Trinco

We took our first trip to the East coast during the end of our April holiday. Trincomalee is a city that was both devastatingly effected by the war and the tsunami and it showed me a side of Sri Lanka I had not seen before. The area has a majority Tamil population and thus different traditions and language.

It was difficult to be in a place that was so negatively affected by natural and human disaster. People living in this area do not have equal access to necessary resources such as education and proper housing like people living in southern, central, and western regions of the country. It was saddening just driving through the town; the landscape even reflects the hardships that this area has faced. Visiting the area made me wonder how there could be such a great divide between the northeast and the southwest regions of this country. Many people travel to the east for the beautiful beaches yet it seems that the towns have been ignored.

We caught an insider glimpse of this underprivileged lifestyle when we visited a fellow Fulbrighter at Grace Care, an organization providing housing for children and elderly who were left without families and homes by either the tsunami or the war. The occupants’ positive attitudes gave me a new perspective on dealing with misfortunes. I have not faced anything even close to the difficulties that the young girls have faced in their lives. By just spending a few hours with them I learned the value of the often-heard saying, “No one can take your joy away unless you let them.” The girls’ positive energy and zest for life was beautiful. I hope I brought at least a fragment of the amount of joy into their lives that they brought into mine.

Trincomalee maintained a definite consistency with Sri Lanka as a whole in that regardless of the amount of distress expressed or reflected in an area, it always provides some expression of undeniable beauty. The beach in Nilaveli was breathtaking. I have never seen a beach stretch on as far as the eye can see before. I may never see that again. It was a deserted, quiet paradise. We took a trip out to Pigeon Island and snorkeled amongst tropical zebra fish and vibrant blue and yellow coral. It was incredible. I am continually shocked by how much natural beauty Sri Lanka holds. It’s no wonder they call it “The Gem of the Indian Ocean.”

I left Trincomalee feeling a myriad of conflicting emotions. I felt immense guilt leaving Grace Care where the girls live right on the beach but only get to go for a sea bath on special occasions, and going to one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. How can so much beauty exist alongside so much pain? Why is there still such a great divide between the Northeast and the Southwest (the Tamils and Singhalese) after the ending of a 25-year war? What did it solve? Why is an entire race/language/people continually left on the back burner just for being who they are? And why is it so easy to ignore that these problems exist when you aren’t living amongst them?

Island Hopping

Pigeon Island

Nilaveli Beach

Kade (small store)

Our Tuk Tuk got a flat

Kirti with her girls at Grace Care

The girls performing in the talent show

Dance lessons from the pro's

-seriously, these girls were unbelievable

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