Warstein0r
Ex Burger-Ping Admins
Ich weiss sowas gehört absolut nicht hier hin, aber Jev0r und ich waren 2000 in Australien. da lernten wir ein nettes Mädel kennen. dies wohnt heute in Colombo/Sri Lanka. ICh bekam heute diese email von ihr. Wollte damit nur mal sagen, dass es viel schlimmeres gibt, als die probleme die wir hier haben. Hier ihre Mail
Hey hey!
I hope you and your families are safe.
A few friends and I had planned a relaxing weekend over Christmas on Unawantuna beach, near Galle in Lanka.We reached on Friday night and partied the night away, slept all day on Saturday and had a pretty quiet night so we could wake up early and swim in the sea. Woke up on Sunday and were pottering around getting ready to have a swim in the ocean when Jenny and I heard people screaming outside our villa.We went outside and saw people running past us screaming their heads off. We could hear a deep roaring sound the whole time, strangely fascinated - we both kept staring in the direction of the sound. In a couple of seconds we saw an image we will carry with us for the rest of our lives - the sea rushing toward us.
We didn't have time to think - we ran into our villa screaming to Alison and Janine who were inside unaware - to just get out of the house. I didn't even think to grab my stuff, the others took what they could, I just wanted us out of the house. We raced out of the house escaping the water by seconds. John, who was traveling with us was on top of the rocks above us and said that if we had delayed getting out of the villa any further we would have been swept away and probably smashed against walls and trees.
We then waited at the top of the rocks for about 20 minutes, we had the sea on both sides - the other side of the ocean was just below us and was eerily calm. We had no information about what had just happened, we were scared and confused and in our PJs! We kept getting conflicting reports about the next wave - we were petrified. We grabbed whatever we could and started climbing a mountain that was further inland. We saw bodies of children and adults on the side of the street, there was crap everywhere, livewires and nobody knew what we should really be doing. We kept climbing and reached a local house where there was an Aussie girl sipping tea. Sarah Roberts had been visiting Sri Lanka with her Aussie/Lankan boyfriend and they had been on the beach when the tidal wave occured. She had just watched her boyfriend drown. We heard so many horrifying stories - parents watching their children get washed away, partners watching their loved ones get swept into the ocean - since it was still fairly early in the day people were still asleep in their rooms......the horror is endless.
We finally reached a congregation of about 60 westerners and a few locals at one of the highest points on the mountain. We stayed here for the rest of the day just helping people that were hurt. The waiting was the worst. We didn't know what else to expect, had no idea what had just happened........and all of knew there was a good chance that we might not make it out. We kept waiting for a wave that would wash us all into the ocean and keep us there.
When it was getting dark we knew we had to have some cover - there was a good chance of getting bitten either by mosquitos or snakes - depending on our luck. We once again set off uphill until we reached a church where we decided to spend the night. We met some of the kindest locals - they gave more than they had and helped us with water and crackers. A local family that lived by the church adopted us and a few other foreigners for the night. About 30 of us slept on their floor. We woke up the next morning and decided to walk to the nearest town - Galle.
On our way, we saw people screaming and running again and telling us to turn back as there was another tidal wave coming. We knew it was now or never - we had to get out so we kept walking. Walking through Galle was devastating - there were bodies twisted up and piled on the side of the road. I have never felt so terrified and devasted at the same time. We reached Galle and then hitchiked to Colombo with the most wonderful couple who took us inland to their home and gave us tea and let us shower (after 3 days). We reached Colombo early Tuesday morning - 48 hours later!
Just walking was difficult - we hadn't eaten much in two days except for crackers and some rice. But more than anything else to see our favourite beach in Lanka totally levelled was distressing - such a waste of life. It's going to take months to re-build. People have lost everything they own. They just sit on the side of road because they have nowhere to go to. They own nothing, often they have lost family members. How do you cope with such a tragedy? At least we all have homes and families to come back to. There are still many missing, the body count will only keep rising. People in Lanka are really helping, but we need help from the rest of the world. Please help in any way you can. I know that ODEL, the organisation I work for is really helping out with medicine and supplies. We plan to raise funds to re-build the wiped out communities.
Please let me know if there is any relief you can provide. I will be hapy to provide you with more information as I have it.You can be assured that it will reach the most affected areas in Lanka. Also, if you need any information on missing family members I can call embassies and search parties.
