Shaken, shocked but safe
Members of the SL football team recount the horrors
of surviving the 7.8 Nepal quake:
There were two hundred
Sri Lankans in Nepal when the country was hit by one of nature’s
greatest furies, a 7.8 earthquake. The devastating quake claimed the
lives of over 6000 Nepalis and foreigners. But the Sri Lankans,
including some 120 students in the worst hit Phokhara, studying medicine
at the famous Manipal University, miraculously escaped.
by Manjula Fernando
The Air Force C130 with 42 Sri Lankans on board landed at the
Katunayake Airbase at precisely at 1.45 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 days after a
7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal.
The first to disembark was the two heroic pilots, tasked with safely
ferrying across the evacuees a five and a half hour flight from
Kathmandu. They had flown the rescue teams and relief goods to Nepal on
Sunday, making Sri Lanka one of the first three countries to reach out
to the tremor shocked nation.
Following the pilots were the members of the under 14 football team.
One by one, they disembarked and emotionally worshipped the ground. The
18-member team was in Nepal since April 18, playing friendly matches.
Kei Homma, the National Women’s Team coach was travelling in the car
with the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Kathmandu, when the disaster struck.
“The impact of the quake was as if someone had kicked the car from
behind. We both turned around to see none,” he said.
Having lived in a country like Japan, Homma said he had experienced
earthquakes before, but it took a while for him to realise that there
was major earthquake and the car was rocking as a result. There were
waves of strong aftershocks.
The driver and the two of them struggled out of the car when the
rocking ceased after about a minute. A parapet wall had collapsed ahead
of them.
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Tears of relief |
Homma’s mind raced to his family in Japan, who did not know of his
tour of Nepal with the team. Then he started to worry about the young
players. They were visiting a museum at the time.
“I was worried about them and their families.” After a discussion
Homma decided to proceed to the Japanese Embassy.
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Chethiya Wijeratne |
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Kei Homma |
“I had to go to the Japanese Embassy to report that I am unharmed. In
the meantime, the Sri Lanka Ambassador had contacted the person in
charge of the girls, to direct her to bring them safely to the Embassy.
Making contact
“Just after the incident the phonelines were jammed and we could not
get any domestic calls, it took a while before making any contact.
“After about two hours the players managed to get together and reach
to the embassy. The first night was spent at the ambassador’s house,
where his wife offered nearly 30 of them a Sri Lankan meal and a place
to rest. Two families and the team comprising 18 players and six
officials were accommodated by the Ambassador till the Air Force flight
which arrived Sunday morning was ready to take them home at 8.45 a.m. on
Tuesday.
The flight experienced a minor technical fault and the return journey
had to be delayed by a day or so until it was attended to.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Nepal, W.M. Seneviratne said even by
Thursday television, internet, fax and other services in Kathmandu
remained down but they were constantly monitoring the situation with the
Sri Lankans who were staying behind despite the calamity.Since the
office was crippled, he was multitasking from his official residence
round the clock, fielding an unending stream of calls from media, family
members of students in Nepal and the affected while coordinating the
relief assistance from Sri Lanka. “The ground floor walls of the embassy
suffered cracks. In the library, books were scattered all over and the
glassware including the windows of the entire structure were shattered
to pieces. It is a solid building and I don’t think we have much to
worry though,” he said.
State of Emergency
The Ambassador said the whole ground shook like a swing and he had
never experienced anything like that before. The Government of Nepal has
declared a state of emergency till Sunday while the death toll from the
previous Saturday’s disaster surpassed 6000 and kept on rising.
Despite the magnitude of the disaster, miraculously none of the 200
Sri Lankans in Nepal were injured during the strong tremors.
The young players who were visiting the Narayanhiti Palace Museum at
the time, however, were badly shaken by the experience. Some of them had
fainted seeing the impact of the strong earthquake that brought down
beautiful chandeliers and smashed anything that was lose, in front of
their eyes. “Some of the girls cried, and some fainted. I too cried, not
knowing what to do,” Dilshani, one of the players told Sunday Observer
shortly after their arrival at the Air Force camp at Katunayake.
“Later, when we heard about the disaster and how big it was, we were
petrified.
“We were thrilled to go to Nepal and play football but no words can
explain how happy and relieved we were when the flight touched down in
Sri Lanka. All of us cheered,” Gowry and Tharmika, two players who
represented the North said. They are from Mahajana College, Tellippalai,
Jaffna.
Nature’s fury
The two referees of the team were at the Everest Hotel at the time.
Roshini Karunaratne along with the other were on the Hotel’s rooftop
restaurant when nature unleashed its fury on Nepal. The rooftop was
mostly built of glass.
