fishermen at batticaloa beach

these fisherman lived in a village swept away by the tsunami. their resettlement area is 3km far away (plus crossing the lagoon by boat), but they still come to their old place to fish in the sea. knowing that their families are now safe from further waves is a great pacification for them.

the city of Munich's help tsunami help project built a stretch of road for them, so they can sell their catch now to remote markets (say: Colombo) for a sometimes better price.

This time i was accompanied by a co-worker who is a trained psychiatrist. she openened my eyes in explaining the fishermen's behaviour still so strongly influenced by the tsunami and their feeling of helplessness and ongoing feeling of guilt. the trauma still lives on in them and expresses itself in their eyes, their words, their gestures...

this photo on flickr.

Some rights reserved.