Tsunami survivor, buying lottery.

Noeline Welandaratne in Galle says that, it is very difficult for the females to stay in the welfare camp in the nights.

"Perhaps not now that their lullaby of an ocean has become a dirge."

I asked an acquaintance, "Am I crazy, or are people here as happy as they look?" He told me, without a trace of saccharine, "Sri Lankans, they have troubles. But they're always
smiling.

"Perhaps not now that their lullaby of an ocean has become a dirge. - Madeline Drexler

"Serendipity -- has been overrun by tidal waves..."

MADELINE DREXLER
The Sri Lanka I knew

By Madeline Drexler December 28, 2004


...........Throughout its history, the island once known by Arab traders as Serendib -- from which we get the word "serendipity" -- has been overrun by tidal waves. But most of these have been human rather than aquatic. Invasions by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British deformed this gem for colonial profit. Deadly internal strife between Tamils and Sinhalese continues to this day, which is why the sign on the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce reads: "The Need of the Hour: Discipline, Law, and Order Amongst the Leaders and the People."

Yet traveling through Sri Lanka, what I experienced overwhelmingly were kindness and generosity. Hosts seemed ready to go to any ends to make a stranger comfortable. I also noticed a justifiable sense of pride: The literacy rate here is 98 percent, and public health services far outclass those in its giant northern neighbor, India. And while pockets of deep poverty remain, in rural areas -- which is to say, most of the country -- the most conspicuous and startling impression is that almost everyone appears happy. The roads are thronged with smilers and laughers.

I asked an acquaintance, "Am I crazy, or are people here as happy as they look?" He told me, without a trace of saccharine, "Sri Lankans, they have troubles. But they're always smiling."

Perhaps not now that their lullaby of an ocean has become a dirge.

Madeline Drexler is a Boston-based journalist and author. She writes about medicine and public health.
In Boston Globe

Sunset in Galle

A scene in Peraliya.

Temporary shelters being built in Peraliya.