real life
TSUNAMI TERROR
Her honeymoon
was ruined, but
Rebecca found
her true path
Hair and make-up Julian Jones. Newspaper tear The Island
disaster
gave me life
anguish
led to
hope
C
hristmas is a time for
miracles, and Melbourne
mum Rebecca Samarias
is convinced a guardian
angel watched over her
when she survived the 2004
Boxing Day tsunami that swept
away her dream Sri Lankan
honeymoon. While the disaster
could have stolen her spirit,
instead it set her on a lifelong
path to help others.
Then just 18, Rebecca and new
Sri Lankan husband Rajiv were on
honeymoon at his family’s home
Now a mum to
Montana, four, Rebecca
has qualified as a nurse
– her way of helping
others and ‘making
a difference’.
on December 26, when a
last-minute change of heart
saw them ditch plans to stay at
an ocean resort to drive up the
coast to the capital, Colombo.
‘If we’d been in the resort,
or if Rajiv’s sister hadn’t taken
so long in the shower, we’d have
been on the road to Colombo
and would have been wiped out,’
explains Rebecca, now 26.
On Christmas Day, her new
in-laws honoured the Aussie bride
with a traditional celebration at
the home of two uncles and aunts
who lived close to the beach.
‘There was such a strange vibe
that day,’ she recalls. ‘The dogs
were barking so much Rajiv’s uncle
had to lock them in. It was like they
sensed the impending danger.’
The next morning, the family
were in Rajiv’s father’s ute at the
market when disaster struck.
‘The river disappeared,’ reveals
Rebecca. ‘People were screaming:
“The sea is coming!” A massive
wall of water began coming up
where the river should have been.’
possible
honeymoon
shot
Amid the panicking crowd,
Rajiv’s dad turned the car around
and, water racing behind, headed
for home – the wave making it to
within metres of their property.
If the tsunami was horrifying,
so was the aftermath. ‘With no
order the town became dangerous
and while some people were
angels, offering food and help, we
heard terrible stories of survivors
being gang raped, babies snatched
from their mother’s arms and
children trafficked overseas.’
Despite the danger, Rebecca
threw herself into the clean-up,
piling the ute with the dead to take
to the hospital for identification.
‘We discovered the bodies of twin
boys, aged about two, who had
died clinging to one another,’ says
Above and above left: The 2004 Boxing Day
tsunami cut a swathe through picturesque
coastal communities in Sri Lanka, killing over
35,000 and leaving countless others homeless.
Left: Pic to come.
Rebecca, choked. ‘The terror was
frozen onto their little faces.
‘I knew then that unless I
confronted my fears, the images of
the dead would haunt me forever.’
When the ghosts of the
tsunami disappeared, Rebecca
‘realised I’d been given this
second chance and had to make
my life count by giving something
back and making a difference.’
Now a qualified nurse and a
mum to daughter Montana, four,
Rebecca says her experience set
her on a new path. ‘My marriage
didn’t last, but the tsunami gave
me a new direction. I returned
home knowing exactly what
I wanted to do with my life.’
By Megan Norris
Photos: Tina Smigielski
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