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America joins Sri Lanka in remembrance |
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Friday, 23 December 2005 |
As we arrive at the first anniversary of the Asian tsunami of 2004, the United States and the American people join their Sri Lankan friends in solemn memory of the tens of thousands who perished here, as well as in continued sympathy with the survivors who lost family and homes, writes Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead, Daily News 231205 at http://www.dailynews.lk/
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 231205.
The horrible images linger indelibly in our minds: more than a quarter million people killed across Asia, homes and businesses destroyed, families uprooted and smashed like brittle husks before the raging sea.
Throughout the world, as these images stunned and moved us with their power, governments, non-governmental organisations and private citizens acted quickly to raise billions of dollars in aid for the victims.
We were all determined to help our friends rebuild and recover from the tragedy. Indeed, the United States even mobilised their armed forces, sending thousands of military personnel to provide relief and lend a much-needed logistical hand.
On this sombre occasion, the United States will inaugurate in Galle on Boxing Day the first of 85 children's parks in tsunami-affected areas.
The playgrounds will be safe spaces for families, communities, and especially for children, to gather, to play, to interact, and to recover from the trauma of the disaster.
The playground project symbolises an important aspect of the return to normal life for tsunami-affected communities, and is only the latest in a series of United States-funded projects to provide the tools for victims to prosper once again.
During the past year, the US, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has initiated programmes in many regions throughout Sri Lanka to build transitional housing for thousands of displaced residents, install sanitation systems, inaugurate counselling programmes for traumatised victims, and restore livelihoods through micro-enterprise, tools and training, and cash-for-work programs.
With a supplemental grant from the Administration and the U.S. Congress, we have moved into a reconstruction phase for large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the reconstruction of the bridge at Arugam Bay along with supporting roads and a waste treatment plant.
In addition, the United States is currently rebuilding and upgrading three fisheries harbours with extended sea walls and other facilities, as well as reconstructing, in a model public-private partnership, up to 14 vocational schools damaged by the waves.
Following the recommendation of the Sri Lankan government, we are "building back better" by improving the structures we are rebuilding, not just replacing them. For example, two of the vocational schools we are constructing will be model "green" schools designed to demonstrate maximum use of environmental principles, and will employ instructors we've trained in the most current teaching methodologies.
The United States is proud to offer considerable support to Sri Lanka as it moves forward with its recovery.
But we are just one of many actors playing a role in this common effort, one led by Sri Lankans from all walks of life.
We also are indebted to the many Sri Lankans who aided American and other tourists who were affected by the tsunami, even as these Sri Lankans began their own sad journey of mourning and recovery.
The number of people from the governmental, NGO and private sectors who continue, a year later, to devote their energies and skills to rebuilding is impressive. We sincerely hope that the ongoing needs of all the country's displaced and dispossessed will continue to be addressed in all areas of the country.
This monumental effort to return to normality will take years to complete and dogged persistence to see it through.
At this time of remembrance, all Sri Lankans should know that as a friend and ally, the United States will do everything it can to support you in your noble endeavour.
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