Today was declared as a national day of mourning for the victims of the tsunami disaster. A special ceremony was organized in memory of those who perished. The unity it displayed was overwhelming. Politicians sat beside their rivals, the clergy from temples, churches, kovils and mosques appeared together, and the large numbers gathered to pay their last respect had the same expression in their faces. It was a moment of togetherness that buried the differences and brought everyone together as one family to serve a cause that called for throbbing hearts. Suddenly, all of this made sense. Those poor souls had untied us from our numbness and revealed a path for a brighter future. Was it worth their lives? No answer could bring them back. But our actions are what will bring justice to their sacrifice, for they have left us an everlasting gift of brotherhood.

I attended the Friday prayers, anticipating something extraordinary, and so did HE deliver it without a failure. I had never seen such a crowd attending prayers ever in my life, I could hardly breathe. Just looking at their faces I didn’t know what to think. It was a very long session, and had I not known the cause I would have obviously fallen flat. It was a feeling of great agony and discomfort. But eventually everyone put it all out in cries. I couldn't spot a single person without tears or at least a collapsed face. It was one way of expressing their grief. Many actually couldn’t bear it that they had to leave for a while to recollect themselves. I could have understood: their loved ones were among the mass buried. For those who believe, there was one message: "HE can do anything, but we do not have the right to ask why."

All Sri Lankans are requested to observe three minutes of silence at 1830 local time as a mark of respect for our brothers and sisters who have left us forever.