We really struggled after the tsunami and so we came here. But before then, we lived in lots of different places. We lived in Sinhala Mahavidayalaya. After that, we came to Thiraimadu. After that, Panichayadi. Even when we were in Panichayadi, for a while we stayed in Thannamunai. But there [my husband] died. After that we didn’t move. We ended up in Thiraimadu.

But Dutch Bar is good. Dutch Bar is the best. Dutch Bar got its name from an uncle. He named the place Dutch Bar. For everyday life, Dutch Bar was perfect. Everyone was close by. If you had a problem, they would just come over. Our church was nearby too. It was good for everything.

Here when my daughter goes to work, I am alone. If I need something, I have to go myself. I have to go! Now life is not good here. There we lived happily and peacefully with our people. That sense of togetherness is not here. Because we were like children born to the same mother. Now people are like strangers. Now only very close relatives come to see us, not everyone.

I wanted to go back to Dutch Bar but [my daughter] said no. We shouldn’t go back. The water took all our things. We can’t go there. But Dutch Bar is the best.

Our weddings…First we go to the church to get permission and then we exchange rings. After that, for three weeks the church will announce the wedding is taking place. The next morning is the wedding. The groom and bride go to the church to get married with everyone’s permission. And the wedding is over.

Our tradition is Portuguese Burgher. So we all spoke the Portuguese language. Our children can’t speak it anymore. They can’t speak Portuguese. After our children started going to school, the other children were speaking Tamil. So our children forgot Portuguese and began to speak Tamil. If the older generation was around, they would speak it.

What can we do about it? Of course I am sad. But what can we do? It’s like they don’t need it.

The weddings then weren’t like nowadays. We served cake and wine. At lunchtime, the bride, groom and everyone sat around tables to eat. Then in the evening, we moved the tables away…then wine and dancing! We danced into the night and for a while longer, we had some more fun.