Ellen Jokikunnas remembers how she was there when the devastating tsunami hit 20 years ago.
Ellen Jokikunnas remembers the tsunami 20 years ago on her Instagram account. Pasi Liesimaa
Presenter Ellen Jokikunnas, 48, remembers in the fresh in his Instagram update Tsunami disaster 20 years ago. In his publication, he writes about the moments before the devastating tsunami hit – and also about how the events have affected him.
On the fateful day, the host was enjoying a beautiful day alone in Sri Lanka. Already in the morning he paid attention to the strange silence.
– Chipmunks and birds were missing from the hotel yard, where I was sitting reading a book.
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Everyone didn’t understand what was happening. However, the first wave soon hit. Joikkunnas describes how it washed through the beach-facing floor of the hotel. It did not require human sacrifices yet.
– I remember running to get golden heart sandals for a little girl whose family room was destroyed.
The first wave was followed by confusion on the beach as the sea receded. After the 2004 disaster, it has become more common knowledge that the retreat of the sea is a sign of impending danger. At that time, however, locals and tourists – including Jokikunnas – marveled at the exposed seabed. He says in his publication that he carried the little girl he met earlier in a backpack, and together they found a starfish.
– A moment that felt almost fairytale-like calm, he describes.
Soon Jokikunnas realized that he had to leave.
– But soon a high, bubbling wall of water appeared in the distance. That’s when I understood that I had to run, he writes.
A calm moment turned into chaos. The rolling wave brought with it, among other things, boats and pieces of buildings. In the end, Jokikunnas was able to climb to safety on the temple hill. There he helped the injured.
The disaster left its mark. Joikkunnas remained unscathed, but still carries the guilt.
– How exactly was I saved when so many others were not? Maybe this Christmas will be the first time I feel its true meaning.
From the events that followed the tsunami, Jokikunnas also remembers the selflessness of the locals. Homes and families were lost, but travelers were still helped.
– Rest in peace. You will not be forgotten, Jokikunnas ends his writing by remembering the victims of the tsunami.
Jokikunnas, who has worked as a presenter on radio and television programs for a long time, is Jari-with his spouse recently received his adopted son in Finland after more than six years of waiting. Now the family has spent their first Christmas together. The couple got married in 2017. They first tried to have a child through in vitro fertilization treatments, but then started the adoption process, which was delayed due to the corona pandemic.