Heat and Loss

View Enlarged Photo and CaptionIt was through Enoka that I met Chathura Madhushanka, a slim, serious-looking boy with deep brown eyes. He is 13 years old, but suddenly has become an adult. In just 15 minutes, he lost his mother, brother and sister, who were swept away from him during the tsunami while he held on to a coconut tree. He now lives with his father in a camp made out of corrugated metal sheets that heat up like an oven in the middle of the day.

Fans work overtime, but do little to relieve the heat.

"A better-than-nothing camp" is how Enoka describes it.

Buses and trucks roar past the camp on the main Galle-Matara road, shaking the ground with their thunderous vibrations. Often, Chathura wakes up to the noise in the middle of the night, terrified that he is hearing another tsunami. He has lost his appetite and feels listless during the day, reluctant to go to school.

When he talks about his seven-year-old brother and one-year-old sister, his eyes fill with sadness. "I remember the games we used to play with each other, the flowers we planted around our house, the trips we made to the temple, the statue of Buddha we used to pray to in the evening. I miss that."

Chathura's father is a tractor driver, who was away from the house when the tsunami struck. He is doing his best to look after his son, but acknowledges that he is sometimes at a loss. "When he doesn't eat, I shout at him and then he eats." Chathara smiles shyly as his father is talking.

Chathura feels guilty that he was unable to save his mother and siblings. Enoka tries to console him by talking about Buddhism. She remind him about reincarnation and the Buddhist belief that everybody has an assigned lifespan. If it's your time to go, there's nothing you can do about it. She tells him to think positive things about the sea before going to sleep.

Enoka says there is not much to be done for Chathura right now, other than talk to him and keep an eye on him. She writes down his details in her notebook and moves on to her next patient.

-- Michael Dobbs

By washingtonpost.com |  February 28, 2005; 5:30 AM ET  | Category:  Chathura Madhushanka , Enoka Wickramasinghe , Michael Dobbs
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