Where I've been

[Regie]

I've been missing from here for about 7 weeks (not sure if anyone noticed )

My home in melb. was burgled, I lost pretty much everything and in the process cut my left hand up badly. Insurance has replaced most things (except a couple of heirlooms and photo & video archives that are priceless), my hand is getting better and I should have almost full function back in 6-8 months. I was really bummed and feeling sorry for myself but after the earthquake and waves in South Asia, including Sri Lanka (where I was visiting) has made me realise that my run of bad luck was insignificant, nothing I lost was irreplaceable or priceless - like a father, mother, brother or sister!

I spend some time every year in Sri Lanka doing some charity work with a school for speech therapy for hearing impaired children. I have also done consultancy in my chosen field of work for $$. I'd arrived here on the 24th to spend a few weeks here. When the waves hit on Sunday it was surreal, I was in the capital Colombo , and wasn't affected. We didn't find out till we heard it by word of mouth. There were rumours flying around everywhere. I've postponed my stay and will be here till the end of January (at the least) there are things i can do, being trained in first aid and having contacts in the heavy construction industry.

It is the rural areas that have been devastated. Also about 2 million people have lost their homes (pop. 20 million).

I might go out and about once the work dies down and take some images of the damage. I can't do it now as I feel that instead of lugging video and still camera gear around, I can use my hands for treating the injured. I do have footage of the villages and dead that I've recorded from the local media. Some of the images are horrific but if anyone is interested in viewing it I can digitise it to DV tape and compress it for viewing over the 'net - I'd need somewhere/someone to host it though.

[bmwmpower]

nice trip, pease post some pics, if you have

[dingo]

Originally Posted by Régie I've been missing from here for about 7 weeks (not sure if anyone noticed )

I did actually, not many of us Aussies here so I notice if one of us goes 'missing'

Welcome back, and glad to hear your ok.....I hope they caught those lowlifes who broke into your house.
Thanks for the offer about the footage, I'm not really that keen to see it to tell you the truth, as its been shown over and over here already.

[ARMAN]

sorry to hear that. You do a great work helping there

[saadie]

sry to hear abt tht .....
well keep up yer good work .... and do post pics lateron 8)
good luck in helpin the ppl 8) 8)

[stradale]

Sorry to hear about the burglary and what happened to your hand. I'm glad you're safe and I admire that you're trying to help where you can.

[No.1]

Hi again, mate. You must have had a pretty hard few months, but what you are doing in Sri Lanka is very admirable. It's nice to know that people like yourself exist, and your kindness is astounding - for many, the priority would be to get out of there as fast as possible.

Keep safe, and we hope to see more of you soon

Originally Posted by bmwmpower nice trip, pease post some pics, if you have

Err... i think you missed the point

Originally Posted by thenumber1 Originally Posted by bmwmpower nice trip, pease post some pics, if you have Err... i think you missed the point

again


Régie, sorry about your bad luck at home but its great to hear you are there helping in Sri Lanka

[Regie]

Thanks for the kind and positive words folks. I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by dingo22 I did actually, not many of us Aussies here so I notice if one of us goes 'missing' Welcome back, and glad to hear your ok.....I hope they caught those lowlifes who broke into your house.

Aw shucks dingo, your making me blush! ops: Thanks for noting my absence. No chance of catching the thieving scum, although I did hit the pawn shops and second hand Apple retailers in Melbourne. Scouring eBay for a few weeks yielded nothing except anger and frustration. The cops have got more important things to do over in Aus. Home burglary is very common in the big cities in Aus, especially Melbourne and Sydney. I've got a big fuck off alarm system now, but too little too late I suppose. The only thing I didn't like was the feeling of being violated. It is creepy to have someone going through ALL my stuff and having knowledge of the skid marks on my underwear and my GFs bra size! Luckily we didn't walk in on them.
Lucky for me I had very good insurance cover. In a weird way it was like I've had a mss upgrade of all my appliances and gadgets. I wasn't ready for it and would like my old stuff back since I was content with what I had. ANother weird thing was how I got rolled when I was in the country. Since I spend a few months a year overseas and also travel quite a bit interstate, I'm hardly at home.

Originally Posted by dingo22 Thanks for the offer about the footage, I'm not really that keen to see it to tell you the truth, as its been shown over and over here already.

This is stuff released only by the local media, I don't think the international channels are showing it - it would be in bad taste and very very distressing for alot of viewers.
I havent had the time to watch much TV, but my grandfather has been channel hopping between the local tv stations and cable news channels (CNN, BBC, Sky News, Channel News Asia). He has recorded some of the footage from local TV of villages and there is alot of images of people mourning and the dead piling up. Morbid stuff and not for the faint hearted.
There is also some amazing footage of a train wreck on the east coast. The tracks have been ripped out of the ground like spaghetti.


Once again, thank you all.

The people here on JW have always made me feel welcome and the community is strong here. A love of cars is our one common interest , but we get along (most of the time ) and treat each other with respect and care.


edit:-

Originally Posted by thenumber1 for many, the priority would be to get out of there as fast as possible.

I felt the same at first on Sunday, but then after thinking about the situation, realised I could actually be of use due my training in health care, my understanding of the local languages and most importantly I had a number of contacts in the Sri Lankan industry with trucks, earth moving and transport equipment. This is the sort of country where it is who you know and not what you know that gets thing achieved - unfortunately it is a sad but true fact .

I should clarify, I was born and bred in Australia, but both my parents migrated from Sri Lanka. They brought me up making me be aware of my roots and culture.

[dingo]

Originally Posted by Régie Aw shucks dingo, your making me blush! ops:

LOL....mission accomplished.
At least something good came out of the burglary....new appliances, I really think the punishment for these crimes should be so severe that they will be to scared to even contemplate doing it in future.

[BADMIHAI]

Helping out those poor people is very noble of you, Régie. I respect you for that.
I'd also appreciate it if, when you get time, you put those vids up on the 'net.

[Regie]

Badmihai , I need three things.

- a host for the vids
- what size would people like the files to be in?
- is there an interest for the footage? I don't know if I have the time to seperate the very horrific images from the rest. I don't want to distress anyone or shove things down people's throats.

Originally Posted by dingo22 I really think the punishment for these crimes should be so severe that they will be to scared to even contemplate doing it in future.

The only punishment i could think of is banning them from ever accessing drugs! That would hit 'em where it hurts. or maybe infecting the pricks with gonorrhea or syphilis might be better.
Although my insurance assesor and the cops think it was done by a fairly organised group based on the things they took.

[saadie]

yah .. i think everyone would be interested in the vids ..... i sure do want em ...

and Regie dont get sick .. all the diseases tht are spreading would be eve more deadlier then the tsunami itself ... so ake care of yer self ..

[Wutputt]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck at home, Régie. Welcome back. It's very generous of you to help the people in Sri Lanka after the mess they ended up in with those tsunami!