The Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami devastated Sri Lanka's coastal areas. All people can do is try to salvage the fragments of their lives. Many lost everything.

COMMENTS BY: Rukman De Silva, a graduate student from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.

I’m a 3rd year graduate student at chemistry department. And I’m from Sri Lanka, one of the worst hit countries by the tsunamis. And I’m going to talk a few worlds about how Sri Lanka has suffered from this disaster.

On behalf of the Sri Lankan people, I like to thank President James Wright, the Tucker foundation and Dartmouth community for organizing such a fund raising event.

I’ve heard from my families and friends in Sri Lanka about the devastation the country has suffered.

The confirmed deaths toll in this small nation of Sri Lanka it self is around 47,000 and about 10% of the total population is displaced.

Tourism and fishing, two of the biggest industries in Sri Lanka are badly affected by this disaster.

Most survivors not only lost their loved ones but also their homes and livelihood. It took only minutes to take way everything that people worked for all their lives.

The social impact of this crisis is unspeakable; there is a generation of children without parents and parents who have lost their children. I haven’t met a single Sri Lankan who has not lost a relative or a friend from this disaster.

Although we cannot put a price on the social impact, we can give the survivors some normalcy by helping them to rebuild their lives. So, My dear friends, your generosity will go a long way in helping these survivors.

Click on one of the other names to hear his or her thoughts about Sri Lanka's media and culture.

Ian Barrow, professor of history at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt. He did a project entitled Research in Sri Lanka: British Colonial Surveying in Sri Lanka, 1796-1850.
Angelo Fernando covers media issues in his writing for Sri Lanka. He has spent many years living and working in Sri Lanka. He was referred to me through Marilyn Cormier, from the President's Office at St. Michael's College, in Colchester, Vt.
Marilyn Cormier grew up in Sri Lanka and moved to the United States when she was young. She now works as the director of Community Relations in the Office of the President at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt.