தமிழ். Norsk.
Norsk
Inntrykk fra tsunamien i 2004
Julen er en viktig høytid for oss nordmenn. Jeg gleder meg alltid til å samle familien, spise gode måltider sammen og ha det kjekt. Slik var det selvfølgelig også i 2004. Julaften var hyggelig med barn og barnebarn, det samme med 1. dag. Nå gledet vi oss til nok en festdag, den ble helt annerledes enn vi kunne tenke oss.
Ordet tsunami var nokså ukjent for oss. De første nyhetene om et jordskjelv i Indiahavet nådde oss allerede ved frokostbordet. Etter som dagen skred frem, begynte vi for alvor å forstå hvilken ufattelig tragedie som hadde rammet disse områdene. Fjernsynet begynte å sende reportasjer som var hjerteskjærende å se på. For oss frivillige i SOS-barnebyer, en organisasjon som hadde mange prosjekter i området, var dette sterk kost. Og for oss lærere med tamilske og indiske barn i klassene, begynte frykten for at noen vi kjente skulle være rammet. Folk benytter jo ofte feriene til å besøke hjemlandet sitt, og nordmenn uten tilknytning til området, reiste også på juleferie til varmere strøk.
227 898 døde, et ufattelig antall. En av dem var du, min gode kollega og venn Philominamma George. Det var et sjokk som satte seg som en klump i magen. Koselige, kunnskapsrike Philominamma som alltid var opptatt av elevenes ve og vel, hun som hadde strevet så for å lage lærebøker for tamilske barn i Norge. Nå var hun revet vekk av en tsunami. Hun var alltid opptatt av at tamilske barn i Norge måtte bli trygge i sitt eget morsmål, både skriftlig og muntlig. De måtte også lære om den tamilske kulturen, noe som lå henne sterkt på hjertet. Arbeidet med lærebøkene krevde mye av ekteparet George, spesielt at tegningene skulle speile tamilsk kultur var en utfordring. Datamaskin med tamilske tegn var heller ikke noe du kunne kjøpe i nærmeste elektronikk butikk.
Hun hadde reist tilbake til hjemlandet våren 2004 for å fortsette lærergjerningen sin sammen med sin mann. For disse to var det viktig at barn fikk en utdanning, men tiden der ble dessverre altfor kort.
Juletreet stod der og skinte, nissene var på plass som før, men gleden i denne julen 2004 var vekke.
Anne-Lis Øvrebotten, 77 år gammel pensjonert lærer og veileder i norsk som andrespråk i Bergen kommune.
Skrevet: Bergen, 12. oktober 2024
Engelsk
Impressions from the 2004 tsunami
Christmas is an important holiday for us Norwegians. I always look forward to gathering the family, eating good meals together and having fun. Of course, it was the same in 2004. Christmas Eve was enjoyable with children and grandchildren, the same with the first Christmas day. We were looking forward to another festive day, which was completely different than we could have imagined.
The word tsunami was quite unknown to us. The first news of an earthquake in the Indian Ocean reached us already at the breakfast table. As the day progressed, we began to really understand what an unimaginable tragedy had struck these areas. The television began to broadcast reports that were heartbreaking to watch. For us volunteers in SOS Children’s Villages (SOS-barnebyer), an organization that had many projects in the area, this was a strong news. And for us teachers with Tamil and Indian children in the classes, the fear began that someone we knew would be affected. People often use the holidays to visit their homeland, and Norwegians with no connection to the area also traveled to warmer climates for Christmas holidays.
227,898 died, an unimaginable number. One of them was you, my good colleague and friend Philominamma George. It was a shock that sat like a lump in my stomach. Cozy, knowledgeable Philominamma who was always concerned about the well-being of the students, she who had worked so hard to create textbooks for Tamil children in Norway. Now she was swept away by a tsunami. She was always concerned that Tamil children in Norway should become confident in their own mother tongue, both written and spoken. They also had to learn about Tamil culture, something that was very close to her heart. Working on the textbooks demanded a lot from the George couple, especially that the drawings should reflect Tamil culture was a challenge. A computer with Tamil characters was also not something you could buy in the nearest electronics store.
She had returned to her homeland in the spring of 2004 to continue her teaching career with her husband. For these two, it was important that their children received an education, but unfortunately their time there was far too short.
The Christmas tree was shining, the elves were in place as usual, but the joy of this Christmas 2004 was gone.
Anne-Lis Øvrebotten, 77 years old retired teacher and tutor of Norwegian as a second language in Bergen municipality.
Written: Bergen, 12th October 2024
புதுப்பிப்பு│Update: 11.12.2024
புலம்பெயர் தமிழ் சுவடிகள் காப்பகங்கள் 