A FAMILY from Hewton, near Bere Alston, has described their feelings of helplessness after being caught up in the tsunamis in Sri Lanka, portraying it as ?a bad dream? from which they do not wake up. The tsunamis spared no-one as they smashed into the southern, eastern and northern shores, submerging entire towns and villages and destroying hotels. Karen and Bob Jones and their 25-year-old daughter Jaime were on holiday in the Taj Exotica Hotel in the resort of Bentota to celebrate Jaime qualifying as a lawyer when the tsunamis struck. Karen and Jaime survived being swept up the beach by an enormous wave while they were swimming in the sea on Boxing Day morning. They were unhurt by the wave, but Bob dislocated his knee while staggering through the swirling torrent. Karen said she and her daughter had gone down to the beach for an early morning swim. ?The sea was unusually calm; you don?t see the sea like that there. It was further out than before and we saw dead fishes. We should have realised something was wrong, but that is with hindsight,? she said. She said luckily nobody was on the beach. ?If it had been later you wouldn?t have been able to see the beach for people. The Sri Lankans love to play in the sea and on the beach, but can?t swim,? she explained. A tiny wave came first, which was very powerful. ?Then there was a surge of water, and we decided to get out. But when we turned around the beach had gone and the water was up to the wall of our hotel. ?We saw a boat being lifted up into the air, then another surge lifted it into the garden of another hotel. We saw a wall with barbed wire with people hanging on it. Then the hysteria started and we knew we had to get away.? The only way out was through the hotel, but their way to reception was blocked by floating furniture. ?I thought we were stupid to have gone into the corridor. But a dear little Sri Lankan man came and pushed us through a side door down to the kitchens in the lower level,? she said. The water was up to their waists. The man got them over another wall to a road on a slope which was free of water. Karen suddenly realised her husband would be looking for them. ?The surge was dragging everything out and we ran along the road and waded out and found Bob in the sea looking for us hysterically.? At that stage they realised it must be a tidal wave. Bob fell over and dislocated his knee as they returned to the hotel. Covered in sewage from a broken pipe they went to a higher floor of the building after hearing a noise, and watched a second big wave take the first floor completely out. ?Then a 25ft wave came, sounding like an engine, but we were so high up we were safe,? Karen said. Their hotel was built on rock and survived ? although devastated ? but Karen said other hotels and buildings on the beach were completely destroyed. The beach was covered in furniture. They had to stay in the hotel for about three days as there was no way out due to lack of roads. ?We just had to watch the sea.? She said everyone bonded together and the comradeship was amazing. During the night people patrolled around, reassuring everyone, as no-one could sleep with the sound of the sea. But immediately after the event everyone was in such a state of shock they just wandered around speechless. ?We just couldn?t believe what we saw,? said Karen. ?We were lucky; we cannot accept what happened to so many people.? Karen said the most amazing thing was that everyone?s mobile phones worked through it all and she was able to call home to tell her mother they were safe. People had been found because of this, and they had also been able to receive weather warnings through them. She described the kindness of the local inhabitants. ?We can never say how much gratitude we owe to the Sri Lankan people ? the way they conducted themselves after: so generous, so good natured and so brave. ?Their acts of bravery in saving people were absolutely unbelievable. ?Because Bob had to have crutches, whoever we walked past came up to ask if he was okay, even though they had lost family members and friends.? The family arrived home on New Year?s Eve, having managed to arrange an early flight back. ?When we were evacuated back to Colombo it was like a war zone. ?We did a lot to help people and we felt comfortable there but we don?t feel comfortable at home,? she explained. They would have liked to have stayed, but a relative was taken ill on hearing the news so they decided to come home. ?Now there is a feeling of helplessness. We are still tearful and in total shock. ?With such a disaster we can?t stop watching it. It?s like a bad dream. ?We still wake up and think it will be gone. We?re so lucky we?ve been saved.? Five weeks ago the family had also visited the now disaster-hit area of Thailand. ?The people of Thailand are so special. We keep remembering individuals and hoping they are alive,? Karen said. ?Acceptance is now the most important thing, and doing something to help.? Karen said they felt so concerned at what they had left behind, in an area where there was so much poverty before. The family is now setting up a trust fund to help the area of Sri Lanka they were in, where there are so many orphaned children.