“The glass walls, smashed around us and the entire structure shook
like a baby’s cradle. We went near the lift and it crashed. The fire
door was jammed and she kicked the fire-door open to walk seven storyes
down to the ground floor and into safety. “There was no power and I
don’t know how we climbed down those stairs in the pitch dark.”
Violent shaking
Nirodh Warusavithana and Sahan Randeniya, two university students
were among those returned on the first flight out of Kathmandu.
Nirodh is a medical student at the Kathmandu University while Sahan
is a third-year development studies was waiting for his final results
after completing a medical degree at the Tribhuvan University. Chethiya
Wijeratne, was staying in Kathmandu on a month-long job assignment. My
friend and I were staying in the same apartment building in Kathmandu.
It was a nine storeyed service apartment. We were working for different
companies. Chethiya had just returned at his apartment when suddenly
everything started to shake. “Cracks started to appear on the wall
around us. I was on the fifth floor, the right thing to do would have
been to stay indoors but we did not know.”
Some of the foreigners in the building had stayed on till the first
big tremor subsided and used fire exits to go out. But my friend and I
met up and we dashed out, People were stuck in the lift, we tried to
open it but due to the violent shaking we could not.
The roads were cracking, our building looked as if it was about to
fall apart. Later when things settled down a bit the elevators were
forced open and the people inside were rescued.
I took nothing when I rushed out, so at one point, about three hours
later, my friend and I decided to go up, to collect our passports and
some clothes. It was crazy, when I was inside there was another tremor
and I really lost my senses. Fortunately nothing happened.
It is in such bad shape that it is unsafe even to go near the
building now, they will have to bring it down.
Later, we settled on the ground. some helpful Nepalis, assisted us to
find a hotel which said was earthquake proof.
But we did not want any more surprises so we slept out in the open.
It was quite an experience. There were many aftershocks, people with me
counted up to about 80.
There was no way to call my family, I left my phone when I rushed
down. A Nepali guy later offered his phone to get in touch with my
family and confirm that I was safe.
My family reminded me that I should get to the (Sri Lankan) Embassy
but I was too scared to move. I had to go through the main part of town
which had many affected buildings, that could fall apart any minute. I
spend couple of nights where I was and made it to the embassy.
Kamal Kadirage, the father of one of the medical students, thanked
the Ambassador, the staff and the Air Force for helping them to get then
back without any harm. Visiting his daughter and the son in law who were
both medical students, he had arrived in Kathmandu on Friday.
“I have travelled overseas a lot but this particular trip will be
really memorable,” he said. He said he wanted to salute the two pilots,
for their courageous effort and above all, for the smoothest landing he
had ever experienced. The Ambassador said another 21 Sri Lankans were
returned to Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Contrary assurance
by Husna Inayathullah
As the death, injured and displaced toll of the massive earthquake in
Nepal continues to climb, the Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Nepal, W.M.
Seneviratne has assured no Sri Lankans have been affected in the
devasted areas.
At present 120 Sri Lankan students are studying at the Manipal
College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, six at Kathmandu University,
Dhulikhel and eight at Tribhuvan University, Kiritipur.
Assistant Director of Foreign Affairs who co-ordinates operation
rooms at the Disaster Management for the earthquake, U. Ahamed Razee
said, “The road journey is six hours from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Students
at the Manipal University had not been affected by the earthquake, those
in the Kathmandu and Tribhuvan Universities have been affected but bore
no physical injuries.
The Dean of the University of Manipal, Brig. Dr. B.M. Nagpal has
cautioned the students not to panic but accustom themselves to face
disasters. The university is functioning and the lectures are conducted
as usual.”
He said the Dean of the University of Manipal had a meeting with the
students to discuss the issue and has pursuaded the students to stay
back to complete the syllabus and sit for the final examination.
President of the Manipal University Parents Association, Dr. Pradeep
de Silva said, “The students at the Manipal University are not affected
by the catastrophe. The Dean of the University does not want the media
to speak to their students on this issue. They are attending lectures as
usual” he said.
“Most of the newspapers and television channels give false
information that our students are affected and that they are returning
to Sri Lanka.
It is a pity that they spread false news. Some students come back to
Sri Lanka due to personal reasons and not due to the quake. Those who
returned to Sri Lanka before the quake are unable to go back to Nepal”,
he said.
The story that the students were inconvenienced due to the tremors
and spent two nights at the sports ground opposite the university is a
myth.
He said the group of 25 students of the under 14 women’s football
team returned to Sri Lanka on April 28, by the Sri Lanka Air Force C130
aircraft. None of the Sri Lankan students of the Manipal Medical
College, returned.
According to the Ministry of Higher Education no scholarships are
awarded to Sri Lankan students to Universities in Nepal at present. Most
of the Sri Lankan students studying in Nepal are private students. |