Sri Lankan woman claims to have found son lost during 2004 tsunami

September 29, 2020 at 5:43 PM

A woman in Ampara claims she has found her son who went missing following the deadly 2004 tsunami.

Abusali Sithi said that her 5-year-old son went missing after the tsunami hit Maligaikadu in Karativu, Ampara in December 2004.

She told reporters at her residence yesterday that she never stopped looking for her son after he went missing and she was later told that he was seen at a local hospital.

However, when she visited the hospital she learnt that her son had been taken away by a Sinhalese family.

The woman said that she continued her fight to locate her son and had very little support from the Police or the Human Rights Commission.

Eventually in 2016 she received information about her son being seen at a school and attempted to visit him to confirm his identity.

However, she says the school authorities refused to allow her to meet him.

She had later established contact with him promising him employment and later revealed to him some unique marks on his body.

The boy, who now can speak only in Sinhalese, told reporters that he is convinced the woman is his mother and is happy to be reunited after 16 years. (Farook Sihan/Colombo Gazette)