Deputies pledge to aid those who helped them

A FUND has been set up to help people of the Sri Lankan village where two deputies were caught by the tsunami. Peter Roffey and Jean Pritchard survived at Unawatuna and want to help the villagers who helped them.

The two deputies have pledged '1,000 out of their own pockets to kick-start the fund to help their many friends there rebuild their lives and homes, which is expected to take up to a decade.

They plan to return to the village because they did not have a proper chance to say goodbye.

Both deputies are still coming to terms with their close escape from death.

'I think it makes you feel tiny and puts into perspective Guernsey's problems. You realise how trivial some of the problems I was worrying about in Guernsey really are,' said Deputy Roffey.

'I had been sure that being stuck in Iran during the revolution would be the most frightening episode in my life, but this has eclipsed that because you felt so insignificant and it was so overwhelming,' he said.

'We want to go back to say thank you and to give any practical help we can. We have no practical skills, but we are wealthier than they are and the best help we can give is financial,' he said.

Deputy Pritchard is also hugely indebted to the friendly people who aided her survival despite their own devastation.

'I have a big thank you to say to these people who are the poorest of the poor but who gave to us first. This is an economy that relies on fishing and tourism and their two main industries have been wiped out,' she said.

The deputies have been flooded with numerous very touching letters from islanders as they recover from their serious injuries.

'It's very emotional that people cared so much and gave us so much thought while we were out there,' said Deputy Pritchard.

Deputy Roffey added: 'We are very grateful for them, especially as politicians, because it's not really a job you go into to be popular. It's quite refreshing.'

Deputy Pritchard's daughter, Azy, who was with them in Sri Lanka, said: 'They are the most hospitable people you could ever meet and even when they were at risk of starving themselves they gave us their last bit of food. They were amazing,' she said.