One year on from the tsunami, and the cruel sea is calm

Survivors remember the dead on the anniversary of the devastating wave that killed 250,000 people

The 50 Matara Express came to a halt just before 9.30am, outside the village of Peraliya on Sri Lanka's southern coast. The chief engineer had been told to expect a signal change. It never came.

A year later, the train's last three rusty carriages have only just been taken away, and Peraliya is once again the focal point for the nation's grief. For Sri Lankans, Peraliya means the train, and the train means the tsunami.

Until last week the carriages stood like tombstones in the centre of the village, torn clothing in them serving as a reminder of the desperation of the last minutes of those on board. Outside, there were always people. Standing. Looking.

At first, it was mainly the families of the more than 1,200 passengers who died when the ocean rose on to the rails. Then, other Sri Lankans found that visiting helped them come to terms with the collective pain of 26 December 2004. Aid workers and politicians followed. Members of the media became regular visitors. Most recently, tourists have joined them, snapping away with digital cameras.

Across the Palk Strait in India, communities are gathering for services conducted by leaders of all religious groups in Chennai, the former Madras.

In Thailand, a recent influx of Westerners who lost loved ones a year ago, have returned for a series of services. And in Aceh, Indonesia, entire families are being remembered.

In all 12 of the countries struck by the wave that killed around 250,000 people, candles are being prepared for floating out to sea this evening. Each flickering light will recall a life lost.

At 9.30 this morning, President Mahinda Rajapakse will lead Sri Lanka in two minutes of silence. He will introduce two new commemorative stamps and address the nation. Flags will be at half-mast. His message will seem simple: the country must unite and go forward.

Many events have been organised by the army of independent volunteers who altered their lives to help others a year ago. Most view this anniversary as the time to leave. Some will head for other charity projects, encouraged by what they have achieved. Others will go back to the lives they left behind a year ago.

Behind them, though, are left those for who moving on is much more than a lifestyle choice. After some of the worst monsoon conditions in recent years, in temporary homes it is the living who sleep with the fishes, and the mosquitoes.

For all that Peraliya has been in the spotlight, its problems are manifold. "Every time it rains, we are taken back to tsunami day," said Alappu Darunadasa, chief of Peraliya, which now has a population 40 per cent of what it was a year ago. "Last week there were two downpours; the temporary houses and remains of old houses that some of us live in filled up with water."

Aid agencies estimate that fewer than 20 per cent of the 1.8 million people made homeless by the tsunami are in permanent housing. Driving down Sri Lanka's east coast from Colombo, the crumbling remains of homes cling to their foundations like rotting teeth desperately in need of extraction.

Of the 78,000 replacement houses it was estimated Sri Lankans would need after the tsunami, only 5,000 have been constructed. That compares with more than 18,000 in Indonesia, where the government has set a target of 80,000.

"We are disappointed but not surprised. The coastal economy has been set back a few decades. We knew from the outset that this would be a long haul," said Bijay Kumar, from British Charity ActionAid.

And something else is happening in Aceh, which Sri Lankans are comparing to their own situation. After decades of civil strife in the Indonesian province, a fragile peace deal appears to be holding between independence-seeking rebels and government forces.

Sri Lanka, however, is careering back towards the civil war that has already claimed more than 60,000 lives. The influx of aid cash only exacerbated tensions between leaders of the Tamil Tigers - who have been demanding a majority homeland since 1983 - and majority Sinhalese leaders.

The arrival of Christmas was marked in Batticaloa, one of the worst-hit tsunami areas, by the assassination of a pro-Tamil Tiger politician during Midnight Mass. Joseph Pararajasingham, 71, was shot at close range in a crowded church.

Political murders have become a fact of life in the multi-religious east, with bodies from both sides often dumped with their hands tied behind their heads on the main road into Batticaloa.

The Tigers threatened in November to resume their armed struggle in the new year unless the new Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse, whose Marxist and Buddhist allies hate the rebels, agrees to give them wide political powers and a Tamil homeland in the north and east. Mr Rajapakse has ruled this out.

The two sides have been unable to even agree a venue for talks. Earlier in the week, Norway, Japan, the United States and European Union -- which are co-chairs of a Sri Lankan peace conference - called on the rebels to stop what they called a campaign of violence or face unspecified serious consequences.

Naval incidents over the last few days have claimed the lives of 16 government sailors. "Sri Lanka faces a crucial choice today between mounting violence and reinvigorating peace," said a statement issued by peace-brokers late on Saturday night.

"The Sri Lankan people clearly want peace. It would be a tragic step backwards if their desire was not heeded."

Among those who would suffer from fresh conflict is Indika Fonseka, who lives in a tsunami refugee camp in Trincomalee, which is likely to be the main target for Tamil forces in any new war.

As Western volunteers prepared to float thousands of candles off into the Indian ocean last night, Ms Fonseka was having to look after five children on less than £2-worth of government rations a week.

"If the war starts again, then who's going to help us?" she asked. "We're in a worse position than just after the tsunami. We have nothing to celebrate here."

Remembrance across the region

* Indonesia: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will lead early morning prayer near Ulee Lheue beach, Aceh, one of the first places to be hit. Sirens will ring out around Banda Aceh; the official ceremony will be at 1pm, followed by evening prayer at Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, one of few buildings there that remained intact.

* Thailand: President Thaksin Shinawatra is to lay a Tsunami Memorial Foundation stone at Khao Lak-Lamroo National Park, Phang-nga. Other memorials will be held in seven different venues. Thai princess Ubol Ratana, who lost her son at Khao Lak, will also speak.

* India: 300 attended an interfaith service of Hindu, Christian and Muslim prayers yesterday at Nagapattinam, where thousands were washed away.

* Sri Lanka: Flags will fly at half mast. The President and Prime Minister will lay floral tributes and candles at Peraliya, where 800 people died when a train was engulfed. The Tourist Board will conduct a service at Bentota; 137 foreigners died. The Tamil Tigers have not announced plans to hold commemorations.

* Sweden: 543 Swedes were killed. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prime Minister Goran Persson and several ministers will attend a ceremony in Stockholm today (Monday).

* Malaysia: At least 69 died, with five still missing. The National Security Department is holding a National Disaster Awareness Day.

* The Maldives: 82 died and 26 are still missing. It has not planned commemorations but has declared 2005 a year of national unity.

Additional reporting by Tom Parker