DUBAI, 6 January 2005 — “Ashwin Ram, a sweet boy, will remain forever in our hearts though he is not present physically among us”, reads a letter by his 7A class teacher on a board in The Millennium School in Dubai.

Twelve-year-old Seetharaman Ashwin Ram, described as affectionate, helpful, loyal and a good friend to all, was killed by the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka while on holiday with his family.

His father and grandparents were also killed. His mother is still missing. The only survivor was Ashwin’s eight-year-old brother. “Actually, Ashwin didn’t want to go to Sri Lanka. He told his father not to book the tickets. He wanted to go with me to Kenya,” his best friend and classmate, Mohammed Nedal, told AFP as rows of students sat around him. Ashwin’s desk remains empty in the back right-hand corner of his classroom.

Ashwin, who was from Tamil Nadu, India, loved cricket and “never missed a chance to play the game,” said 13-year-old Nedal. “He liked to read, loved art and craft, computers too, and used to tell a lot of jokes. He liked singing.”

“And he knew how to play the flute,” another classmate shouted out. “He was in the school band.”

Another said he kept the pack of cards he and Ashwin used to play with everyday on the school bus while Nedal said he would keep Ashwin’s color pencils he stored for him when his friend had no room in his locker.

“It feels weird without him. I thought it was a joke when I heard what had happened,” said classmate Krishnam Pradyumn.

“This one has touched home,” school principal Lakshmi Ramachandran said. “He was totally non-controversial when he was here. There was an innate gentleness in this child.” On Jan. 2, the school’s first day back in the new year, a special assembly was held for Ashwin.

“We began the year with that. We prayed for all the victims and observed a silence and a prayer for Ashwin,” said Ramachandran.

“The children felt they just couldn’t do enough. They have come to me to say, ‘we want to adopt the brother’, who is now in Madras. He struck a chord in each one of us,” she added. A special board dedicated to Ashwin takes prominence along a main school corridor. His picture sits under the words: “You Live in Our Hearts”.

Alongside, letters from his teacher, K. Savitri, and 18 of his classmates describe their friend and their pain.

“I was shocked to hear that Ashwin died in the tsunami,” reads one letter. “First I thought that it was just a rumor. Then when I saw a news about it in the newspaper I had to believe it. “He was a good friend and a classmate of mine. May his soul rest in peace,” it says.

Another reads: “He was intelligent and brave. Ashwin was my friend and losing him is a very tragic loss.”