High-toned working songs and efforts on clearing up the remnant strewn along beaches are registering for a new town blueprint. Sri Lanka starts to recuperate after the worst-ever tsunami disaster.
These signs of comeback can be obviously seen while driving along Sri Lanka's western coastline, which was devastated by the giant Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an undersea quake on Dec. 26, 2004.
The sporadic signs light up the hope of the people for reconstruction although Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga declared reconstruction work would start from Jan. 15.
Under the scorching sun at noon, more than 100 workers are relaying the passage of twisted rails tracks in Kosgoda, a village between capital Colombo and the southern city Galle.
The tidal waves destroyed the island's 800-kilometer long rail tracks, putting the country's train to a halt.
"We are trying to restore the island's train service within three month," S. Sriskantha, an inspector from Sri Lanka Railways, told reporters. "We still expect more assistance from other countries."
Before receiving enough relief assistance for reconstructing his home, Luaan Mendis has to do whatever he can for the moment. Together with his family members, he works hard to move the 50-inch deep sand out of his courtyard which was once a beautiful lawn.
Mendis seems luckier than his villagers in Wellamalda Madampe as his house still stands up though with only skeleton left. The tsunami swept and flooded almost all the villagers' houses along the palm-fringed beaches.
"I lost all my properties except the empty house structure. The water washed away all my things. What I can do now is just moving so much sand to the seashore again," said Mendis.
For most other tsunami victims, they have to wait long to plan their new lives with the government help and foreign assistance.
In the 250-population Payagala village, Rasika Sandamali and her husband have to sleep under the palms in the open air since the tsunami hit the village 11 days ago. "I need a new house, I need money. I believe the government can help us," Sandamali said, while her husband lying on a mat with anguish.
Sandamali lost her three-month son during the disaster, a hardly-cured scar in her heart. The neck-high waves snatched the baby out of her arms and killed him.
Since the Dec. 26 tsunamis killed over 30,000 people in the country, the world communities and the Sri Lankan government have coordinated aid efforts to help the victims rebuild their homes.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2005)
