ASIA/SRI LANKA - Appeal from the Catholic Archbishop of Colombo: “Those who have escaped are just left with only themselves and the clothes they were wearing at the moment of the tragedy”

Colombo (Fides Service) - One Sister among the dead, two injured priests, ten churches devastated: this is the first report from the archdiocese of Colombo regarding damage to church personnel and structures. The information was reported to Fides by Archbishop Oswald Gomis who launched an appeal for relief aid and expressed the generosity of the people of Sri Lanka for help which is already arriving and will, they trust, continue to arrive. Here is the Archbishop’s message.

“My Dear Brothers & Sisters,
Greetings in the Lord from Sri Lanka!
I am sure you heard of the terrible tragedy that befell us with a tidal wave on Sunday 26th December morning, while some of our people were still attending church services.
The death toll has now exceeded 22,000 and is expected to rise to 30,000 in the least The tragedy is simply beyond our comprehension and it was all a matter of less than half an hour when the wave dashed and receded. The coastal belt of the whole Island is affected, with the southern end of the Archdiocese of Colombo, being among the worst. The loss of property can hardly be estimated. One nun was killed in the diocese of Galle and two of our priests in the Archdiocese fortunately escaped death. Nearly ten of our churches . . are completely devastated
At the moment we are compelled to harbour over 150,000 refugees in our churches. A large number of our Catholics are also harboured in Buddhist temples as much as we have persons of other faiths in ours. Our urgent need is food, milk food for children., medicine, bedding and temporary shelter (tents) to have them back in their original land sites. Eventually, we will need a lot of housing material and money to put up houses for them as at the moment they are penniless. It is tragic to think that those who have escaped are just left with only themselves and the clothes they were wearing at the moment of the tragedy. Even where the houses have been spared there is nothing left in them. All that has been carried away into the sea or destroyed and they have to begin from scratch.
In the circumstances may I appeal to you, for whatever possible help. We would deeply appreciate every little contribution in this moment of crisis.
We have opened up a fund for the purpose under the designation and details given below. “Archbishop's Tidal Wave Relief Fund”; Banca: Hatton National Bank Ltd. (HNB); address: Hatton National Bank Ltd. Head Office Branch; account number: 0030595467; Switch Code: HBLILKLX
We are very grateful to you for the concern and solidarity with us in our moment of grief and helplessness. Permit me to thank you on behalf of our people as they look forward to your for your generosity. With our prayers and best wishes for the New Year. Yours sincerely in Christ, X Oswald Gomis Archbishop of Colombo
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 3/1/2005 righe 43 parole 466)