" I am not saying that they are utilizing aid devoted to tsunami for military purposes."

" What I have said is it is a monumental tragedy that people are facing - both the Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims.....so it is not the time for the government to spend an enormous amount of money to purchase military hardware. That is giving us concern." - Anton Balasingham, Chief negotiator of LTTE at the Peace Process.

"As a priest, I was really upset."

The Rev. Sarangika Fernando, a Sri Lankan Methodist minister, witnessed one of the prayer sessions in Sri Lanka by Antioch Community Church members of Waco, Texas and accused them of acting unethically with traumatized people. "They said, 'In the name of Jesus, she must be cured!' " he said. "As a priest, I was really upset."

"For the Tamil people tragedy that struck on 26 December is the 2nd tsunami"

"The international community was kept away from the truth, if the subtle destruction of our homeland prior to 26 December 2004 could be defined as tsunami one, for the Tamil people the tragedy that struck on 26 December is, the second tsunami," - LTTE leader V. Prabakaran at the meeting with disaster management planners

"Countries affected by the tsunami are going to have to pay all that money eventually, starting in 12 months,"

BBC: Oxfam warns of tsunami cash delay Oxfam praised the response of governments in the aftermath of the tsunami as "admirable". But it warned that rich country governments were "dragging their feet" on trade and debt reforms to help relieve poverty in the long term.

"I believe I was blessed,"

Bangkok Post: Fate intervenes A missed flight turns into a fortunate opportunity to help Sri Lankan tsunami victims L. Leland ``Skip'' Whitney, an American property developer, and his family had planned to celebrate Christmas in Sri Lanka. The schedule was to arrive at Galle, the city in the South, on the morning of December 26 as it turned out, right before the killer waves hit the country.But when he arrived at Don Muang Airport on Christmas to catch a flight to Colombo, he found that he had missed his flight. Whitney had remembered the departure time incorrectly _ he thought the plane departed at 11:45pm, but in fact, that was actually the arrival time in Sri Lanka.``I felt so lucky that we had missed the flight that I felt compelled to help,'' said Whitney, who is on the Board of Directors of Operation USA, an organisation founded in 1979 with the aim of sending relief flights and sea and land shipments throughout the world. The organisation works with nonprofit partners in each country or through international organisations. In Sri Lanka, Operation USA works with Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), a local relief group active in the devastated areas of Trincomalee and Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. In addition to providing medical aid, the group provides water, hygiene and food.

"You get more humble with this,"

The News-Press: Fort Myers couple helps homeland: "We are getting great support. Really, it is heartwarming," Deva Caanthan said.

"one had to be a stone not to be moved by something like this".

- Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, speaking in Colombo upon returning from tsunami devastated Kalmunai-Amparai.