In Saainthamaruthu: Indelible sorrowful memories of kith and kin
by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
“I saw the waves hitting at 500 meters & coming into the village very fast. Waves were black & came with a noise” says Mohamed Mustafa Najeem (23)
“I stopped eating,took my maternal grandma & left her on a flat & began to help others.There was chaos & people began to panic”.
“Many women in their bathing robes found dead in Saainthamaruthu. We cannot touch women’s body due to religious reasons,but had no other way”
“I am usually sacred to see dead bodies, but on Tsunami day I had courage to carry dead bodies from debris. I took injured people to hospital.
“I carried my neighbor’s 9 year-old son’s body to hospital. I saw many dead bodies at the Ashroff Memorial Hospital, relatives kept crying”.
“I lost a few relatives. It was difficult to witness the tragedy.It took many months to clean our village.Tsunami memories can’t be erased”.
“I never told anybody, I want to tell you, because you are like my own sister. I saw my classmate Fathima Asmiya’s body among chairs & tables”.
“I tried to pull her body out of the debris,but her hand got dislocated & came along, not her body” recalls Mohamed Mustafa Najeem with tears.
“I kept trying. I sat down,nobody wanted to help me because of the bad smell. Later few friends helped me out to get her body out of debris”.
“How can I forget the memories of Tsunami?” queries Mohamed Mustafa Najeem. 3,500 people killed in Saainthamaruthu. Many moved to relief camps
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