Three weeks have passed since the Sri Lanka attacks. The military hardly sees any danger, but the fear has remained. This is also reflected in the first church services in Colombo.
Many security forces patrol the streets in Colombo. Especially in front of hotels, mosques, temples and churches. Empty beaches, empty hotel rooms. Even three weeks after the Islamist attacks on Easter Sunday, many people in Sri Lanka are still in shock. Nevertheless, in most of the churches of the Sri Lankan Archdiocese of Colombo from today again the first Sunday worship services.
„Feel the fear in us“
„We still feel the fear in us,“ says Lucia Fernando, „but when I joined the church, I was very happy, the happiness is just greater than the fear.“
More than 250 people were killed in the attacks three weeks ago, more than 500 people were injured. Lucia did not know the victims personally, but she mourns for her Christian sisters and brothers, the service gives her comfort.
Everything lost in a second
Pradeep Thushantha can not find him for three weeks. Because he had night duty, the family man had not gone to the morning Easter service. When he wanted to pick up his family from the church, he heard a loud bang.
„I went to church and saw my wife’s body lying on the floor, I recognized her dress, she was still breathing, my son and two daughters were lying next to her, my children, all dead hugging and asking God, how can it happen that all my children are suddenly gone within one second? „
Pradeep’s wife died in hospital just one day later. What remains are the photos of her and the children that Pradeep hung at the St. Sebastian church. Guarded by dozens of soldiers.
„People can return to normal life“
Three weeks after the attacks, however, there is hardly any danger that Islamists could continue to attack, said Sri Lanka’s army chief this week:
„We have the situation under control, we have already arrested most of the supporters in the country and now we are investigating how the attacks could have happened, we are taking care of them, the people in Sri Lanka can go back to their normal lives. „
In recent days, Muslims and Christians have gone to one another in some places, but they, too, have been able to quickly bring the security forces under control.
