20 years after the Indian Ocean tsunami, a boy found in the mud hugs the man dubbed ‘Baby 81’
MS KURUKAL, Sri Lanka (AP) — The boy who was pulled from the mud as an infant after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and reunited with his parents after an emotional court battle The boy once known as “Baby No. 81” is now 20 years old.
Jayaratha Abhilash’s story is emblematic of a family torn apart by one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, but it also offers hope. More than 35,000 people have died in Sri Lanka and many more are missing.
The 2-month-old baby was swept away by a tsunami in eastern Sri Lanka and rescuers found him far from his home. At the hospital, he was listed 81st on the admission list.
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His father, Murugupillai Jayarasa, spent three days searching for his scattered family, leaving little to his name except a pair of shorts in the early hours.
He found his mother first, then his wife. But their infant son went missing.
A nurse took the baby from the hospital but returned him after learning his family was still alive.
However, the ordeal is far from over. Nine other families submitted their names to the hospital claiming that “Baby No. 81” was theirs, so the hospital administration refused to hand over the child to Jayaratha and his wife without evidence.
The family called the police. The matter went to court. The judge ordered DNA testing, a process that is still in its early stages in Sri Lanka.
But none of the nine other families legally claimed the baby, and no DNA tests were conducted on them, Jayaratha said.
“The hospital named the child ‘Baby No. 81’ and listed the names of nine people who claimed the child and ignored us,” he said.
“There were public calls for everyone who claimed the child was theirs to get a DNA test, but no one came forward,” he recalled. Jayaratha said his family provided DNA samples proving the child was theirs.
Soon the family was reunited. Their story attracted international media attention, and they even traveled to the United States for interviews.
Today, Abhilash is taking his high school final exams. With a down-to-earth and kind personality, he hopes to enter university to study information technology.
He said he grew up listening to his parents tell their stories, and his classmates teased him, calling him “Baby 81” or “Tsunami Baby.” He was embarrassed, and it got worse every time the anniversary of the tsunami came around.
“I used to think ‘here they are coming’ and run in and hide,” he said when reporters returned to hear his story again.
His father said the boy was so depressed that he sometimes refused to eat.
“I comforted him and said, ‘Son, you are unique because you are the only person in the world with a name like that,'” he said.
Later, as a teenage Abhilash reads more about the events that separated him from his family and brought him back, he loses his fear.
He knew the nickname would stick with him for the rest of his life. But it doesn’t matter.
“I just use that as my code now,” he joked. “If you want to find me, use that code.”
He continued searching online to learn about himself.
His father said the days of the frantic search 20 years ago are still fresh in his mind, even as other days have faded.
Jayaratha said the widespread attention his family has received over the years has also had a negative impact on them.
His family was excluded from many tsunami relief and reconstruction programs because government officials believed they received money while visiting the United States
The experience also led to jealousy, gossip and ostracism from neighbors, forcing them to relocate.
The father wants his son and other family members to remain grateful for their survival, and he wants Abhilash to become someone who can help those in need.
From the time the boy was a child, his father earned a small amount of money from his job in a hair salon. When Abhilash was 12, his family built a small memorial to the tsunami victims in their front yard. It shows four hands.
The father explained: “An idea came to my mind. Since all the dead people have gone and left Abhilash for us, why don’t we build a memorial ourselves and commemorate them every day.”
