Though it is often easy to feel helpless and unsure in the midst of a crisis, Thilakshani Dias '05 was inspired to begin her own relief efforts after the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami, which wreaked havoc on her hometown Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Unlike most Americans, who saw the tsunami on television from the comfort of home, Dias and several other Brown students witnessed the shocking aftereffects firsthand in the familiar surroundings of their neighborhoods. The experience compelled Dias to start the Tsunami Relief Housing Project.
"I never expected to see half the things I saw there," Dias said.
Arjun Iyengar '05, who lives in New Jersey, was in Chennai, India, during the days following the tsunami, visiting family members and conducting research for his thesis. Chennai is a large city with over 4 million inhabitants located on the southeastern coast of India.
Iyengar visited relief camps in Mahabilipuram and was impressed with the overall sense of unity among the aid workers who had come from all over India and Southeast Asia to help. He met an official from Thailand who came to set up a blood bank even though his own country had also been affected.
"In a way, it was like we were united in grief," Iyengar said.
Dias spent the days after the tsunami checking in on family members in other towns and helping distribute a truckful of supplies her friends had gathered. They drove to southwestern Sri Lanka, one of the worst-hit areas.
Their first stop was at a military base in Weerwila where they talked with military officials about distributing the aid. However, "there were complications," Dias said. "They wanted us to leave our stuff there, but we wanted to make sure it was getting into the hands of people."
Dias and her friends then went to a Buddhist temple where a priest offered to lead them further inland. With her guide, Dias reached isolated villages packed with people and was finally able to distribute the supplies.
The amount of aid that reached Sri Lanka was "shocking," Dias said, but logistical problems prevented people from obtaining immediate access to it. In the following week, Dias and her friends made three additional trips to make sure that tsunami victims received the aid.
During these trips, Dias realized that the "need for housing is unbelievable," she said. Through her Tsunami Relief Housing Project, her goal is to raise money to construct six to eight houses for people who have lost their homes in the tsunami crisis.
"I want to be realistic about what I want to do. (The goal) is manageable. It can be done," Dias said.
Dias said she has raised about $3,000 so far, enough money to construct three homes. She said she has received a large amount of support from family and friends as well as resources on campus including the Swearer Center for Public Service, the Third World Center and the Office of Campus Life and Student Services.
Shai Muthana '08 also witnessed the devastating effects of the tsunami. She was visiting her home in Chennai when the tsunami occurred.
Muthana said she was not immediately aware of the catastrophe when the first tsunami wave broke around 9 a.m., because she was asleep. It was not until later that morning that she realized something unusual had happened.
"None of us knew what was going on. Initially, (my family and I) thought it was a small tidal wave," Muthana said.
To make matters worse, both the telephone lines and cable lines were cut, making it impossible to find out exactly what had occurred. It was not until the next day, when Muthana walked along the beach and through her neighborhood, that she became aware of the large amount of destruction the tsunami had wreaked upon the coast.
"All the resorts and restaurants were completely destroyed. All the fisher folk were displaced," Muthana said.
Muthana's house, only about 65 feet away from the beach, escaped similar destruction.
"(My family and I) were lucky. ... The water destroyed everything around us," she said.
University officials said last month that no Brown students or alums were known to have been injured in the tsunami.