Finally, it's just so great to be alive. We all have a new found respect for life. There is so much that could have gone wrong but we know that someone was watching out for us. Everyone this e-mail has been sent to has touched my life in some way and I just want to say I really appreciate it. Thank you.
Take care,
Bindu
Hey hey!
I hope you and your families are safe.
A few friends and I had planned a relaxing weekend over Christmas on Unawantuna beach, near Galle in Lanka.We reached on Friday night and partied the night away, slept all day on Saturday and had a pretty quiet night so we could wake up early and swim in the sea. Woke up on Sunday and were pottering around getting ready to have a swim in the ocean when Jenny and I heard people screaming outside our villa.We went outside and saw people running past us screaming their heads off. We could hear a deep roaring sound the whole time, strangely fascinated - we both kept staring in the direction of the sound. In a couple of seconds we saw an image we will carry with us for the rest of our lives - the sea rushing toward us.
We didn't have time to think - we ran into our villa screaming to Alison and Janine who were inside unaware - to just get out of the house. I didn't even think to grab my stuff, the others took what they could, I just wanted us out of the house. We raced out of the house escaping the water by seconds. John, who was traveling with us was on top of the rocks above us and said that if we had delayed getting out of the villa any further we would have been swept away and probably smashed against walls and trees.
We then waited at the top of the rocks for about 20 minutes, we had the sea on both sides - the other side of the ocean was just below us and was eerily calm. We had no information about what had just happened, we were scared and confused and in our PJs! We kept getting conflicting reports about the next wave - we were petrified. We grabbed whatever we could and started climbing a mountain that was further inland. We saw bodies of children and adults on the side of the street, there was crap everywhere, livewires and nobody knew what we should really be doing. We kept climbing and reached a local house where there was an Aussie girl sipping tea. Sarah Roberts had been visiting Sri Lanka with her Aussie/Lankan boyfriend and they had been on the beach when the tidal wave occured. She had just watched her boyfriend drown. We heard so many horrifying stories - parents watching their children get washed away, partners watching their loved ones get swept into the ocean - since it was still fairly early in the day people were still asleep in their rooms......the horror is endless.
We finally reached a congregation of about 60 westerners and a few locals at one of the highest points on the mountain. We stayed here for the rest of the day just helping people that were hurt. The waiting was the worst. We didn't know what else to expect, had no idea what had just happened........and all of knew there was a good chance that we might not make it out. We kept waiting for a wave that would wash us all into the ocean and keep us there.
When it was getting dark we knew we had to have some cover - there was a good chance of getting bitten either by mosquitos or snakes - depending on our luck. We once again set off uphill until we reached a church where we decided to spend the night. We met some of the kindest locals - they gave more than they had and helped us with water and crackers. A local family that lived by the church adopted us and a few other foreigners for the night. About 30 of us slept on their floor. We woke up the next morning and decided to walk to the nearest town - Galle.
On our way, we saw people screaming and running again and telling us to turn back as there was another tidal wave coming. We knew it was now or never - we had to get out so we kept walking. Walking through Galle was devastating - there were bodies twisted up and piled on the side of the road. I have never felt so terrified and devasted at the same time. We reached Galle and then hitchiked to Colombo with the most wonderful couple who took us inland to their home and gave us tea and let us shower (after 3 days). We reached Colombo early Tuesday morning - 48 hours later!
Just walking was difficult - we hadn't eaten much in two days except for crackers and some rice. But more than anything else to see our favourite beach in Lanka totally levelled was distressing - such a waste of life. It's going to take months to re-build. People have lost everything they own. They just sit on the side of road because they have nowhere to go to. They own nothing, often they have lost family members. How do you cope with such a tragedy? At least we all have homes and families to come back to. There are still many missing, the body count will only keep rising. People in Lanka are really helping, but we need help from the rest of the world. Please help in any way you can. I know that ODEL, the organisation I work for is really helping out with medicine and supplies. We plan to raise funds to re-build the wiped out communities.
Please let me know if there is any relief you can provide. I will be hapy to provide you with more information as I have it.You can be assured that it will reach the most affected areas in Lanka. Also, if you need any information on missing family members I can call embassies and search parties.
Finally, it's just so great to be alive. We all have a new found respect for life. There is so much that could have gone wrong but we know that someone was watching out for us. Everyone this e-mail has been sent to has touched my life in some way and I just want to say I really appreciate it. Thank you.
Take care,
Bindu
