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| Sunday, 20 February 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The Burghers of Batticaloa : Displaced and disillusioned by Elmo Leonard The Sunday Observer article of January 23 which highlighted the plight of the forgotten Batticaloa Burghers, caught up in the tsunami has received a very good response from Sri Lankans living in Australia, Canada and Britain. But the plight of these people isn't over. The death toll of these Burgher people living in Batticaloa was put down to 146 by Rev. Fr. Rex Ockersz, a member of that community when he met us in Colombo last week. Others from among these folks said that the real number of their dead ought to be higher considering that whole families ebbed with the tide. The 300 survivors who lost their houses are now refugees at the abandoned Sinhala Maha Vidyalaya, meant for Sinhalese students living in Batticaloa. Their expenses for food is being met, but the Burgher Union's funds are running out, Sunny Ockersz, President of the Burgher Union, Batticaloa said. When money for food is found, they lack cooking utensils, and toilet facilities too are poor. The carpenters, masons, mechanics and the like still have no tools and thus these self-sustaining people continue to suffer enforced unemployment. They would also like to have hurricane lanterns. Forty women of all ages are in need of spectacles. Their surviving children of all ages, upto university, need exercise books, not to speak of text books. An email sent by Mignonne Barthelot from Batticaloa to her aunt Marcello Andrado in Australia says: Things are changing every now and then for the people who are in camps. Their biggest problem is the resettlement. Finding a suitable place is the most difficult one. I went to visit the place with the divisional secretary. Some land was shown for the Burghers to choose from. It was very far from Batticaloa but away from the sea. There were no transport facilities and children have to travel very far to schools. Ivor Balthazaar who lived in Camillus Street Dutch Bar, Batticaloa, presently at St. Cicilia's School, Batticaloa writes to his aunt, resident in Australia: Dear Aunty, I am writing this letter as I want you to know what happened. This Christmas was a special one as we had arranged a variety entertainment for the children. Every one was very happy but no one knew that they would have to cry more than they had laughed, later in the day. Most of the people did not go for mass as they had slept late. In the morning my children were still sleeping. Someone shouted that the sea was coming. I did not know what they meant. Anyway I woke the children and my wife, and we ran from the house and saw the sea flowing into the land. We ran away from it and got on to a concrete path of a house near the lagoon. There was shouting everywhere. We could hear houses breaking down and see things being washed down the lagoon. We escaped and came to town and stayed at St. Michael's College and after two days we were sent to St Cecelia's Convent next door, where we are still staying. Most of my relations and sisters are dead. The whole village is mourning. There were 128 deaths in Dutch Bar area. No one is in a position to console another because everyone has lost at least one member. Aunty, what do you suggest I should do? I am now fed up of Batticaloa and even Sri Lanka. First the cyclone (1978) and now this disaster. We are informed that we will have to leave the school soon. I don't know where we are to go from here. The Croale Portuguese brought by these people in the early 16th century is even today spoken by some of their senior citizens and has surprised the experts in Portuguese who have visited them. It is like hearing a group of people speak English as it was spoken during the time of Shakespeare. The remnants of their culture, dance and language are in living form, ready for the cultural anthropologist to record before it is too late. The first names of most of the people who died on Boxing Day are archaic and could be considered as living tombstones of centuries gone by. Some names sound Portuguese and/or Latin in nature and would be of immense interest to students of history of Europe during medieval times. Some of their surnames were Anglicanised during the time of the British rule in Ceylon to please the masters of the day. An example is Stokvas a Dutch name which has been `Anglicanised' to Stockvas. It must be remembered that the Portuguese, the first Europeans to come to Sri Lanka did not have sufficient manpower, being engaged through Latin America, India; besides, at the time and brought with them young men from all parts of Europe especially from countries closer to Portugal. Thus, with the Portuguese came Spaniards, Italians, French, Germans and a continuation of the list would be even more surprising. In like manner, the Dutch also brought with them young people from all parts of Europe including Denmark, Switzerland and Austria, who for various reasons - willingly or unwillingly left the shores of Europe. Some left Europe to escape the wrath of their rulers, during the Protestant reformation having decided on the long and dangerous trip to the East.
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