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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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The Marines are here by Shanika Sriyananda He was shocked to see how the tsunami had devastated his homeland, a country he had not visited for more years than he could remember. But the horrifying scenes of towns and villages going under huge walls of water, houses and people being washed away, and scenes of people crying for their lost family, made him edgy, compelling him into action. Sri Lanka was after all the country of his birth, the place where his roots were, where all his relatives were.
And Sergeant Shajith K. Ratnapala of the US Police, wanted to be here, not in thought but in person, helping where he could. He received a fortuitous call from the US Marine corps. They wanted him to be part of the 200-men strong team being sent to Sri Lanka for humanitarian work and disaster relief activity in areas devastated in Sri Lanka. "It was the happiest moment in my life", says Sergeant Ratnapala, who is among the 200 marines now engaged in cleaning up the debris of shattered lives building temporary roads and bridges and helping out whereever help is needed. The 31-year old Ratnapala left the shore of Sri Lanka when he was barely three-years-old. He lived in England for 10 years before migrating to California, where he has been living for the past 21 years. He graduated from the high school and joined the US Police. He was attached to the Los Angles Police when he received the invitation to join the Marine Corps and come to Sri Lanka. Stationed in Galle, Ratnapala and the other Sri Lankan - Imran M. Kamiss, are the bridge that breaks the language barrier between the US Marines and the local authorities in the affected areas in the District. Born in Kandy, Kamiss lived in Colombo before moving to the US with his mother and sister when he was just 13-years-old. He graduated in 1997 and joined the US Navy as a helicopter technician. Twenty six-years-old Kamiss, also wanted to help his motherland when he heard about tsunami disaster and says he was thrilled to be called to the US Marine Corps. "I got a phone call from Washington DC saying - Hey do you want to go to Sri Lanka? I did not utter a word. From the Monday after the tsunami disaster I live here", he says. Both, Ratnapala and Kamiss, who are half the size of the ordinary US Marine Corps want to see Sri Lanka rise from the rubble of devastation. They have been assigned the task of interacting with the locals and explaining to them in Sinhala the work of the US Marines and what kind of support they need from Marine corps. "We are having meetings with government officials including principals, grama sevakas and police officers in affected areas", says Ratnapala. Their interaction has been doubly welcome, especially given the misgivings about the purpose of arrival of the marines. "They - the affected people and the villagers - welcomed the US Marines warmly and we have a good rapport with them", Kamiss says. Ratnapala, who had put in a stint with the 3rd Civil Affairs Group from Camp Pendleton, California is now with the Marine Logistics Regiment 2. He had served in Somalia and Iraq as a Marine. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Imran M. Kamiss, a helicopter mechanic with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron-10 from San Diego, California is in the same unit. "People are watching us moving heavy things and cleaning up beaches, schools and their lands. We came here from a long distance to help them. So without watching we urge them to lend us a helping hand to clean the country soon", Kamiss invites. Not sure how long their stay will last, they say they will stay for as long as their service is needed. "But my girl friend is waiting for me and counting the days", says Ratnapala who is ready to say "I do", to a US national, soon. Staff Sergeant Mikey Niman, the communication officer of the Logistics Regiment in Galle says that the Marine Corps that include sailors, marines and airmen are mainly engaged in cleaning the beaches, removing heavy debris from schools, religious places and offices. "We are working from Hikkaduwa to Koggala. We are providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief under the directions of the Sri Lankan government through the Combined Support Group Sri Lanka", he adds. The marines are working together with the officials of the Koggala Air Force and the Boossa Army Base. Apart from bringing heavy equipment like bulldozers and dump trucks to remove heavy debris, the U.S. Air Force helicopter is also used. Niman says that their major priority is to give the children in tsunami hit areas the opportunity of going back to school. "We started cleaning debris from Gintota Vidyalaya. We try to interact with the village people as much as we can", he says. According to Niman, buildings of many schools are unsafe and need to be demolished as the foundations are severely damaged by the tsunami waves. "All five buildings in the Gintota Maha Vidyalaya need to be demolished as their foundations are weak", he says adding "that the marines were able to clean up the whole school and hand over the premises to the Sri Lankan Army within a week. Now a new school can be constructed". Working from dawn to dusk, the US marines clean debris in six sites a day and according to Niman the biggest problem they have is the very narrow roads. "It is very difficult to move our heavy equipment from one site to another. Some times it take more than two hours to move the required heavy equipment to our destination", he complains. However, the warm welcome and smiling faces of displaced people have made the task of these marines very rewarding and they say they want to serve in the country for as long as the government requires them. |
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