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The Great Tsunami’s Upside
by Sheri Leigh

During times of great disasters people can come together. They do so even when their past differences would predict such an event to be impossible. The moral is that the worst of things often brings out the best in us humans, and that's a part of the 2004 Tsunami story.  

While in Sri Lanka for Mercy Corps, Jeff Greenwald of Ethical Traveler sent back dispatches of his ongoing experiences. The following are a few excerpts of his stories which are inspirational in their telling of the innate kindness and human compassion we are all capable of.  

"While waiting for a meeting, Jeff’s guide Diane relates a story of Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala a Buddhist monk in the sacred city of Kandy, who did something rather extraordinary, given the events of 1998 when Tamal Tiger’s attempted to blow up the sacred relic housed in his order’s Temple of the Tooth.

Four days after the tsunami, he and his monks loaded 26 trucks full of food, medicine, and supplies. They drove the trucks due east, and delivered the supplies directly into the hands of the Tamils near Trincomalee. 'It was a way of saying that religion doesn't matter,' explains Dilan, 'For the past 20 years, Sinhalese and Tamils can't find a chance to talk to each other. With this disaster, there is an opening to communicate — so we give help to them, from the bottom of our hearts."

I found this clip especially encouraging remembering the early 80’s when Sri Lanka was fast becoming a tourist destination for charter groups from Europe—long before the rest of the region began developing a tourism infrastructure. But civil unrest eroded that growth and continued to do so for nearly 20 years. The once bright future of Sri Lankan tourism eventually came to a grinding halt. Over time Sri Lankan tourism began a recovery until the tsunami devastation again threw it into peril. Perhaps, the newly found cooperation noted in Jeff's communiqué might give rise to lesser political difficulties than those that have plagued this paradise's potential.

"The Tooth Temple's Chief Monk. Reverend Warakawe Dhammaloka Thero shared these thoughts with Jeff, 'At this time,' he says, 'so many countries have stepped forward, offering to help Sri Lanka and asking nothing in return. The government must learn to organize these people, and help them work together as a single team. Otherwise, there is only inequality, confusion, and resentment. In that case, the tsunami disaster will be never-ending; like a wound that never heals.'

'Please,' he says. Make a special note. To everyone who has helped us, from any country, of any religion, of any age. As one human being to another: thank you."

A few days later on the one-month anniversary of the disaster, four events, one for each of the religions, was held to commemorate those lost. In Colombo Jeff attended the Islamic event at Devatagaha Mosque. Not only was Jeff the sole media representative and foreigner, but American and Jewish to boot. When the ceremony concludes, Jeff feeling out of place tries to back away from the receiving line, but an old gentleman takes his hand "You must come," he says, simply. "You, and I; same God. All, same God."

"As I enter the circle, and move with the crowd, one by one, in turn, each man takes my hand. Every one of them looks directly into my eyes, with an expression I cannot describe and will never forget. I'm thinking: No soccer ball or Frisbee, no tarpaulin or school book, has meant more to these people than my presence in this room. And nothing I've accomplished with Mercy Corps, as part of their relief effort in Sri Lanka, has meant more to me personally.'

Later, after a cup of milk tea in the mosque office, the Imam approaches me. Are your parents alive?' he asks.

'My mother is alive,' I reply. 'My father passed away 20 years ago.'

Jaleel Muhiyaddeen Qadirie, tsunami survivor and servant of Allah, reaches into his breast pocket and extracts a crisp 1,000 rupee bill. He places it in my hands, and holds it there.

'When you return home,' the Imam says. 'Buy your mother a bowl of fresh fruit.'

As we leave the mosque and reclaim our shoes, I query Dilan. 'Do you understand why he did that?'

'Of course,' my guide replies. 'He is Muslim. Very generous people.'"

There is more we share as human’s, more than the differences generated by religious and political intolerance. We all have in common the love of life, family and the mutual desire for security. It's exponentially more than the sum of the differences between us. Let's keep working together, praying to understand and for the ability to accept our differences. Let's work hard to create a world where our children will live together in peace—without Mother Nature’s devastation forcing it upon us.

You can read all of Jeff’s dispatches at the EthicalTraveler.com website.

Excerpts used with permission, © 2005 by Jeff Greenwald.