Some thoughts

On the morning of the 26 Dec 2004 an earthquake with magnitude 9 took place beneath the Indian Ocean. A section on the earths crust over 1000 km long shifted. Focused by this force, with a power equal to 23’000 Hiroshima atomic bombs the seawater moved in-land.

I was not more then 5 m away from the sea in a hotel sleeping just to wake up to find this great big power heading at me.

It has been 10 years since this moment changed my entire walk with life. It is this part of my life that I hope to share with you today. My aim is to try to let you see how something like this affects someone’s life. How it changes everything, some for the positive and some for the negative.

The beach was my home since I was a small boy running naked with my brother and sister in Hikkaduwa playing on the beach. Spending every day on the beach. The sea has always given me peace and stillness. Even as I grew older the sea was always calling out to me. After the Tsunami that all changed. I could not get myself to find peace with her. To understand her.

For many survivors the biggest and the strongest feeling was a feeling of guilt. I was constantly asking my self: Why did I survive and so many died?

This feeling made me question my whole life. I have been a religious person for most of my life but after the big waves, even God and his will was a big question to me.

The other main thing that troubled me was my dreams of the tsunami. Every time I went to the sea or heard something about the tsunami my dreams were full of moments with me gasping for air and trying to fight the waves.

I volunteered and worked for many NGO`s for over 4 years. Working mostly on projects related to children and art. I found some peace in helping others.Some peace in my art. Most of the time my heart was full of kindness for others but my actions were somewhat selfish. I was helping others to find some sort peace. Neglecting myself.  But this does not work.

Even with all the distractions this world has to offer, you cannot escape. I would always feel empty, ending up in the same place but now with more questions. I started to get very interested in Buddhism and meditation. At one point even seriously considering becoming a Buddhist monk. I even went to the extreme point of doing a vipassana meditation for 10 days non-stop with no water or food. My body was very close to deaths door with this action I took. I ended up spending up to 3 months in and out of hospitals as a result of that action.

In a spiritual sense, I cannot express my experience in words. But I am thankful for the experience. I have no regrets!

My walk in spirituality has taken me down many walks to meet many Gods. Now I think I have made a new religion. Something that combines the truths of many religions. Even Mother Nature is a big part of it. The sea is part of it. In this religion everything is connected to each other.

Over the years this life has taken me to many places and to meet many good and kind people all over. Many are walking in the path that they think is the truth. My friend, I am telling you that in every religion there are truths and in every religion there are dark sides. Buddha thought us how to walk in the middle way; this is my main truth now. I take the teachings of kindness from all religions and leave the darkness out. The darkness can find its own way.

I have not talked about the rebuilding efforts and how the kind efforts of many people ended up with the corruption of money and power. This chapter involves a lot of ugliness and politics; I am not going to address it. My aim its to create positivity in the hearts of humans.

One of my good friends told me that she worried about me. I was trying to help others while my own mind needed help. There is some truth in this. I have a background in psychology and over the years I have been working in many psychosocial projects while at the same time I was working on myself. But it’s been a very slow walk for me in my mind. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for people who lost everything, including family members.

I can still hear the voice of this man in Unawatuna, who had lost his mother and father, two children wife and house. His questions to Gods and to us was: why was I left behind?

I have no answers for him. I could only hold him close to me and hug him has hard I could. This man has now some how managed to re-build his life. He has a small house with two little children and a wife. He told me something very strong. “I had to live for them, they are a part of everything I do. I hold them close to my heart and my soul. They are always with me. In each new step I take.” The power of the human spirit never seems to stops amazing me. How resilient we are.

If he can find strength from somewhere, somehow, we all Can.

I have helped many children all over Sri Lanka to try to find the love they once had for the Ocean. With many projects related to art and psychosocial work the out come was a small book that I was blessed to write. As a result I have discovered the love I had for the sea once more. But now I respect sea more.

The first days after the tsunami one of the most beautiful things I’ve got to see, was the unselfishness of man. Somehow the feeling of “we” was very present. People were doing very unselfish acts all over. It was not about “me” but about “us”. If we can harness even 20% of this unselfishness then we can create many more smiles in this world.

