German Tsunami Mission in Asia: My Experience and Memories
By Rajkumar Kanagasingam

I couldn't imagine how a tremour underneath in the form of an earthquake by tectonic plate movements caused a massive disaster in the coastal areas of most of the Indian Ocean Rim countries.

Memories of the early morning travel from George Town, the capital of Penang Island of Malaysia to the Teluk Bahang, the northern coastal front of the island still come to mind with the different panoramas of the Strait of Malacca and the silently waving southern seas of Andaman-Nicobar Islands in the far distance.

Likewise the memories of my recent visit in association with a mission on disaster relief to the northern regions of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna come to mind.

Dietmar Doring, Director of "Peace Village International", a German national with his country's young university students as volunteers, Jean Claude Ramige, a veteran German documentary filmmaker who visited and documented various issues ranging from the tribal' cultures to the worst war atrocities around the world and a few relief work volunteers from some local television channels made up the rest of the group.

When we arrived in Kilinochchi, twilight was turning into complete darkness everywhere.

A member of the Sea Tiger unit of the LTTE was all the way along with us by guiding us in the tsunami ravaged areas.

The LTTE member was telling us that they were discovering everyday the dead bodies of the tidal wave victims from a pond which was once a rain water catchment - source, but now a sea water overflowing area.

He said that the bodies were being burnt immediately after recovery and asked us to wait to witness that day's excavation.

The heavy devastation had not only shattered the coastal areas but also the planet earth itself by changing its orbital direction by the explosion it caused.

We had a chance to meet a Catholic priest who narrowly escaped from the tragedy near his totally perished church in coastal Mullaitivu.