Sri Lankans go home

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

NZ and SL series cancelled because of the tsuanmi disaster. Respect to NZ who obviously agreed with them as the ICC arent going to fine them (!!?!?). I guess what malcom speed was getting at is that if NZ wanted to series to carry on, the ICC would have fined a counrty (not even a particularly big country) who had just lost 22,000 of its population in a matter of moments.

To be honest its something I'd expect from NZ who seem to give a care about other issues than how much money they can make from cricket.

[freddie flintoff 142]

its sad whats happened in south asia. i have full respect to NZ for wot they have done.

apperently one of the sri lanka's wifes had been killed as had many of family an friends.

deepest sympathies to anyone caught up in this

[Zainub]

Saturday I felt bad about how things had gone in Melbourne. Sunday I felt bad about just about everything. The realisation that just a few thousand miles away in my neighboring country India, in the southern province of Tamil Nadu, and elsewhere in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and as far as Somali in East Africa, people had lost everything they had was truly heartbreaking. Even more so since I realised how close we were ourselves to that sort of destruction.

A local news channel here did a special on how Karachi, and other parts of the Pakistani coast line was saved from disaster because of the "V" shape of the southern Indian coast which deflected the killer waves further southwards towards Africa and the Maldives Islands. I'm thankful, but shock stricken and deeply concerned for all those affected. Furious too that there was no warning system in place; I'm compelled to believe at least some destruction could have been prevented had the case been otherwise. Nevertheless we've been in glued to our TV sets here in Karachi, following the events as they happen, virtually stunned by the rate at which the death toll is rising.

It's been heart breaking. And as matter of respect and solidarity with all those effected, most of our New Year celebrations have been called off. In our community here, we usually have fireworks, but now that’s been replaced by a just a quite candle lightening ceremony at midnight when our local fund raising organisation also plan to observe a minute of silence.

What has been heartening though is to see how the world community has put all their differences aside, and worked together willingly to help the needy in anyway possible. I've just finished seeing a Sky Report suggesting the British public have been particularly considerate, and have been donating at the rate of £15,000 per hour at call centers. Our cricketers too have not held back in offering help, with donations coming from every quarter. Sri Lanka's cricketers have rightly and understandably called of their tour of NZ, but they remained stranded at the Wellington airport for 2 days because they couldn't find a flight home. All this collective humanitarian effort is moving indeed, though I'm not sure how much of it will be enough, such is the magnitude of the disaster.

My sympathies to all those effected once again,

Zainub

[Shaka]

I am quite surprised that the tour wasn't cancelled immediately but it's indicative of how important cricket has become in Asia (not to mention how low the value of life is held there in official circles) that it was the case. Anyway, I guess in third world countries it's not that simple.

Anyway, my condolences all round. I know that in the UK there has been a tremendous effort by citizens and charities to contribute towards help.