This Christmas, Brintha Vasagar (CAS ‘07) was in northeastern Sri Lanka, working to rebuild the country after 20 years of civil war between the Tamil Tigers rebel group and Sri Lanka’s government. On Dec. 26th, the tsunami hit the region. She recorded her experiences in a widely distributed e-mail, and is currently working to raise money toward the international relief effort. Brintha directs anyone who wants to donate to tsunami victims to the International Medical Health Organization, a non-political, non-profit, humanitarian organization, found at www.imhousa.org.
Where were you when the tsunami hit?
I was about three miles in. I was supposed to be on the coast that morning, at an orphanage, and at the very last second, somebody told me I’d be attending a meeting instead. So, we got in the 4X4 pickup truck and started to drive. The floodwaters got so deep that we had to get out and walk through the waters. Later, I found out that at the orphanage I was supposed to be at, only five out of 150 kids survived.
How long had you been in the country, and what exactly were you doing there?
I’d been there for seven days before the wave, and I stayed for two weeks after. My parents are both from there, so it’s always been really funny for me to say, “I’m 100 percent Sri Lankan,” never having been to the country because of the war. So, I begged my parents for years, and when I finally convinced my mother that it was safe to go, this is when I ended up going. I just wanted to see where my parents grew up and also to help in the rebuilding effort.
Did you see the effects of the war?
Oh, definitely. Even before anything had even happened. Every single one of my pictures has barbed wire in it; it’s everywhere. There has been military occupation for so many years; there’s military everywhere. You’re not allowed to wear black belts because that’s the signal of an army person and you can get thrown in prison for that. Also, in our culture, women wear their hair long, so many more women than men died in the tsunami because their hair got tangled in the barbed wire. They couldn’t even swim out.
Did you see any aid reaching the area?
It took three days before anything, anything, was there besides the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, which was built, funded and run all by people who were in the area to begin with.
How did you feel about the media’s coverage of the event?
I could not take pictures of these people afterward; I could not believe there was media there before there were NGOs or any other help. It was ridiculous. These people don’t want their pictures being taken during the worst moments of their lives. I’m sure they’re not going to treasure the picture that makes the newspaper. It was also sad that, in this area, it took seven days before there was any television coverage.
What was the most captivating thing you saw?
When we first got to the camps, we were supposed to be helping with the bodies, making sure that disease didn’t spread. But, we didn’t know that the bodies were bodies because the force of the water had ripped the skin right off and the bodies looked white instead of the typical dark skin.
What would you like people to know about the effects of the tsunami?
Just that these people had nothing before. They were displaced from their homes because of years of war. My dad still can’t go back to his house because the military is still occupying it. Now, they’re displaced again, and they’ve lost everything. They don’t have anything and they’re banding together, but it’s just so sad. The kids are playing with dirt.
Do the things you saw still haunt you?
Definitely. I wake up with dreams all the time. A week later, we woke up one morning, and the sky looked exactly like it had the day of the tsunami. We were all just sobbing and panicking. It’s just a very surreal experience.
What do you think you’re going to take away from this?
I’m in a very strange position, because I was supposed to be at that orphanage that morning, and I feel like, because I’ve been given this second lease on life-or whatever-I need to go out and do as much as I possibly can. I’ve been putting off school and doing interviews nonstop, trying to raise money for different organizations like the International Medical Health Organization.
