Dear friends,
It has taken a long
time, but now you finally have the opportunity of reading about the experiences of people,
like myself, who were directly affected by the Tsunami of December 26th 2004.
I have written a book
with the title:
Tsunami, Tears and Humanity.
The Experience of a Southern Sri Lankan Community.
In this book, you will
find many interesting stories and photos recording our experiences of the Tsunami in
Weligama, a town in the south of Sri Lanka. You will also read about what has happened there and elsewhere during the last
two years of reconstruction and recovery. I have tried to explain how much people like
yourselves, from all over the world, helped us and how your donated funds were used. But,
in addition, I describe how a very small number of people took advantage of this disaster
and why some donated funds did not immediately reach the affected victims, people who are
in many cases still mourning the loss of close relatives.
Above all, however, I
would like to express, through this book, my sincere thanks to those many people who helped
us during these difficult times. This is surely your first opportunity to read such a
detailed and truthful account of the Tsunami by someone who directly experienced the
disaster and its aftermath.
It is also my aim in
the book to point out how humanitarian aid could be managed differently, if such a disaster
is repeated. The perspectives of people directly affected by the Tsunami differ, but they
are all useful when thinking about how future disasters should be responded to.
The book, originally
written in the Sinhalese language, has been translated into both English and German. The
book, in paperback translation, is approximately 165 pages (A5 size) long and contains 125
pictures. It is divided into 10 chapters. There are some pages as sample reading on my
homepage.
How are the earnings from the book to be used?
There are still about
forty families in Weligama, directly affected by the Tsunami, whose houses, after two years
of reconstruction, have not been completely rebuilt. I would like to help them to build at
least the first floor of their two-storey houses. In addition there are about seven
fishermen who have not received an outboard motor for their boats, and I intend to help
them purchase these. I have committed myself, in addition, to pay for the living expenses
of three orphans up until the age of 18, unless sponsorship can be found for them.
(Information on my homepage)
One orphan boy I
particularly took into my heart. He lost his brother, sister and mother in the Tsunami (see
page 75 in the book). He is very badly off, because his father ran off with the money he
received for building a house to a distant town, where he now lives with another woman. His
son is still having to live in a tent with his aunt, who is looking after him.
In cases like these, I
would very much like to help, and this will be made possible through earnings from the book
I have written. In order to keep the costs of the book low, as well as to help the recovery
of the local economy, the book has been printed in Weligama, from where it will be posted
to buyers.
What does the book cost and how do you get a copy?
The price of the book
is £9.50, which includes postage. If you are able to pay more than this amount, by way of a
donation, this would be sincerely appreciated. The English version will be printed by the
end of January and will be on sale a few weeks later. (The German version will be printed
by the end of March).
Please place your order by e-mail to project.srilanka@durham.ac.uk
You will then be
informed of the method of payment and a copy of the book will be sent to you, on receipt of
payment, from the UK. Distribution
through bookshops is also planned.
The ISBN numbers are:
978-955-50032-0-9 (Sinhala), 978-955-50032-1-6 (English), 978-955-50032-2-3
(German).
Please help to
promote my book, if you are willing to do so.
I
thank you for your interest and remain
with
best regards
your
P.G.K. Jagath Premalal
Jaga Bay Resort
Pelena
Weligama
Sri Lanka
Tel. +94 41
2250033
eMail:
jagabay@sltnet.lk
INet:
www.jagabay.com
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