Tsunami Strikes Close to Home; UMUC Professor Responds

By Chip Cassano

A. T. Ariyaratne received the Humphrey Humanitarian Leadership Award from Sandy Archibald (left), associate dean of the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Patrick Mendis (right) was then a trustee of the Humphrey Institute Alumni Board.

For Patrick Mendis, a former American diplomat with the U.S. State Department and a professor of international trade and management in UMUC’s MBA program, the December 26, 2004, tsunami struck frighteningly close to home. Mendis was born in Sri Lanka, where the deadly waters have left more than 30,000 confirmed dead and an estimated 1.5 million homeless, inflicting damages estimated to approach $2 billion.

For three nerve-wracking days following the tragedy, Mendis was unable to reach members of his family; eventually he learned that they had escaped unharmed. Friends and neighbors, however, were less fortunate, and some are still missing and presumed dead. Now, areas that escaped the direct onslaught of the tsunami are suffering a secondary impact as refugees from the devastated coastal areas move inland, seeking shelter, food, and medical attention, and threatening to overtax the often meager-resources of small towns and farming communities.

One of Patrick Mendis’s family members sent this and subsequent photos from Sri Lanka, showing some of the devastation caused by the tsunami.

In response, Mendis has turned to Sarvodaya, the largest grassroots development and humanitarian organization in the world and an organization he worked with as a youth in Sri Lanka. Founded by A. T. Ariyaratne, a Hubert Humphrey Humanitarian Award recipient and Gandhi Peace Prize winner who exerted a strong influence on Mendis’ life, Sarvodaya now operates out of more than 15,000 villages and has impacted the lives of millions.

After the tsunami struck, Mendis quickly set up a special account in the U.S. State Department Federal Credit Union to assist in channeling funds through Sarvodaya USA, sending out letters soliciting support from friends and colleagues across the country. He joins an impressive list of individuals who have voiced support for and provided funding to Sarvodaya, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Senator John Corzine of New Jersey, Sir Arthur C. Clarke—author of the science fiction classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a personal friend of Mendis’s—and industry giants like Microsoft, IBM, United Airlines, and others.

“As an American, I am very grateful that the president and our congressional leaders responded so quickly to this tragedy,” Mendis said. His former boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Frist both made trips to Sri Lanka to observe the devastation firsthand.

For more information about Patrick Mendis’ efforts to aid the victims of the December 26 tsunami, contact him via e-mail at pmendis@umuc.edu.