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TSUNAMI AFFECTS THE LACE MAKING UNITS
During my recent visit to one of the temporary lace making “social units” relocated to a single small room in one of the ladies homes, I witnessed first hand the aftermath of the Tsunami and what remains of the devastation despite the efforts of the local villagers and outside organizations that have diligently worked to rebuild and restore the area. This region is a tropical paradise – ordinarily – now a paradise with an imprint of disaster marring its once peaceful face. Amidst the beauty of the craggy, rocky peaks, the floating lily pads in green ponds, the rubber trees, palms, multitude of banana trees and the bizarre “bags” hanging from the jack fruit trees, a visitor can gaze out upon the horizon over a clear, wide, windy beach. Rough surf echoes after each pounding wave dissipates and withdraws back into the body of the ocean. I could see some remaining beach damage, as washed out road areas or collection areas for remaining debris, but a ghostly blankness on the beach is the give away that something is not right.
Although the beach area starts from a tree line where scattered homes are evident and rebuilding can be seen as temporary or make-shift tiny houses with thatched or tin roofs, it seems unnatural for the beach to be so ‘clean’ and uncluttered. Everything is cluttered – storefronts, the open markets, the fish market areas – wherever people are gathering, there is clutter, except on the beach, now. It seems haunted and abandoned. Not one soul is out on the sand. A few older kids followed us out onto a stone pier left standing, now looking very lonely and crippled jutting out into the surf.
Later, we visited a small town facing away from the path of the Tsunami for the most part, so only one fishing beach was really heavily damaged as was a small outer island housing a large, ancient temple and statue which seems to have taken the brunt of the onslaught. This beach was similar to the deserted beach we visited earlier, but remained populated. When I was told, “this is how the other beach used to look”, it was as if a bolt of lighting struck me. The reality of what ‘was’ really settled in. I have photos attached showing this comparison. A fishing boat can still be seen on its side like a dying, beached symbol of the “before” way of fishing.
It’s as if someone wiped the beach clean of the normal clutter of homes, small shops, markets and people. I understand it was a Sunday morning, and, this being a Christian area, many families and parents were attending services. Remaining at home were primarily the elderly and many small children. When the water initially withdrew, the kids ran out to collect the little jumping fish and shrimp usually not visible in the surf. It’s food for a hungry family. No one ever heard of a Tsunami or a Tidal Wave. I asked. Keep in mind; most people here eat an appetizer size portion of little fish twice a day as a meal. There are no fat people here – no imported foods, no ‘junk’ to eat. Most homes have no refrigeration, so fish is purchased twice a day from the vendors. Imagine seeing all that free, fresh fish freakishly jumping around as the surf withdrew, farther and farther back.
In the local Convent, there are many small children still coming there every night to sleep. They are too frightened to return to the beach areas, even to stay with a relative who has taken in the remaining homeless family members. Now I understand why the beach we visited was so deserted, not even entertaining one small child. Lace Unit #1 was destroyed. There was a small church on the beach next to the “building” that was the main headquarters for the Unit. It was razed shortly thereafter, displacing our Ladies throughout the area. Many simply vanished, their whereabouts still unknown, some left the area after their homes were destroyed or families lost. Many had to now stop making lace to take care of surviving family members or neighbors not as fortunate. These are people with a conscience and belief in their fellow man. They stopped everything to help the less fortunate and swallowed their grief to be strong for the children asking what happened to their parents and schoolmates. The people of the area all attended school. Even poor, school is important and mandatory. Many of our Lace Ladies are doing this type of work because of tragedy in the family, usually the loss of a husband or father, so they stay and work on lace so the kids can go to school. Given a choice, many kids want to leave the area and move closer to large cities. If they are young and stay close to home to make lace, chances are there was a death in the family preventing them from leaving the area to seek out better employment.
This area was not one of the more highly affected areas, despite what was evident and the number of people – thousands – lost. Hard to believe, but this fact alone puts into perspective the real level of what the Tsunami did to innocent villagers and visitors in the highly affected areas. I consider it a privilege in my life to have had an opportunity to see first hand the after effect of the Tsunami’s rage on this land and its’ people. Looking at a map and remembering standing on the southern most tip of the continent, looking out over the ocean waters where the Gulf of Mannar and the Indian Ocean meet, it seems ‘other worldly’ now. Imagining how devastating the Tsunami must have been to the areas more directly hit is unimaginable. When these small children are grown and recall this moment in their lives to their children and grandchildren, it will just be a ‘story’ and a memory dying out, but it couldn’t be more real NOW.
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If you would like more information regarding the process, history or our efforts to preserve this fine art form from extinction, please contact Victoria at D’Angelo Home Collections, Inc., info@dangelohome.com, or call: 877-745-5278 |
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