Perspective

Most of you may not know but I am originally from the island of Sri Lanka, although now I’m living in Illinois, USA.

My immediate family was not harmed, but this really brought my life into perspective.

When the news of the tragedy came I was in Peoria, IL at a home of a Sri Lankan friend of my parents. There were atleast 50 Sri Lankan’s at the house and the party was just beginning to start. Because of the time difference, people were also beginning to wish relatives at around 2PM Central U.S. time. The news came and the party itself completely crashed.

Sri Lanka is an Island nation and most expected total distruction. The place transformed immediately to a telephone center as people tried to reach relatives at home. As I said above, my immediate family was unhardmed, but some of those at the party had family members that were forced to leave their homes.

Sri Lanka, isn’t exactly a developed nation, it doesn’t have plans to cope with disasters such as this. The president flat out, came out and said that the nation cannot handle a disaster of this size. Imagine, whole towns wiped out, over 4500 casualties, looting, not enough medical care, damaged drinking water.

One moment I’m partying away when I could have been swept to my death.