Akram Riskan, who was five years old when the Tsunami washed over the shores has returned home to his family after 16 years, his mother Sitti Kamaliya Abusalih a resident of Malihaikadu said.
Speaking of the tragedy that befall this small family, Akram Riskan’s mother Sitti Kamaliya said that on the fateful day when the Tsunami struck she had been with her only child, a toddler at the time Akram.
While she managed to survive she could not hold on to Akram and hence abandoned him in her struggle to get away.
“Some people told me that he would not have made it while I continued to believe that he would have somehow survived. It was this faith that has led him to me today.” She told reporters yesterday that she was informed that her son had been taken away from the hospital by a Sinhalese family and it was this fact that gave her hope that her son would be found alive.
The mother said that although she continued her search she received very little support from the police and the human rights commission.
It was only in 2016 that she received credible information that her son was in fact alive and well. She was told that her son was spotted at a school in Colombo, however her attempts to find her proved futile when she was barred from seeing him by school authorities.
She later contacted him and although he only speaks Sinhalese now, she was able to tell him of his upbringing and also of birthmarks that she was aware of. The boy speaking to reporters said that he was confident that he was reunited with his mother and was happy to be home.