The Face Says it All

9:17am December 26th 2004. I was probably sleeping. Enjoying the peaceful rest that comes only with the christmas holidays. the feeling of satiety from days of over-endulging, of chocolate macaroons, of oven baked turkey, of everything green and red.

Now Meet Sarath. Another face of Sri Lanka.

On December 24th 2004 at precisely 9:17am, time stood still. As you can see from the minute and hour hands, the time on this clock at least, hasn’t changed since. You see, Sarath owned, Dilkini, a well established, well visited guest-house on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, After years in the business of hospitality, Sarath saved enough money in 1984 to build his own place just 10meters off the shore of the Indian Ocean in Weligama. By 1987, Sarath had steady business, a good reputation and a full staff of local workers. Life was good and his family’s future looked bright.

Then some 20years after the dream of his own business began, an unexpected and almost unearthly thing happened. A huge wave, tens of meters high, crashed right through his front door. Mud, garbage and of course water, filled every room in his house. It was then, at 9:17am, that every changed. Except his clock that is.

Sarath, at the time, a large and well-fed man, soon became the thin and frail. His daughter who had a promising career in Colombo returned home to help the family rebuild their lives and their home. With the guesthouse severely damaged, Sarath spent months waiting for support from the government, which never came. Fortunately, over the past few years he had saved enough to rebuild the house to its almost original form. Now 3 years after the Tsunami, when the rooms should be briming with sunburnt tourists, and the kitchens hot with pots of rice and curry, the building stands empty. For Sarath, and many others along the tsunami-affected coast of Sri-lanka, challenge has arrived in a new form.

After years of a supposed peace treaty, the government of Sri Lanka and the rebellion faction the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are at a new height of war. The conflict has rightfully scared away the throngs of tourists, leaving the southern beaches and guesthouses, as vacant as ghost towns.

So Sarath and his daughter sit and wait. Their freshly painted walls and sincere smiles, desperate for anyone to enter.

And so enter we did.

Tom and I decided to hold a Right To Play training session in the lobby of the guesthouse. Although the space was a bit tight, and the room a little warm, it was hard to deny such a wonderful man, the company and business we could provide. The past three days involved a great deal of teaching and learning. We taught the fundamentals of child development, but learnt of the power of perserverance. I am certain that Sarath and his daughter will be just fine. Their spirit and energy will keep them going. While the Southern Coast is saved the horror of daily shellings and fatal war, the effects of the long-standing civil conflict, still reek havoc.

But admist the chaos and pain that comes with such tragedy and hardship, you can still see the happiness of everyday life. And for Sarath and his family, although the time on the wall still remains the same, when the hopeful tourist does return, at least they will clearly see how far they’ve come.