The Tsunami hits Chennai

It is rather mind boggling to think how quickly life can change and how one moment in history can have such a worldwide impact. The monstrous tsunami that hit South-East Asia on December 26, 2004 is a perfect example of this. I was on vacation in Chennai, India on that fateful day and I remember waking up to my bed gently rocking due to the 9.0 earthquake in Indonesia: 1,600km away! Although it was all the talk at breakfast, none of us could begin to fathom the effects that earthquake was about to have. Life progressed as normal for a couple of hours for us as we went to church and for all the children and fishermen who spend most their waking moments at the sea. There was no forewarning, no realization that a fifteen foot wave was about to pound the shore. For a number of hours after the tsunami hit we watched our TV in shock: a sickening numbness washed over us and absolute disbelief sank in. For me, the disaster hit on two fronts: coming to terms with the impact on southern India where I was visiting, as well as on my new home, Indonesia. Thankfully Java did not even feel the quake, much less experience the effects of the tsunami, so all my students and co-workers were fine.

Being so close in proximity to such a disaster was a little surreal! Just two days before the wave we were at the beach chatting with fishermen and wading out into the Bay of Bengal. Forty-eight hours before and I might have been washed away. The day after the wave we were to visit seven old Hindu temples, which had been built right out into the sea and had gradually succumbed to nature. The last of these temples were washed away just twenty-four hours before our visit.

We decided to go ahead with our plans to visit parts of the city despite the disaster that just happened. Most of the places were far from the coastline and we felt a need to get out of the house and away from the TV to clear our heads. It was good to see the different parts of Chennai from ornate temples to the influence that the apostle Thomas had as a missionary to southern India. One of my favourite parts of the day was our visit to St. Thomas Basilica where tables, chairs and tents were set up as a temporary relief camp. People were working together to serve those who were most affected by the tsunami. Most were women and children whose husbands/dads were fishermen. The adults were pretty quiet, but the children came running over as soon as we arrived. During our stay in India we had been getting used to being asked for money or having our pictures taken, as though we were celebrities, just because we were white, but on this day the children kept asking us to take their picture! They were so happy: laughing and posing in front of our cameras. It was good to see that we could do something to brighten their day amidst this tragedy.