At the brink of dawn in Talalla South, before the sun formally rises, a faint shadow stretches across the bay through dignified palms disguising much of the destruction that was caused. This is the magic of Sri Lanka in its former glory and a scene difficult to rival.
At this time too, while most of the village is stirring, two fishing boats can be seen across the hazy skyline. Men returning from their morning’s work, at sunrise. Although only two boats in the village were salvaged from the wreckage the scenes demonstrate a new hope rising over Talalla.
Friends stay on shore, waiting to view the morning’s catch. Padmalal and Saman use local boats and were the first to courageously venture back onto the water, many others, after six weeks, are still too afraid. This is a community torn apart but pulling together in spirit, making the most of the resources that they have to be able to fish and supply for their families.
An official count tells us that 145 heads of households in Talalla South are in the fishing trade. Men can be seen sitting around on broken boats still scattered closely to the beach, their broken lives ripped apart. Despite the small steps already taken there is still so much to achieve.
Getting people back on the water is a primary objective. An interviewing process was conducted to ascertain how many boats, nets and engines were lost in the village. They are expensive to replace and our budget allowed 12, many of the fishermen work in partnerships and this covers all of the boats in Talalla South. We hope to replace those from the surrounding areas for the people who also use Talalla beach as their fishing port.
The boats and engines have been ordered and will hopefully arrive soon, but movement in Sri Lanka is slow, a way of life even after disaster, which can frustrate our western sensibilities. But any pace means that progress is made and with each new sunrise arrives a fresh hope for Talalla.
