SRI LANKA. Young and old, carpenters, seamstresses, teachers, draftsmen, farmers and fishermen – today the inhabitants of Sri Lanka’s newest community gathered to celebrate the soft opening of the Travel Retail Village, one of the most extraordinary responses to the tsunami that devastated the country on 26 December 2004.
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Photos by John Kammermann | |
“Istutiy [thank you],” said Chryshantha Ratnasekera, the leader of the community of Palliyawatta, a seaside village completely destroyed on that terrible December day. “On behalf of the 20 families here I want to thank the travel retail industry from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done.”
The Travel Retail Village, around 5.5km inland from Palliyawatta, was funded by travel retail industry donations to the Alpha Sri Lanka Tsunami Relief Fund. The Fund was the joint brainchild of industry executives Paul Topping and Rakhita Jayawardena, and has raised around US$400,000 to buy land and to relocate and rehouse the people of Palliyawatta.
Today was the unofficial or soft opening – the village is expected to be completed in time for the 16 March full opening. Today the 100 inhabitants made up of 20 families gathered with representatives from the travel retail industry to hear speeches and see the presentation of the first house key to its new owner.
Amid poignant scenes, they also viewed a traditional ceremony in which milk is boiled over an open flame until it overflows – symbolising happiness and prosperity for the future.
Speaking first in Sinhalese and then in English, Rakhita Jayawardena thanked all the villagers for the work they had put into the project and international guests for the contributions of the travel retail industry.
He reminded visitors that one of the villagers who took possession of her house today, an elderly grandmother, had clung to survival when the tsunami struck by holding on to a roof beam. “She was so traumatised she could not speak for three months,” he said. “So today we are happy to see her smiling.”
Added Paul Topping: “All around us we can see smiling children’s faces. But after the tsunami happened they were completely traumatised.
“It’s wonderful to be here and to see all your smiling faces and to see all the houses in such an advanced state.”
Addressing the villagers, he said: “This is a fantastic day for you and for us to be together with you. We cannot wait to be together again for the full opening on the 16 March when the village is completed.”
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Photos by John Kammermann | |
Speaking softly and emotionally, Chryshantha Ratnasekera said: “I want to thank Mr Jayawardena and Mr Topping and all the people who have volunteered to be with us on this occasion. On the 7 July when we laid the foundation stone it was a day of great joy. Today we have even greater joy.
“We were so sad a year ago; now we are so happy. We are so happy to be back on our feet and it’s down to everything people have done for us. We say with joy in our hearts that we can now get back to where we were before the tragedy.”
Each of the 20 houses is an immaculate stand-alone property averaging 1,100sq ft. Funding is now exhausted, due to heavy hikes in raw material costs, and most of the houses still require furnishing. For just US$2,000 any industry executive or company still to donate to the Fund can help out in a significant way by furnishing a house.
Today further donations from Jonathan Holland of Holland & Associates, King Power’s Sunil Tuli (personal), and The Moodie Report ensured two more houses could be furnished. Jayawardena made one last plea for one big final push to the industry that he said had given so generously.
Comment: Today was the most rewarding day of this writer’s 20 years in travel retail. The smiles on the faces of the children – the travel retail children – were as wide as the Indian Ocean and as warm as the Sri Lankan sunshine. As they presented arriving guests with an honorary bulath (betel leaf), each child knelt to the ground in a lovely and touching welcome.
The affection of all the villagers and the real sense of renewal and hope deeply affected all the international guests present (who included Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association board members John Kammermann, Joel Lafon and Sunil Tuli).
And the opening of this grandly ambitious project, just 13 months after the tragedy and nine months after the foundation stone was laid, represented an equal triumph for two key factors – the unswerving determination of Jaywardena and Topping, and the very real and collective generosity of the travel retail industry. It was a privilege to be there.
MORE STORIES ON THE TRAVEL RETAIL VILLAGE
Alpha invites you to Travel Retail Village ceremony – 05/12/05
Travel Retail Village takes shape in Sri Lanka – 26/08/05
A new foundation, a new beginning: The Travel Retail Village takes shape – 14/07/05
