Tsunami the Teacher: A Documentary
Synopsis
On December 26, 2004, Tsunami tidal waves caused immense destruction to the coastal area of Sri Lanka. These tidal waves have caused the loss of thousands of valuable human lives and destroyed property worth millions of rupees. This disaster has affected not only the economy of the coastal belt but also the national economy of the country. Consequent to this, the focus now, is on re-habilitation and re-construction and re-settlement. However there are views expressed by the affected people that those in the authority have proposed various projects without consulting them. In this critical situation, we wish to focus our attention to an important aspect.
It is of paramount importance to realize the message Tsunami has delivered to us. We, the human beings, without having understood the natural geography of the coastal area, have acted in a way so as to cause an imbalance in the natural flow of the sea, inviting destruction by the sea. In brief, inland waterways and canals along which sea water and the floods flowed naturally from inland and moved out into the sea, from time to time, were converted into settlements without any concern for the environment and this in turn led to the recent Tsunami tidal waves destroying such settlements. The manner in which the Tsunami destructions have taken place clearly bear witness to this aspect. Settlements which were away from the natural water flow were spared while those that obstructed such a flow were completely wiped out.
Therefore, it is prudent to take seriously the lessons of Tsunami into consideration when rehabilitation and re-settlement programmes are planned. Such planning with the participation of those who have been affected becomes essential if we are save our future generations from calamities even to the magnitude of Tsunami. This documentary aims to bring to focus the above aspects so that man lives in harmony with nature for his own good and the well-being of the future generations.
Third Eye
Local Knowledge and Skill Activists Group. 10.01.2005
