On December 31 2004, four British children boarded a Sri Lankan Airlines flight at Colombo airport bound for Heathrow. They had cut an odd sight walking through the airport that Friday. They had no parents, no luggage, and, perhaps most puzzling of all, no shoes. Rob (17), Paul (15), Matty (12), and Rosie (8), had all turned up at the airport barefoot.
Five days before, at approximately 8.30 a.m., a huge wave had destroyed the holiday resort where the Forkan family was staying, near Galle, Sri Lanka. Rob and Paul shared a room; Matty and Rosie were with their parents in another. In one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time, the Asian tsunami killed more than 230,000 people. Rob last saw his father bolting past the window carrying Matty. And then he was gone.
The bodies of their parents, Kevin Forkan, 54, and Sandra, 40, were flown back from Sri Lanka three months later. The couple left behind six children (their oldest two, Joanne, then 19, and Marie, 21, had not been in Sri Lanka with them).
The family’s core value was being adventurous. The family planned to set up an establishment in India. Before settling in India, they decided to holiday in Sri Lanka. Christmas Day 2004 was warm and cloudless. The family surfed and played chess. At one point, the family was waiting for Kevin, who was surfing. The next day, Rob was lying in bed when he heard screams outside. Then he saw water trickling under the door. Seconds later, the first wave came in. It took out the door, windows, basin, beds, everything was smashed. The water rose, up to the ceiling as the boys tried to get out. Rob and Paul took refuge on the roof.
Rob remembers suddenly seeing his little brother Matty on a tree. The brothers believed their father had pushed him to safety before being swept away. Rob swam towards him. They survived by clinging to the tree, holding on to each other. Half an hour or so later, the sea had receded. They remember chaos, panic and fear. They remember looking for their parents, but it wasn’t easy.
Rosie, it turned out, had been fortunate. She was found on a tree and taken to safety and, later that day, her brothers found her.
From here on, the children’s education kicked in. They said they did not spend years in a classroom and never knew about tsunamis. In pain and with no food or money, they hitched 200 km back to Colombo. Their only possessions were their father’s mobile phone and some traveller’s cheques. Rob called Marie from Colombo. She couldn’t believe her siblings were alive. The children went to the British Embassy, where an official looked after them. From the moment they landed back in the U.K. they were protected from the media by a Scotland Yard injunction.
When finally he was relieved of responsibility, Rob was asleep for practically a week. He was exhausted. He’d been staying awake all night, in case something happened, always watching. He was referred for hypnotherapy with a trauma therapist for a week or two.
Find out more about the Forkan family. What are they all doing now?
Get hold of the book ‘Tsunami Kids: Our Journey From Survival To Success by Rob and Paul Forkan’. It is inspiring.
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