

The editorial pages are busy, too: “AVOIDING A POLITICAL TSUNAMI.” says one. Others: “Tsunami – is this a curse?” and ‘Tsunami-sized waves of big money may threaten security – the second disaster.”

And, of course, letters to the editor. This from a young woman… “OH MEN, PLEASE STOP EXPLOITING THE DISASTER’S MISERY FOR PERSONAL GAIN,” a response to reports of men stealing jewelry from the corpses and incidents of rape in refugee centers A UNICEF worker writes, “Women and children are the most vulnerable.” “Women are more injured or hurt through the loss and bereavement,” says a female Buddhist monk.

Still more news: 9 MOTHERS CLAIM ONE BABY reports a local paper. Compounding the deaths, devastation, and despair, up to nine mothers (so far) are claiming a baby as their son. Possibly 3or 4 months old and bruised from the tsunami’s force, the baby is known only as Baby 81. Amid the scene of distress outside the hospital some mothers threaten suicide. This has happened before – similar disputes required DNA tests. This highlights the need to carefully control adoption guidelines.

This is a huge problem. About 4000 children have lost one or both parents because of the Tsunami. The number of parents who have lost children is much higher. And the Official death toll, now 38,196, is expected to rise as the sea gives up what it has claimed.

Observation: The honeymoon phase of post-disaster response is passing.

6:00 AM. The front door bell rings. A Sri Lankan couple from Washington wants to know if I could see a young woman from Texas, a Sri Lankan who was on holiday here with two small children. They had been out on a safari when the water came. She is the only survivor, remains stunned.

I am making plans to do what I can. There must be thousands more. What can one person really do!