KOROKALL SAYDATI, Sri Lanka (AP) — She was pulled from the mud as an infant after the devastating disaster 2004 Indian Ocean tsunamiand reunited with his parents after an emotional court battle, the boy once known as “Kid 81” is now 20 years old and dreams of a higher education.
The story of Jayarasa Abhilash was emblematic of families torn apart by one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, but it also offered hope. More than 35,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka, and others are missing.
The two-month-old boy was swept away by a tsunami in eastern Sri Lanka and rescuers found him some distance from home. At the hospital, it was number 81 in the admission register.
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His father, Murugupilai Jayarasa, spent three days searching for his scattered family, with little to his name left in those early hours except a pair of shorts.
First he found his mother and then his wife. But their infant son was missing.
A nurse took the child from the hospital, but returned him after learning that his family was alive.
But the ordeal is not over yet. Nine other families had submitted their names to the hospital, claiming that “Baby 81” was theirs. The hospital administration refused to hand over the child to Jayarasa and his wife without proof.
The family went to the police. The matter went to court. The judge ordered a DNA test, a process that was still in its early stages in Sri Lanka.
None of the other nine families had legally claimed the child, nor had DNA testing been performed on them, Jayarasa said.
He said: “The hospital named the child ‘Baby 81’ and listed the names of nine people who claimed the child, without mentioning us.”
“There was a general call for all those who said the child was theirs to submit themselves to a DNA test, but none of them came forward,” he recalls. Jayarasa said his family gave DNA samples and it was proven that the child was theirs.
The family was soon reunited. Their story attracted international media attention, and they even visited the United States for an interview.
Today, Abhilash sits for his final high school exam. Strong and good-natured, he hopes to go to university to study information technology.
He said he grew up hearing his story from his parents, while his classmates made fun of him and called him “Child 81” or “Tsunami Child.” He was embarrassed, and it got worse every time the anniversary of the tsunami came.
“I was thinking, ‘They came here,’ and I would run inside and hide,” he said as reporters returned to hear his story again.
His father said the boy was so upset that he sometimes did not eat.
“I consoled him, saying, ‘Son, you are unique in being the only one with such a name in this world,’” he said.
Later, as a teenager, Abhilash read more about the events that took him away from his family and brought him back again, and he lost his fear.
He knows the title will follow him for life. But that’s all right.
“Now I just consider it my secret word,” he joked. “If you want to know me, enter that secret word.”
He continues to search online to read about himself.
Memories of those frantic, searching days 20 years ago remain fresh, even as other memories fade, his father said.
Jayarasa said that over the years, the widespread publicity his family received had also had a negative impact.
His family was excluded from many relief and reconstruction programs during the tsunami because government officials assumed they received money while visiting the United States.
This experience also led to jealousy, gossip, and family ostracism in their neighborhood, forcing them to move elsewhere.
The father wants his son and other family members to remain grateful for their survival, and wants Abhilash to become someone who can help others in need.
Since the boy was young, his father had been collecting small amounts of money from his work in a hairdressing shop. When Abhilash was 12, the family erected a small memorial to the tsunami victims in their front yard. It shows four cupped hands.
“The idea came to my mind that since all those who have died are gone, leaving Abhilash behind, why not set up our own memorial site to remember them every day,” the father explained.
