RIYADH, 28 December 2004 — A Sri Lankan expatriate lost 13 members of his family in the wake of Sunday’s giant tidal waves that devastated the coastal areas of the island.
“I lost 13 members of my family — my sisters, their children, uncle and aunts in minutes of the tidal attack,” Mohamed Ariff told Arab News. He said the tragedy had left him “mentally paralyzed.” Ariff, who flew to Colombo on hearing the shattering news, has been working in a palace here for the past 15 years.
“On hearing the initial reports of the sea surge in Sri Lanka, I was feeling uneasy since most of my family members live close to the beach. But I never knew that such a calamity would befall all my near and dear ones,” Ariff said tearfully.
The flood swept away his sister who was working as a nurse in a neighboring hospital along with her three-month-old baby. The other casualties included his brother’s wife and her two sons aged 12 and 14 years besides five members in his aunt’s household.
Ariff also lost another sister, Rubeisha who was with her husband in Riyadh and had gone for confinement in Sri Lanka. She died with her four-day-old infant and her six-year-old daughter Sujah, who was born in the Kingdom.
Rubeisha’s husband Mohamed Mansoor working for Microsoft Saudi Arabia who was rushing to Colombo told Arab News that he had not even seen his newly born baby. But his funeral took place yesterday. “My wife spoke to me the day before her death and we were discussing what name we should give to my newborn son. My wife, my daughter and my newborn son — all are gone! Why should I live?,” Mansoor asked bursting into tears.
He said that his daughter Sujah was attending a nursery school in Riyadh till his wife left for Colombo during the end of last Ramadan. The funeral of Rubeisha and her infant took place on Sunday, while Sujah was buried yesterday. “I do not know what more is in store for me when I reach my hometown, since all my relatives are living in the same neighborhood,” Mansoor said.
Eight more Sri Lankans working in the Faisaliah Tower were also affected by Sunday’s disaster. Five workers who left for Colombo yesterday included Tuan Ariff and Tuan Slasha from Hambantota, Mohamed Fazloon from Galle, Jayapala and Jayasinghe from Batticaloa. “A lot of damage has been caused to my properties due to floods,” Tuan Ariff said without knowing that his entire family had been wiped out by the raging sea. His friends told Arab News that he was summoned from Hambantota without informing him that all his family members had perished in the tidal waves.
