The tsunami that struck Sri Lanka in 2004 continues to change people`s lives, both here and abroad.
This week, a team of international scientists from the United States and New Zealand are visiting towns along the Galle coast. With the help of a Sri Lankan geologist, the team is recording the experiences of local residents.
`When we videotape a person`s story, we capture the all-important human experience ? not just facts, dates, measurements,` said Dr. Walter Dudley, a University of Hawaii marine geologist and a founder of the Pacific Tsunami Museum. `We collect these stories to educate, to inspire. This is one way to apply science to improve life.`
`Stories are powerful tools,` added Dr. James Goff, a geologist with New Zealand`s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA). `A person`s story is not just words ? it`s a way to produce action.`
His wife, Dr. Catherine Chague-Goff, a wetlands specialist from NIWA, agreed. `With these stories, we can teach people how to save their lives when a disaster strikes. This also means the country will be more attractive to tourists, so it stimulates the local economy. Everybody benefits.`
The team`s home base is a hotel in Unawatuna, the Unawatuna Beach Resort. Each day, the scientists visit local communities to interview people ? fishermen, teachers, storekeepers. They are interested in the experiences of everyday people, not just experts.
`We`ve fallen in love with this country,` said Gail Karwoski, the fourth member of the team, an American writer of books for children and teenagers. `The physical beauty of the land, the welcoming and friendly attitude of the people. We consider it a gift, when people share their stories with us. It`s difficult to speak about such painful memories. But we hope it gives people some comfort to know that their memories are helping others.`
Dr. Starin Fernando, a geologist from Sri Lanka`s Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, located in Dehiwela, has volunteered his time to play a critical role in the project. He has contacted local residents and translated for the team. Fernando has been involved in tsunami studies with his work on the warning system now in place along Sri Lanka`s coastline. `But it takes more than scientific study,` Fernando explained. `A critical part of any warning system is public education. If we teach people what to look for ? the warning signs ? and to listen and respond to the public alert, then we will save lives.`
The team hopes that their interviews will eventually be used in a permanent memorial to the 2004 disaster, the most devastating tsunami in recorded history. `We`ve worked with officials in Thailand and India to establish museums similar to the one in Hilo, Hawaii,` said Dudley. `These are tributes to people`s heroism and centers for public education. Thousands of visitors come to the Pacific Tsunami Museum every year. They leave with an understanding of what happened. We would like to talk to the government about the possibility of setting up a museum like this in Sri Lanka. Dr. Dissanayake, the Director of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, is trying to help us with this.`
`The museum itself is a popular tourist attraction. Hawaiian visitors feel safer on our shores. They know what to do if a disaster strikes.` The city of Hilo in Hawaii was hit with deadly tsunamis in 1946 and again in 1960.
Karwoski added, `I got interested in tsunamis after I visited the Hilo museum. That inspired my book, based on the stories of Hawaiian children who were interviewed by museum workers.` Karwoski is the author of 8 books for young readers, including her latest: Tsunami, the True Story of an April Fool`s Day Disaster. `I hope the stories of Sri Lankan kids will be the basis of another children`s book.`
Goff is the only member of the team who has visited Sri Lanka before. His first visit was days after the 2004 event. `The devastation that I witnessed was heartbreaking. I knew I had to return, to share what happened with people around the world.`
`When James came home and described what he`d seen ? how such a lovely place had been attacked by the waves ? I knew I had to come here with him,` Chague-
Goff said. `I took a leave from my work to come here. Because this is important. This is what a scientist should do ? discover ways to make our lives better and communicate this information with people around the world.`
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