20th anniversary: finding a home away from home after 2004 tsunami

Anniversary reunion for tsunami survivors at Annai Sathya Government Children’s Home, reflecting on tragedy and fostering lasting connections.

December 26 is a sombre day for people in the coastal districts that were hit by the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004. Affecting communities in 14 countries, and claiming the lives of over 200,000 people, it is considered to have been the worst natural disaster of the 21st century.

For the original inmates of the Annai Sathya Government Children’s Home at Samandhampettai in Nagapattinam district, however, the anniversary is an opportunity to renew friendships and meet the people who gave them the love and affection that the tsunami had snatched away.

Recently, 40 alumni of the institution who had been among the 128 admitted into the home in 2004, gathered for a reunion with J. Radhakrishnan, Additional Secretary, Co-operation, Food, and Consumer Protection Department and his wife Krithika.

Dr. Radhakrishnan was the Collector of Thanjavur in 2004, and from 2005-2006, was transferred to Nagapattinam, to oversee the relief operations in the aftermath of the tsunami which claimed over 6,000 lives in that district.

The home was established in 2005 under the auspices of the Social Welfare department, with the primary objective of preventing child trafficking, Dr. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu on Wednesday.

“This was a safe space where I experienced first-hand, the unconditional love that children are capable of with the right psycho-social support. I was humbled to see children interact me and my wife without worrying about my official designation. We were just ‘Appa’ and ‘Amma’ to them,” the civil servant said.

With the passage of time, some events are best left behind, feel some of the children. “I do not remember much about the tsunami because I was very young when it occurred,” said Meena, (23), a nursing graduate who came to the home as a pre-schooler, and is looking forward to getting married in early 2025. “I’d like to move on, but every year, the world does not want to let us forget the tragedy.”