TEN YEARS SINCE THE ASIAN TSUNAMI

It is difficult to believe that it is already ten years since the Boxing Day tsunami destroyed thousands of lives across coastal south and south east Asia. Indonesia bore the brunt of the waves but many lives were also lost in Sri Lanka and south India.

A fishermen returns with his catch on the coast that runs behind Samanthanpettai village on the northern outskirts of Nagapattinam. This area saw the greatest devastation in India by the Asian Tsunami of 2004. ..Photo: Tom Pietrasik.Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India..October 18th 2006 (Tom Pietrasik)

A fishermen returns with his catch on the coast near Nagapattinam. This area saw the greatest devastation in India by the Asian tsunami of 2004. Tamil Nadu, India ©Tom Pietrasik 2006

I was living in New Delhi at the time and arrived on the Sri Lankan coast 24 hours after the first waves hit the shore. It was difficult for anyone to comprehend the scale of the disaster and it took many months and years for those affected to recover. While the destructive force of the tsunami itself generated significant international interest, it was the slower process of rehabilitation that provided insight into just how individuals and institutions cope with and respond to calamity and grief.

Vijyashree (left, age 7) and Vijitha Viswanathan (age 9) with their maternal grandmother Govindammal (age 70) at her home in the Pudhupattinam tsunami temporary relief camp. These photographs encompass four years in the lives of two families of children from South India who lost their mothers to the Asian tsunami. Following that momentous event in 2004, the five Krishnamurthy sisters from Puddupettai went to live in the Cuddalore Government Special Home for Tsunami Children. And Vijitha and Vijyashree Viswanathan, after an initial brief spell at the same home, now live with their father and his new wife in the nearby fishing village of Thalanguda. Each child affected by the tsunami had to adapt to changed circumstances and cope with emotions no one in their family could have possibly anticipated. The younger children seemed to adjust more quickly than their older siblings. And, while grief rendered some silent, in others it provoked a real sense of anger. Some became withdrawn while others craved attention and resorted to disruptive behavior. For all of the children, the experience of losing a parent seemed to strengthen the bond they shared with their brothers and sisters. The loss of a parent meant that some of the children photographed in this project inherited responsibilities that, while often a burden, provided a distraction from their own painful emotions. Sivaranjini Krishnamurthy lost her mother to the tsunami and then, together with her four younger sisters was abandoned by her father. At eleven years of age she took on the role of a mother to her younger sisters. Though she attends school and receives the support of orphanage staff, Sivaranjini has sacrificed much of her own childhood to take care of them. For Sivaranjini and the other children whose experiences are presented here, the tsunami is a defining event in their lives; the terrible personal upheaval they have suffered will inevitably shape all of their futures. Photo: Tom Pietrasik Tami (Tom Pietrasik)

Vijyashree & Vijita Viswanathan with their mathernal grandmother Govindamma at her home in the Pudhupattinam tsunami temporary relief camp, six moths after the tsunami. Tamil Nadu, India ©Tom Pietrasik 2005

Working initially with The Times Magazine in London and later with UNICEF, I followed the lives of children from south India who lost parents in the tsunami. My photographs, taken over a period of four years focussed on the lives of two families of children from Tamil Nadu state who lost at least one of their parents to the tsunami. At the top of this page, sisters Bhanpriya and Sivaranjini Krishnamurthy who lost their mother to the tsunami, play on the beach at Pudupettai. Tamil Nadu in 2006.

Anjalakshi, age 9, (in red) visits a temple in Pudupettai to mark the Hindu festival of Diwali. She is accompanied by their sisters and maternal grandmother Chitra (yellow sari). The Krishnamurthy sisters spent the Diwali weekend visiting relatives while staying with their father in their home town of Puddupettai. The five Krishnamurthy sisters from Pudupettai in Tamil Nadu lost their mother to the 2004 Asian Tsunami. Their father declared himself unable to raise his daughters and, like many other tsunami widowers, placed them in the care of a government orphanage. He has since remarried. The sisters, now aged between 6 and 14, have lived with 120 other orphaned children in Cuddalore's Government Home for Tsunami Children since January 2005. Though of course the detail of their lives is unique, the Krishnamurthy sisters share many experiences with other tsunami-orphans in Tamil Nadu and across the tsunami-affected region. According to staff at the government home, Sivaranjini, age 14, has begun to loose interest in her studies. She fared badly in recent examinations which staff attribute to the poor education she received before the tsunami. The other four sisters are doing well at school. Sivaranjini continues to be a very committed elder sister, undertaking many of a tasks for which a mother would normally be responsible. Sivaranjini washes her sisters' clothes, helps with their studies, offers affection and, when appropriate, administers punishment. Krishnamurthy, the sisters father, visits the orphange once or twice a month. His sister Kamasala visits more regularly but reserves most of her attention for Sivapriya, age 12. Sivapriya used to live with her paternal aunt before the tsunami. Like other children at the orphange, the five sisters also spend religious festivals and the annual school holidays with their father and extended family. During these periods the Krishnamurthy sisters are treated to gifts and lavished attention from family and friends in (Tom Pietrasik)

Anjalakshi Krishnamurthy, age 9, (in red) visits a temple in Pudupettai with relatives during the Hindu festival of Diwali. Anjalakshi lost her mother to the tsunami. Tamil Nadu, India ©Tom Pietrasik 2007

Each child had to adapt to changed circumstances and cope with emotions no one in their family could have possibly anticipated. The younger children seemed to adjust more quickly than their older siblings. And, while grief rendered some silent, in others it provoked a real sense of anger. Some children became withdrawn while others craved attention and resorted to disruptive behaviour. For all of the children, the experience of losing a parent seemed to strengthen the bond they shared with their brothers and sisters.

