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Live to Tell
Tsunami Gay Survivor Special
by: M.J. Rahahleh
Tsunami, originally a Japanese word that means ‘harbor waves’, is a horrible thing that happened in the last days of 2004, it was caused by a tremendous earthquake in the east of the Indian Ocean. It slowed down the cycling speed of earth by almost a second, and here we have the entire scoop from our own gay survivor, Theo, (<left; Theo reading with his nephew in Holland) who went through many incidents in Sri Lanka, including the civil war that was paving a path of destruction through the north of the country and the east parts that were severely hit by the Tsunami.
Sri Lanka, although a tiny island on the western coasts of the Indian subcontinent, has 3 distinctive climates, the north, mostly inhabited by the Tamil people has its own climate, in the middle there’s a mountain range that goes up to 1500m above sea level, and in the south it’s mainly tropical, even more than the other parts of the country. Our narrator Theo was in the middle on one of those high up Rise Mountains, he used to work as a tour guide for Dutch tourist groups in Sri Lanka.
"It was New Years Eve and we were supposed to celebrate it in the mountains and then head off to the eastern coast, when I suddenly heard some local people talking about this un-detailed situation in the east after it was hit by the wave. In Sri Lanka, the locals engage in the gossip method more than they should, mostly untrue and known for that, I directly thought that it was just another innocent exaggerated piece of news like it always happens over there, but that type of news is just disturbing, I couldn't just move pass it, so I asked the bus driver who also confirmed what I heard." Says Theo
"It was really confusing at the time; I didn’t know what we should do next. We headed to the hotel where we were staying and the hotel receptionist told me that they can’t leave to the east where the mountains are because of the situation over there." He says.
After a few hours, the world got its first glance on the destruction that happened all over the area, where death rates reached millions, almost impossible to believe and easily mind-dismissing. In Indonesia (200,000) people died, as for Thailand (8,212), India (12,405), Sri Lanka (35000) and even Yemen, Somalia and Madagascar had been hit.
Of course, for anyone to be in that situation it’d completely change his/her perspective on life, I know it would change mine for sure… and that’s what happened with Theo, to hear and see all of that destruction, to have a friend that had to choose between either putting on some clothes and drown or run naked in the streets and survive… "I saw dead people being loaded in trucks, sent over to the higher areas. And I saw body parts floating in water every now and then. It was so disturbing. There were no local help, dead people and body parts where everywhere, and because of the lack of the help and the laziness of the locals, the damages that had happened haven't been repaired for so long, till today even to date!" Theo says "Action was a crucial demand at that moment, and I took a very fine one for sure, I commanded all of my Dutch group members to give out half of their clothes and give half of the money in their wallets to the local people and orgs who flooded the hotel, because they had no place to stay and the hotel was doing its part by sharing the space with the local inhabits and giving them shelter during those awful times.
"I saw dead people being loaded in trucks... It was so disturbing. There were no local help...the damages that had happened haven't been repaired for so long, till today even to date!"
(Up, Left, Theo carrying one of the kids in Petra. Right; Theo in a car in Wadi Rum.)
I pointed how the money and clothes that we're giving up now is easily replaced the moment we return to our countries, but the people who're living here are stuck with the catastrophe after math. Eventually, I collected almost 1000€ and bought medicine and canned food for the upcoming days. At some point, everyone was getting phone calls from The Netherlands to make sure they’re alright. Concerned families on the other side of the world sharing their concerns with their beloved ones…" says Theo
After those tough times were over, he flew back to Holland. When he came back home, he didn’t realize how much destruction there was until he saw it on Dutch TV stations and in the eyes of his loved ones, who couldn’t ask more from God but to return him safe to his home and his family instead of becoming just another digit on official records of victims of the Tsunami.
But let's go back to the old Theo, hours, days, months and years before the Tsunami. Theo comes from a very well prestigious family, where money was saved for later in life, shiny cars were driven and life were luxuriously lived, but that life got it's independent point away from Theo now. "Just like the gay guy next door I were, clothes, cars and saving money for a future full of luxury, but I barely remember that person who saved, or saw money as a big deal. I live for today, I live to help others, to be creative… I buy the clothes that make me comfortable and not necessarily expensive; I live with what's on my back," says Theo "I don’t buy happiness, I create it. I'm healthy and happy and that's all that matters for me. I don’t look at material with a fine eye as much as I do with substance" he says "I gather what the day gives me, and I take the positive of it to the next day…"
Something was told based on a view of life any person could be folded from, until something shakes it away, or if you're lucky, noticing it. And just like that Madonna song, "Live to tell" the future is such a hazardous arena, living the now and telling the story of yesterday. Life shaped Theo well, taught him what's important and worth living for, taught him that happiness could be created by the person within, and showed him the unstable future it brings, knowing that the person never stays the same, and such change will shape you for a stronger state to a life to live and an unlimited satisfaction toward almost everything, but do you need a Tsunami to show you how the future could be short like Jessica Simpson's acting career or live the day and find satisfaction wherever it's buried? That's for your footsteps to say…
I pointed how the money and clothes that we're giving up now is easily replaced the moment we return to our countries, but the people who're living here are stuck with the catastrophe after math. Eventually, I collected almost 1000€ and bought medicine and canned food for the upcoming days. At some point, everyone was getting phone calls from The Netherlands to make sure they’re alright. Concerned families on the other side of the world sharing their concerns with their beloved ones…" says Theo
After those tough times were over, he flew back to Holland. When he came back home, he didn’t realize how much destruction there was until he saw it on Dutch TV stations and in the eyes of his loved ones, who couldn’t ask more from God but to return him safe to his home and his family instead of becoming just another digit on official records of victims of the Tsunami.
But let's go back to the old Theo, hours, days, months and years before the Tsunami. Theo comes from a very well prestigious family, where money was saved for later in life, shiny cars were driven and life were luxuriously lived, but that life got it's independent point away from Theo now. "Just like the gay guy next door I were, clothes, cars and saving money for a future full of luxury, but I barely remember that person who saved, or saw money as a big deal. I live for today, I live to help others, to be creative… I buy the clothes that make me comfortable and not necessarily expensive; I live with what's on my back," says Theo "I don’t buy happiness, I create it. I'm healthy and happy and that's all that matters for me. I don’t look at material with a fine eye as much as I do with substance" he says "I gather what the day gives me, and I take the positive of it to the next day…"
Something was told based on a view of life any person could be folded from, until something shakes it away, or if you're lucky, noticing it. And just like that Madonna song, "Live to tell" the future is such a hazardous arena, living the now and telling the story of yesterday. Life shaped Theo well, taught him what's important and worth living for, taught him that happiness could be created by the person within, and showed him the unstable future it brings, knowing that the person never stays the same, and such change will shape you for a stronger state to a life to live and an unlimited satisfaction toward almost everything, but do you need a Tsunami to show you how the future could be short like Jessica Simpson's acting career or live the day and find satisfaction wherever it's buried? That's for your footsteps to say…