Written By: CTYA Blogs Team
December 26, 2004.
Children lost parents. Sisters lost brothers. Wives lost husbands. Every family was affected. For a people who struggled already greatly in war, the Tsunami only aggravated the struggles.
December 26, 2004 will be a day that we will mark down as one of the most destructive days of our times. A Tsunami, of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake originated from Sumatra, Indonesia, and took with it the lives of many. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the energy released during this Tsunami is equal to 23,000 Hiroshima type atomic bombs!
In total, 250,000 people perished, and many communities were completely wiped out. Millions lost their homes, livelihoods, and many are still missing. The entire world mobilized, many in disbelief over the death toll of this natural disaster.
Tamils were affected by this tragedy. There was a great inequality in disparity in the aid, rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts post-Tsunami in Sri-Lanka. Despite the fact that the Northeast (occupied mainly by Tamils) was destroyed the greatest in the Tsunami, rehabilitation and aid was directed in the South (dominated by the Sinhalese) by the Sri-Lankan Government. Foods, and other goods like fuel and building materials were also further restricted from entering the Northeast regions, which caused further devastation and deaths.
Today, let’s remember the victims, and keep them in our prayers and thoughts, and in the spirit of the season of giving, think about what we can do for those remaining.
Tags: News