While her step-mother makes breakfast, Vijyashree Viswanathan cares for her brother at home in Thalanguda. Vijyashree lost her mother and first brother to the Tsunami. Since then her father has remarried and now has two children by his second wife. Vijitha and Vijyashree Viswanathan, now age 12 and 10, lost their mother and younger brother to the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The sisters continue to live with their father Viswanathan in a small house in the fishing village of Thalanguda, 5km from Cuddalore. The house does not have a toilet and water is supplied for only a short period of the day. Viswanathan married Kayalvizhi just over a year after the tsunami and the couple now have a son born in December 2006. Of the two sisters it was the elder Vijitha who initially appeared more distressed at her mother's death. But in the subsequent three years she has come to terms with her loss and seems better equipped to face the challenges of growing up without the support of her mother. In contrast Vijyashree, whos younger age may have insulated her from some of the grief experience by her sister, has fallen back in her studies becoming moody, withdrawn and reticent. Vijyashree has suffered fits for a number of years but in the past twelve months these have become more frequent. Viswanathan blames the drugs prescribed to treat his daughter's condition for her moodiness. Another explanation could be the arrival of Vijyashree's half-brother Sanjay with whom she must now compete for the affections of her father. Kayalvizhi does not appear particularly sensitive to the needs of her adopted daughters though her position cannot be easy, particularly when burdened with the task of raising a baby. Viswanathan's sister-in-law Shanthi is especially scathing of Kayalvizhi's indifference to Vijitha and Vijyashree and questions whether the girls should be expected to clean the house, clean utensils and prepare themselves for school. Shanthi complains that the girls must come to her for affect (Tom Pietrasik)

Vijyashree Viswanathan, age 10, cares for her brother at home in Thalanguda. Vijyashree lost her mother and first brother to the Tsunami. Since then her father has remarried and now has two children by his second wife. Tamil Nadu, India ©Tom Pietrasik 2007

The loss of a parent meant that some children I photographed inherited responsibilities that provided distraction from their own painful emotions. Sivaranjini Krishnamurthy lost her mother to the tsunami. She and her four younger sisters were then placed in an orphanage by their father. At twelve years old, Sivaranjini took on the role of a mother to her younger sisters. Though she continued to attend school and received the support of orphanage staff, she sacrificed much of her own childhood to take care of her siblings.

For Sivaranjini and the other children whose experiences I photographed, the tsunami of 2004 was a defining event in their lives and the terrible personal upheaval they suffered shaped all of their futures. I will be thinking of them today.

Vijitha places flowers in the sand on the beach close to the location of her mother's death in the tsunami. These photographs encompass four years in the lives of two families of children from South India who lost their mothers to the Asian tsunami. Following that momentous event in 2004, the five Krishnamurthy sisters from Puddupettai went to live in the Cuddalore Government Special Home for Tsunami Children. And Vijitha and Vijyashree Viswanathan, after an initial brief spell at the same home, now live with their father and his new wife in the nearby fishing village of Thalanguda. Each child affected by the tsunami had to adapt to changed circumstances and cope with emotions no one in their family could have possibly anticipated. The younger children seemed to adjust more quickly than their older siblings. And, while grief rendered some silent, in others it provoked a real sense of anger. Some became withdrawn while others craved attention and resorted to disruptive behavior. For all of the children, the experience of losing a parent seemed to strengthen the bond they shared with their brothers and sisters. The loss of a parent meant that some of the children photographed in this project inherited responsibilities that, while often a burden, provided a distraction from their own painful emotions. Sivaranjini Krishnamurthy lost her mother to the tsunami and then, together with her four younger sisters was abandoned by her father. At eleven years of age she took on the role of a mother to her younger sisters. Though she attends school and receives the support of orphanage staff, Sivaranjini has sacrificed much of her own childhood to take care of them. For Sivaranjini and the other children whose experiences are presented here, the tsunami is a defining event in their lives; the terrible personal upheaval they have suffered will inevitably shape all of their futures. Photo: Tom Pietrasik Tamil Nadu, India December 2008 THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS THE COPYRIGHT OF (Tom Pietrasik)

Vijitha Viswanathan places flowers in the sand on the beach close to where her mother died in the 2004 Asian tsunami. Tamil Nadu, India ©Tom Pietrasik 2008

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