In Memory of Jonathan

So many innocent lives were lost to the tsunami; little Jonathan was one of them. This page honors his memory and the struggle to make something positive come out of such a tragedy...

Jonathan was your typical two-year old boy; curious, energetic, loving. He was on vacation with his parents, Morten Rønningen and Hege Strand Karlsen, to Sri Lanka in December of 2004. That was the year of the tsunami - the year that brought pain and suffering to countless people in Sri Lanka and the wider region - and Morten and Hege know that pain intimately. They lost their beautiful two-year old son, and have had to deal with that acute loss ever since.

The tragedy took place in Tangalle, a village in the South of Sri Lanka. And that is where Hege and Morten have decided to concentrate their efforts. In their own words: "there was nothing we could do, but help others." The school they have "adopted" is called the Moaraketiara/Mawella Shri Sumangala School. Before the tsunami, the school had 150 students, now it has 255. A neighboring school was totally destroyed as it was close to the water. The hundred children who attended that school all became homeless and were moved to tents. They were sent to this school. This number of students was difficult for the already large school to absorb; however, they opened their arms and their doors and welcomed these children. They are now permanently a part of this school but many still live in temporary housing.

The donations given at Jonathan's funeral have all gone towards helping this school. And with the help of Jonathan's grandparents, Hege and Morten have actively been raising more funds. Four Season's have given the children school supplies, school bags, clothes, library books, but most importantly a nutritional meal daily. Just recently the Oslo Yoga Festival, through friendship with Hege, raised money to put in a waterwell for the school.

The following is a personal account of their return to Sri Lanka and Tangalle to mark the one-year anniversary of the tsunami.

Returning to Tangalle for the 1-year Commemoration

To avoid being in Norway for the cold, dark December and to avoid all the happy Christmas preparations, we decided to go to India for treatments and to visit our friend Mike. At the tail end of our South India vacation the body becomes tense and the stomach uneasy. It signals the end of our vacation, ground zero awaits. Tangalle. The body says it won’t be easy. The intense security check upon leaving Cochin indicates us entering a war zone; in a sense we are.

In Colombo we are taken well care of at Four Season’s HQ, and start planning for our Santa Claus trip to the school we sponsor in Tangalle (through Four Season’s). Every day they get one meal and a glass of milk. We have close to 6000 US dollars with us, and are going to use some of it to buy Christmas gifts for the 250 children. That takes a lot of planning, and it is good to have help from seasoned aid veterans at Four Season’s. Each child will receive a piece of clothing and school materials. The school has supplied a list of all the children and their ages for guidance in our endeavor.

On the first day we go to House of Fashion, which has good quality and low prices (after all we want the money to go the extra mile). Unfortunately, we end up going on one of the busiest days; House of Fashion has more in common with a hitherto undiscovered 10th circle of Dante’s Inferno than a shop! But with the aid of some staff we get most of what we need for our students in Tangalle. “Most” because when you’re buying this much under such conditions you make mistakes… The next day we go to Pettah for school materials. We make hard decisions as to what type of erasers, pencil sharpeners, pens, pencils and writing books they should get. Good quality, but not too extravagant (with the exception of scented heart shaped erasers for the girls!). And then we place the order, which is a big one.

Our last day in Colombo is spent dividing it up according to class and gender. We put them in individual bags and neatly mark them. It’s a long, tiring and repetitive job, but very fulfilling. And we do last minute shopping for the few pencils, T-shirts etc. that we are short. Early the next morning off we go like regular Santa Clauses with a Toyota Land Cruiser completely full of Christmas gifts. We can’t help but stop in Galle to buy some sports equipment as well (cricket bats, a football and something for the girls as well).

The parade welcoming us back

Morten helps sort through the school supplies before they are handed out

Last time we were treated like royalty; this time even more so! They have a big parade awaiting us, which is nice, but not the reason why we do this. This is our way of dealing with the unfathomable horror of losing Jonathan to the tsunami, and in a small way make some sense of his death; that something good at least should come out of it.

Our first act as Santa Clauses is presenting the sports equipment. It is literally a roaring success, we’re off to a good start! We even threw in a globe so they could figure out where Sri Lanka and Norway are in relation to each other and the rest of the world. Then we have them lined up by class, starting with the smallest ones. The boys eager and noisily in front of the girls, that quietly and well behaved stand at the back. But, being from Scandinavia, Hege says: “girls first,” much to the boys’ dismay. It is very strange standing in front of this line of overeager children, eyes shining with anticipation in front of us, and at our backs a mountain of plastic bags and cardboard boxes, neatly labeled. The hours fly by, while we’re sweating away in the heat, only interrupted by wonderful dance numbers by the pupils. And slowly the mountain of gifts dwindle behind us, while in front of us ever more children sit smiling while looking through their gifts.

"Save the Children"

"T Sunami"

But we get gifts as well! Drawings. One in particular is spookily moving, it shows cars, busses, people and pieces of a bridge being churned into a maelstrom by the water. Signed T. Sunami, it’s obvious that the child has been in the water. We also meet a mother that lost her daughter; she breaks down completely at the sight of her daughter’s picture side by side with Jonathan, both garlanded with flowers. It is “good” to see people mourn, and not just turn out the Sri Lankan phrase: “What to do....”

After a very moving but extremely tiring Christmas, being Santa Claus to grateful children, we return to our Guesthouse for lobster and sleep. It’s been a fulfilling Christmas, very much in the spirit of its intentions.

The next day we again head out for Tangalle. Ground Zero awaits. The devastation is still enormous, and yet the place is still paradise. That’s why we went and stayed that fateful day. Early morning we set out through the lagoon, helped by two local boys. We wade through the jungle knee-deep in mud; crawl over debris and under trees bent low by the force of the tsunami. Our suitcase, a pillow, a shoe. All belonged to us. High up in a tree: a sign saying beach restaurant. And there it is. The tree where Jonathan was found; strangely shaped like a cradle, we leave a lotus and his image while we mourn his passing. It is still impossible to make sense of it.

Inside the jungle we found our bathroom, toilet and concrete walls demolished, moved in one piece by some giant hand. Telling us that there was nothing we could do, but help others.

Images from the trip: