Culture and Coping: A Qualitative Study of a Sri Lankan Village Post Tsunami

Authors

Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, University of New MexicoFollow
Damien Sanchez, University of New Mexico
Piyadasa Kodituwakku, University of New Mexico
Michael Hollifield, VA Long Beach Healthcare System
Chandanie Hewage, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka
Kalum Bopagoda, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka
Krishantha Weerarathnege, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

2-2016

Abstract

On the tenth anniversary of the Tsunami on December 26, 2014, Sri Lankan newspapers highlighted the issues that still prevail in Peraliya and other tsunami affected regions in Sri Lanka such as unresolved housing problems, displacement from homes near the ocean, poor infrastructure, and loss of livelihood (Hussain, December 26, 2014, p. AA1), and at the same time commemorated “the resilience of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who rose from the debris and the carnage, picked up the pieces and soldiered on amidst the tears and the pain” (Editorial, Sunday Times, December 21, 2014, p. 12). A parent who is still looking for his missing 8 year old daughter said: “It’s not that my sadness has lessened but that my strength to face the sadness has increased” (Hettiarachchi, 2014, p. 6). The 2004 South Asian tsunami provided an opportunity to investigate the effects of ‘uniquely Asian’ socio-cultural factors on the psychosocial responses to natural disasters. We define culture as the shared beliefs, values, customs, patterns of thinking, and ways of communication that structure the behavior patterns of a group of people within a particular environment. Sri Lanka is a country with ancient traditions and practices shaped by religions, primarily Theravada Buddhism. Since it was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century B.C., Buddhism has been seamlessly integrated into many people’s daily lives. Buddhist philosophy has offered people an intellectual framework to interpret events such as death and loss of property.

Publisher

Paper presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Portland, Oregon.

Language (ISO)

English

Keywords

Culture, coping, qualitative study, tsunami, Sri Lanka

Recommended Citation

Gunawardena, C. N., Sánchez, D. M., Kodituwakku, P., Hollifield, M., Hewage, C., Bopagoda, K., Weerarathnege, K. (2016, February). Culture and coping: A qualitative study of a Sri Lankan village post tsunami. Paper presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Portland, Oregon.

Creative Commons License

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