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Frenzied calls pour in:
Lankans safe in Japan
by Manjula FERNANDO
Sri Lanka’s mission in Tokyo received no reports of any Sri Lankan
being affected by Japan’s biggest earthquake and the deadly tsunami,
even by yesterday evening, a spokesperson for Sri Lanka’s External
Affairs Ministry Consular division said adding that they were monitoring
the situation closely.
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President condoles
 President Mahinda Rajapaksa
in a message to the Japanese Emperor on Friday expressed his
condolences over the tragic devastation while extending
solidarity in their time of grief. “We pray for solace for
those affected by the disaster and for the rapid recovery of
the Japanese people and nation.”
“Along with the rest of the
globe, the people of Sri Lanka and I have been watching with
sorrow and anguish the destruction brought about in Japan by
the earthquake followed by a tsunami. At this moment of
challenge our thoughts are with your Majesty and people,” he
said. |
However, calls from frantic relatives in Sri Lanka who were perturbed
after their attempts to get in touch with their loved ones failed, began
to pour in by yesterday, he said. This could be due to a communication
breakdown after the major disaster.
We channelled all these inquiries to our Tokyo mission which has an
emergency desk to respond to such queries and help those affected.”
A Sri Lankan expatriate employee in Koga, about 40 kilometres from
Tokyo told the Sunday Observer over the telephone that he felt the
earthquake quite violently and parts of the parapet walls and some
houses in the area where he lived were slightly damaged. “Some of my Sri
Lankan friends in Hitachi (a port city North of Tokyo) had been affected
by the tsunami and the earthquake, but fortunately nobody had been
seriously injured”, he said. The Sri Lankans in Hitachi had taken refuge
in their vehicles as the authorities had warned people not to stay in
buildings due to the threat of serious after shocks.
The US earthquake research centre said that there had been 125 after
shocks by yesterday morning, after the initial 8.9 quake on Friday,
close to midday.
“All shops in the area where my friends reside have been closed and
the power supply has been disconnected.
“The roads are under water. They could not find food or shelter.” The
Sri Lankan employee said that he contacted his friends with much
difficulty as communication had been disrupted soon after the
earthquake.
The External Affairs Ministry Consular division spokesperson said
that they could not immediately say how many Sri Lankans were living in
the affected areas. Japan is popular for Sri Lankans pursuing higher
studies.
There is also a significant number of Sri Lankans working illegally
in Japan. |