My friends, in this walk of life all we can do is our best. I pray that your best is full of kindness and respect. For each other, for nature and for all its elements.

If any of my words have moved you in some way, all I ask of you is to be kind to someone today. Give out some of that kindness, I know you all have it in you.

My heart goes out to all who were affected, directly or indirectly. You are not forgotten!

Blessings of kindness and love.

- Timothy Barco.

  Unawatuna, Sri Lanka.

Some background info 

TIMOTHYS TSUNAMI EXPERIENCE- http://timothybarco.blogspot.ch
THE 3 FRIENDS AND THE BIG WAVE -http://lankawork.blogspot.ch
UNAWATUNA SMILES - http://unawatunasmiles.blogspot.ch

Some of you my closed friends have been here when Tsumami happened on 26th Dec. 10 years ago... how lucky we are ... still here & alive... and all the people from around this area ... images fades ... but this feelings will be always in our hearts xxx on 
- by Liza Bella 
(Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka) 


They may cut all the flowers but never could stop the spring. Peace and Love for all on  
- by lauranoe2012 
(Argentina) 

This child, less than two years old, probably went through and survived the boxing day tsunami in 2004. Eight years to the day I visited his family in a hospital run by foreign and local aid workers as part of my work, in the then isolated rural hospital in Puthukkidiyiruppu, which was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami. My hope for him is, he is still alive and thriving well and is in a better prospect from then to today, after having gone through the worst of personal and collective trauma any family can go through. My heartfelt wishes for the young one. 
- By Miranda Rajkumari
Imphal, India

Just as this rock stays and stays even with all the feisty beating of the ocean waves, resilience of people is sure to withstand the beatings and slashings of the Tsunami.
We shall ALWAYS overcome!!! 

- Ego Onwuka 
(Melbourne, Australia)

We did not know that after the day we took this photo, we would never be same persons again… It was taken the day before the catastrophic disaster in 26 December 2004 and we were happy, careless young trainees, having the time of our lives in “land like no other”. Christmas on the sunny beach! We had a great dinner, 7 of us from all corners of the world, having no idea we are to be woken up in the morning by local friends in screams. Lucky enough to survive, we escaped for hours. But memories of our beloved country will always follow us… Memories of frangipanis, memories of fishermen, memories of children, memories of friendship and love…


- Oya Otman
  Turkey

Hope you all having a nice & new day after X’mas evening. Sorry just give u pain posting this & reminding those black memories which happened exactly 10years back in Sri Lanka. This is my home city, Galle - which looked like while Tsunami hit without any warning.

The day 26/12/2004 - It was ten years ago from today that the deadly tidal wave, Tsunami, hit Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Thailand and several other countries making history as one of the most catastrophic natural disasters on earth. All the people who lost their wonderful lives, family members & possessions ten years ago, still you all in our prayers... R.I.P
"Everybody knew somebody who was involved. Everybody knew somebody who had gone."

-Jay Deep

 Unawatuna | Sri Lanka | UK


"Everybody knew somebody who had gone."

10 years ago today - The lives of tens of thousands people in South Asia and East Africa changed forever. I was one of the fortunate ones who did not lose any family or friends to the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. This tragic event marked my foray into social work and the release of a conscience that had been caged by insular angst. It was my call to action.

It marked the beginning of an era in which I was plunged into the realities of death, greed and suffering, an expansion of my naive understanding of most of the world's people live. Yet in the midst of this bleak passage, there were radiant examples of hope and determination. To rebuild and focus forward. To transcend self-victimisation. It inspires me to this day.

Today I pay my respects to those who lost their lives to those indiscriminate waves. To those who were cheated by their own government and manipulated under the guise of salvation. It is deeply humbling to sense that what was a horrific turn of events for so many, in truth marked one of the most positive shifts in direction in my life. With it comes a deep sense of responsibility that I will carry till my time comes. 

By Shanil Samarakoon
Sri Lanka / Australia 
Photo Credit: Florian Palzinsky



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