Sri Lanka groups plan a vigil at the SM Pier
SANTA MONICA PIER — It’s a day that Keith Ranga will never forget.
Two years ago on Christmas Day, Ranga was celebrating the holidays with his family when news broke of one of the worst natural disasters in history. A major earthquake had erupted, creating tsunami waves that were as high as 20 meters in some places, smashing homes, ruining communities and ultimately killing about 280,000 people.
Ranga, a Sri Lanka native who now lives in Pasadena, was frantic. He could not contact his family back home and sat by the television, watching the news constantly update the death toll. Luckily, Ranga’s family lives about 10 miles from the beach and was able to avoid the tsunami’s destructive path.
An estimated 30,000 people died and 850,000 were displaced in Sri Lanka.
Today, Ranga, who is the head of the Sri Lanka American Association of Southern California, and representatives of Sri Lankan organizations from across the state, will assemble at the Santa Monica Pier to commemorate the second anniversary of the South Asia Tsunami — a devastation that has affected the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans both here and abroad.
“There were so many lives lost over there and people are still suffering,” Ranga said on Thursday. “People who lost their homes, kids and family.”
Paalama, a Los Angeles-based organization that aims to bring the Sri Lankan community in the United States together, is organizing the event for the second straight year at the pier. Paalama, means “bridge” in Sinhala, one of the languages spoken in Sri Lanka, according to Paalama co-founder Rashantha de Silva “The pier is the most fitting place for something like this because of the proximity to the ocean,” said de Silva on Thursday.
The location is also central for the participating organizations, many of which are in Southern California.
The candlelight vigil ceremony will commence at 5:30 p.m. at the pier, where the Sri Lanka Consulate General from the Downtown Los Angeles office will speak about ongoing tsunami relief efforts. Several Sri Lankan religious denominations — including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Muslim — will offer prayer services, followed by a moment of silence, when flowers will be released into the ocean.
The event is open to the public. “When we release flowers to the ocean, there is a very strong connection,” said de Silva.“We are far away from our country and we need to be able to feel [what Sri Lankans are feeling back home].
“WHEN WE RELEASE FLOWERS TO THE OCEAN, THERE IS A VERY STRONG CONNECTION.” — Rashantha de Silva Cofounder, Paalama
“For some people, it provides closure.”
De Silva moved to the United States 27 years ago, at the age of 14, and his family back home managed to escape the tsunami unscathed. But some of his American friends who were visiting the country on vacation had perished.
The memorial is a remembrance of not only those who passed away, but those who survived and are suffering through the aftermath, trying to rebuild their lives, said Sanjiv Gunasekera, the head of Fullerton-based Sri Lanka Fund.
Many of the groups that are participating in the memorial have been busy over the past two years raising money to help rebuild communities.The Sri Lanka Fund raised $250,000 within the first 90 days of the tsunami and completed a project of building 40 houses within six months after the disaster.
The organization is also trying to build a 1,600-square foot community center and a preschool. About 60 children under 10 years of age live in those first 40 houses built, said Gunasekera on Friday. The preschool could also service the surrounding neighborhoods where several hundred children are in dire need of early education.
“The rebuilding is at a mid-stage,” Gunasekera said. “There are people who need psychological help. There is a shortage of water, shortage of schooling.
“We should not forget the people who are living and are affected by this.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 26, 2006. Read the original PDF.