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, Thu, 30 Dec 2004 19:29:57
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I am so glad to hear of your great fortune and good news. I also recieved great news. A good friend has been traveling Asia and Africa this year. This is the e-mail I recieved finially-
another good fried is in Thialand. All we know is a text message to her father- "alive".
Hello everyone,
Thanks for all your prayers and emails. Someone was watching over us on the morning of December 26th.
Kate and I were in one of the hardest hit areas in Sri Lanka and were incredibly lucky to survive. Many, many people died in the village we were in which was right on the beach, including three family members of the guest house we were in, and an eight week old baby that I tried to revive with CPR. It was one of the most horrific experiences of our lives, and we thought, at so many times during the day that we were going to die. Our guesthouse was one house off the beach, and the tidal wave swept all around us in a fury that I have never seen before. There are so many lucky, unknowing decisions that we made that saved our lives: from Kate not taking a walk on the beach five minutes before the wave hit to being on the second floor of the guesthouse instead of the first level. The water level rose in ten seconds from one foot to fifteen feet, which was the bottom of our balcony. Luckily, it stopped there and then slowly receded. After an hour of being in shock, pulling people out of the water, hearing screams all around us, watching the houses on every side crumble into the flood waters, we took what we needed to survive, and hiked through the flood water to higher ground thinking at any moment that another wave was coming, which is what everyone was screaming and yelling to each other.
The entire beach front, full of restaurants, guesthouses and people's homes, was gone. The pain and suffering we saw are images that will never leave our minds. The stories and sorrow we saw in the next three days are unforgettable. So many people lost everything: numerous family members, their homes, their businesses. Yet, the Sri Lankans who have nothing and lost all, gave everything to us in the days before we were evacuated. They fed us, gave us mats to sleep on, and got us through the shock of the tragedy that has affected millions of people around the world.
Right now we are in London, evacuated from Sri Lanka after four days of terror. Not sure what to do now - still shell-shocked and traumatized. Our mission now is to raise money for the village we were in and the families that helped us. Their pain is almost too much for anyone to bare alone. At this point, we have to everything we can to help those who are in need.
Physically, we are intact. Mentally and emotionally, we will need time to heal and deal with the images and scenes and bodies and tears and grief that has ripped apart our hearts.
My mom and sister are flying over tomorrow to help me get home, as I don't want to fly home alone. I will see all of you soon and love all of you with all my heart.
Love,
Laura
xoxo
posted by 208.48.4...
, Thu, 30 Dec 2004 19:29:57
, Sat, 1 Jan 2005 18:21:00, Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:09:30, Fri, 31 Dec 2004 07:17:12
, Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:42:07, Fri, 31 Dec 2004 04:21:50, Fri, 31 Dec 2004 04:40:00
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