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Date(s): January 18, 2005. Album by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA. Photos by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA. 1 - 53 of 53 Total.
enlarge 42KB, 426x640 1 DSC 0826 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. The first, and smaller, shrine. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 62KB, 639x426 2 DSC 0827 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Pilgrims scan the photos of the identified tsunami victims. Some pilgrims, like one pictured here, shave their heads in recognition of answered prayer. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 72KB, 640x427 3 DSC 0828 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. One of the boards posting pictures of the unidentifed dead. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 64KB, 426x640 4 DSC 0831 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 60KB, 426x640 5 DSC 0832 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Many aspects of 12/26 are reminiscent of 9/11. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 42KB, 640x426 6 DSC 0834 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Pictures of the unidentified victims are posted on boards under a simple canopy at the entrance of the Basilica mall. It makes for a grizzly shrine. Pilgrims came from far away to celebrate Christmas at the Basilica; no one local would have known them by name. Six hundred bodies were recovered here, but hundreds, maybe thousands more were killed on 12/26. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 45KB, 426x640 7 DSC 0835 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Pictures of the unidentied victims are posted on boards under a simple canopy at the enterance of the Basilica mall. It makes for a grizzly shrine. Pilgrims came from far away to celebrate Christmas at the Basilica; no one local would have known them by name. Six hundred bodies were recovered here, but hundreds, maybe thousands more were killed on 12/26. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 64KB, 640x426 8 DSC 0837 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. One of the unidentifed victims may soon have a name. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 50KB, 640x426 9 DSC 0838
enlarge 59KB, 640x426 10 DSC 0839 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Two men seem to have information to help identify one of the unknown victims. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 31KB, 426x640 11 DSC 0840 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Looking down the mall from the larger basilica, you see the first smaller shrine to Mary. The Basilicas are in honor of two apparitions of the Virgin Mary: one to "the Sheep Boy" (shepherd) and one to Portuguese sailors on troubled waters. After the tsunami this is the place where the faithful find solace. It is also the source of derision, as in "Mary couldn't save you." Six hundred bodies were recovered here, but it's likely that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 44KB, 640x426 12 DSC 0841 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. It's eerie to see the brilliantly white Basilica (the larger of two) without the throngs of pilgrims and tourists that normally would be swarming around it. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 58KB, 640x426 13 DSC 0843 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. After the last Christmas mass (11 p.m.) hundreds of pilgrims would have used the area next to the Basilica to camp out for the night. All of these people would have been swept away by the wave. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 61KB, 426x640 14 DSC 0848 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 48KB, 426x640 15 DSC 0849 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 56KB, 426x640 16 DSC 0851 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 43KB, 640x426 17 DSC 0852 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. The Offerings Center. The day after Christmas, this area would have been full. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 40KB, 426x640 18 DSC 0853 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. This shop-lined path between the ocean and the Basilica became a funnel for the tsunami waves. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 45KB, 426x640 19 DSC 0855 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Groups attending the Basilica often dress similarly. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 66KB, 640x426 20 DSC 0856 Velankani (Vailankanni?), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. The shops closest to the ocean remain closed. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 65KB, 426x640 21 DSC 0857 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. The stalls closest to the ocean remain closed, but amazingly those closest to the Basilica have reopened for business. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 51KB, 426x640 22 DSC 0859 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. This shop-lined walkway between Basilica and ocean acted like a funnel for the tsunami waves, sweeping away everything in its path. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 51KB, 640x427 23 DSC 0862 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Grita, a pilgrim from Badalore, "came to pray and to see this place." Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 42KB, 426x640 24 DSC 0864 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 46KB, 640x426 25 DSC 0867 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. This ocean front would have been full of tourists, pilgrims, shops and restaurants. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 45KB, 640x426 26 DSC 0870
enlarge 49KB, 426x640 27 DSC 0870b Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. S.C. Dsouza, a railway worker from Bombay, is here again, three weeks after his last visit, "to give thanks to God for saving me and my family." Dsouza and his family were here the morning of the 26th. At 8:30 a.m. he took a picture of the crowd of people on the beach. They left the beach about a half-hour before the tsunami struck. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 56KB, 640x426 28 DSC 0872 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Only a fraction of the pilgrims and tourists are here this day, and for many it isn't the Shrine, but the ocean that draws them here. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 49KB, 640x426 29 DSC 0873 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Visual aid. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 92KB, 426x640 30 DSC 0874 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Looking for pieces of "before." Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 58KB, 640x426 31 DSC 0876 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Looking for pieces of "before." Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 69KB, 640x426 32 DSC 0879 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Leftovers. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 57KB, 640x426 33 DSC 0880 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 69KB, 426x640 34 DSC 0883 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Rebuilding. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 69KB, 640x426 35 DSC 0884 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 61KB, 640x426 36 DSC 0885 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 60KB, 426x640 37 DSC 0886 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 54KB, 426x640 38 DSC 0887 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 78KB, 639x426 39 DSC 0888 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 93KB, 640x426 40 DSC 0889 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. This shop, closest to the Basilica and farthest from the ocean, has reopened for business, but no one seems to be buying. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 50KB, 426x640 41 DSC 0890 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 59KB, 426x640 42 DSC 0891 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. The offerings center is closed. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 65KB, 426x640 43 DSC 0892 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Three weeks after the tsunami, the bush by the Basilica blooms. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 57KB, 639x426 44 DSC 0893 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 49KB, 639x426 45 DSC 0894 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. D. Julius Vijayakumari, lecturer in history at TBML College, Poraryar (Tranquebar Bishop Manickam Lutheran College, Porayar--a college of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church) is a hero in his church and community for his efforts leading 30 to 40 youth and young adults of the church recovering the bodies of those killed in the days following the tsunami. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 63KB, 426x640 46 DSC 0895 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. D. Julius Vijayakumari, lecturer in history at TBML College, Poraryar (Tranquebar Bishop Manickam Lutheran College, Porayar--a college of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church) is a hero in his church and community for his efforts leading 30 to 40 youth and young adults of the church recovering the bodies of those killed in the days following the tsunami. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 58KB, 426x639 47 DSC 0896 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 45KB, 640x426 48 DSC 0897 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Rt. Rev. Dr. T. Aruldoss (Bishop, Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church) and his wife, Mrs. Hepzibah Regina, in foreground. Background: The Rev. Fred Rajan, ELCA; Mrinal Srikanth, UELCI; The Rev. Joe Chu, ELCA; Raja Gerald, UELCI. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 50KB, 426x640 49 DSC 0899 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 62KB, 640x427 50 DSC 0900 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 63KB, 426x640 51 DSC 0901 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 69KB, 640x426 52 DSC 0902 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
enlarge 67KB, 640x426 53 DSC 0858 Vailankanni (Velankanni), India, 1/18/05. Shrine Basilica of Mary. Photo by Sue Edison-Swift/ELCA.
