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Tsunami South Asian Disaster (Special Report)
(Paola Jani from Canadian Unitarian Council at paola@cuc.ca) |
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Asitha Fernando, a nine-year-old Sri Lankan boy, mourns the death of his mother in Koralawella, south of Colombo Sri Lanka December 28, 2004 who was killed when a tsunami hit the area on Sunday. Please see http://www.alertnet.org/thepeople/members/219824.htm for more details.
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When I first heard of the Tsunami South Asian disaster, my first instinct was to get on a plane headed for India. When the reality slowly dawned on me that traveling to India would be next to impossible, I was crushed, feeling powerless. I was especially hard hit for several very important reasons, both personal and work related. Prior to joining the CUC in fall of 2003, much of my work related to disaster mitigation specifically in the realm of water and sanitation- a fundamental focus area of this disaster. |
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As I am Indian, African and Canadian, some roots are also in India and I spent time in April of 2003 holidaying in Sri Lanka right by the very ocean that created this unspeakable truth of a disaster. This culminated in feelings of hopelessness, shock, sadness and anger. And then slowly, I remembered what both the Indian and Sri Lankan people taught me: remember and fight for the good (stand for something even when it is most uncomfortable) and most importantly keep the hope alive. I remembered Gandhi in his works of simplicity and humanness, his courage-and also my foundation as a life-long Unitarian. Slowly my eyes, which welded with tears only days before, began to see something that always happens in times of disaster- the giving and magnitude of humanitarian good. I let the kind words of family, co-workers and friends, who lent their support, touch my heart. And then I regained my footing on firmer ground as I watched the amounts of relief efforts mobilized from around the world. I realized that I as individual am not powerless for the greater good of the world.
I realized that I too can be part of the humanitarian action in my own way even though it does not mean getting on the plane to India; that I can practice my spiritual beliefs and pray for the souls of my co- humanitarian workers as they courageously step forth in disaster response. I can offer my solidarity to the causes of the greater good by writing.
Thus for this very sake of solidarity, I would encourage congregations and their members who have lived or visited these parts of the world to write to me about your experiences and stories at paola@cuc.ca. These writings can thus be forwarded as a step of action to organizations within the affected areas as a support to them. I would also encourage your congregational members to find a time and a place to talk about their connections and how we in Canada and as Unitarians can contribute to "the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part". |
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ALL INDIA DISASTER MITIGATION INSTITUTE
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