Irish holidaymaker in Sri Lanka helps relief effort

A Co Galway holidaymaker is involved in co-ordinating the aid effort in one of the areas of Sri Lanka worst affected by last weekend's tsunami.

Ms Maeve O'Higgins, Kilreekil, Co Galway, was on a backpacking holiday in Galle on the south coast of Sri Lanka when the tsunami struck. She was on high ground near an old fort in the town when the waves hit. She realised something was wrong when she noticed water running up the streets towards her. She later saw a bus floating in the town's cricket stadium.

At first people had no information about the scale of the disaster but later came to realise the "atrocious" extent of the death toll and damage, she said.

Initially, a local hotel delivered food on an ad hoc basis to the areas affected. Later locals and members of the expatriate community came together to organise assistance on a more structured basis.

Ms O'Higgins said many refugees are now staying in mosques, temples or schools. Her group tried to contact religious or community leaders in these centres to determine what was required; food or medical attention or medical supplies. A number of times aid convoys had arrived at a centre expecting to deal with a couple of hundred people but met over 1,000.

She said improved communications meant this situation was not happening as often.

Lack of food is a problem and people are hungry. Sri Lanka was never self-sufficient foodwise and even had to import some rice, she said. "There were no internal reserves of food."

People are also having difficulty in getting medicines they were taking before the disaster.

Some aid is now getting through, she said. A planeload of supplies arrived from Austria and aid is also being provided by an organisation in Colombo.

The shortage of mobile phones is hindering the relief effort, she said. "Everyone is out and about and it is not practical to be using land lines."