Date: Tuesday, 19th July 2005 The last few weeks in Sri Lanka were unbelievable. The government proposed something called the 'joint mechanism' which was an arrangement in conjunction with the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) to ensure the people living in tsunami affected areas under LTTE control received aid. Seemed like a good idea to me, I mean so far these people have received nothing and your kindly donated money is sitting in the governments' bank accounts while these people do not even have waterproof tents to sleep under during monsoon periods and barely any food to eat! But there were huge protests all round Colombo which had to be broken up by teargas. Eventually the joint mechanism was pushed through, despite this fierce opposition so we can only hope it is the beginning of these people finally receiving some help more than 6 months after the tsunami! The Year 13s had a huge leaving party at one of the top hotels in Colombo. It was a great way for them to say goodbye to each other before going to universities throughout the world and a huge success. But tragically, an ex-students was murdered afterwards. So the term, and indeed my time in Sri Lanka finished on a rather surreal and extremely sad note. But it is good to be back in Europe. As I write this I am sitting in my boyfriend's office in Cologne, Germany, having been offered a job in an English school on a NATO base starting in January. Plenty of time to do a language course then, and not too many excuses! Rosie Date: Thursday, April 28, 2005 I have just spent two weeks in the UK followed by a week in Germany. It was the first time I had returned to Europe for two years! Things I enjoyed were listening to Radio Solent (of course!), seeing friends and family, walking on Studland beach, using a duvet, eating roast lamb and fish and chips, and drinking a pint. Things I did not enjoy were being cold, the price of petrol and continuous election hype! I only have about 10 weeks left living in Sri Lanka before my contract ends so am trying to make the most of cheap shopping, chilli, sun and all the other things that I will miss about this place. This weekend I am off to Unawatuna. Unawatuna was regarded as one of the world's most beautiful beaches before the Tsunami struck. Now, although the beach is still stunning, the surrounding area has been flattened and the bay filled with debris. We are going to use scuba and snorkelling gear to help make the sea safe to swim in once again by removing as much glass and rubbish as we can manage. The country is making extremely slow progress at recovering from the effects of the tsunami. Although there are signs of rebuilding, there are still far too many people living in unacceptable conditions, which is rather depressing considering the amount of aid that has been donated. Rosie Date: Thursday, January 6, 2005 The situation here is obviously very grave. Thankfully I am fine, as are most of the people I know. It was a miracle that I returned from Hikkaduwa, one of the worst hit areas on the South Coast, on the 25th Dec, a day earlier than planned, to meet my boyfriend at the airport on 26th as he was unable to get the flight he wanted on the 27th. So really, his arrival, a day earlier than planned undoubtedly saved my life, otherwise I would have been on the train when the tsunami struck and that doesn't even bear thinking about. Sadly, one of my colleagues was swept away by the tsunami. It seems especially ironic that we swam together every morning at school. Many others had lucky escapes from the beaches and survived purely because of the help of others and sheer courage. Some of their stories are amazing - the bravery and generosity of everyone. We are still not sure about all the children at school but so far it seems to be good news. On 26th I woke up at 6am to feel the ground shaking very slightly. Nothing seemed to happen as a result of this so I didn't think much of it. When the tsunami struck I was actually picking Andreas up from the airport. The first we knew of it was when Radio Solent phoned from the UK to see if I was OK and get my opinion of the events! Although I live only two roads away from the sea in Colombo, thankfully the area wasn't affected at all. Most of the deaths in Colombo were the slum dwellers who lived in shacks between the railway line and the sea - they didn't stand a chance. The real problem was trying to get information about what was going on. The media completely distorted the events and were reporting about Colombo whilst showing pictures of other towns in Sri Lanka which were completely submerged. Everyone was really panicking and rumours of aftershocks and further tsunamis were flying round. We had booked a week in the Maldives from 27 December. We just didn't know what to do. We couldn't get any information from anyone and we knew the news reports weren't accurate. They were showing pictures of Male airport being completely underwater when it was actually open! We phoned a guy I know who lives in Male and the resort we were meant to be staying in and were told that things were OK. So, on 28th we went to the Maldives as planned. Everything was OK there, some islands were hit but nothing like the devastation in Sri Lanka, although there were hardly any tourists, which is really worrying as the country gets almost 100% of its income and employment from the tourist industry. I don't know how the people will survive if visitors don't start going back there. We got back a couple of days ago to scenes of utter devastation and disorganisation. However, things are beginning to get much better. The army are now co-ordinating the relief effort and US and Canadian troops have been deployed to help. Apart from in the extremely inaccessible areas, most people now have clean water, food and shelter and some electricity and fuel supplies have been restored. The mines [left over from the war] are being cleared, the road to the South coast is now accessible, although it is still problematic to get to the East and North. Most of the aid so far has been short term, in the form of food and clean water. This has undoubtedly saved lives but now the people need longer term measures. It is quite hard to know how to help. Everyone is doing what they can, even if it seems small. Some of us are going to clean wells at the weekend. Lots of people have donated toys for the millions of orphans who have now been rehabilitated to the Colombo orphanages but they have no-one to play with them or look after them so we are trying to do that whenever we have time. We are also collecting books, pens uniforms and bags to enable the schoolchildren to return to school when they reopen. I am really worried that as soon as this disappears from the news, the amount of aid will dry up. The tourist industry has been ruined as most of the hotels were on the South coast so have been destroyed so the country will be plunged even further into poverty. It is so so sad, I can hardly put it into words. Rosie
Date: Thursday, November 11, 2004 This month has been very wet so far, but it hasn't rained for 2 whole days now, which we are all excited about. Monsoon rain really is the pits- especially in Colombo which is riddled with potholes, cockroaches and rats (last year one of my friends was walking after the monsoon, the road was flooded and he fell down a pothole up to his neck!). Also, the rains bring the mosquitoes so consequently there is an epidemic of dengue fever, a potentially fatal illness nicknamed 'mini-malaria' for which there is no cure. The end of the south coast monsoon season means the beginning of the dive season, so this weekend I will be heading to Hikkaduwa, a beautifu, wide, yellow sandy beach quite near Galle, to do my first dive of the season. I will be hoping, as usual, to see a whale shark as, at this time of year they migrate past Sri Lanka, but the likelihood is slim. And, at work, the students are about to do exams so are frantically trying to revise. It's amazing how hard these children work, it is not unusual for a student to be in school at 6am for a sports practice (before it gets too hot), then attending lessons until 2pm, or some days until 4pm, and afterwards to extra tuition classes, then homework! Rosie | 
