"It was like someone had dropped an atomic bomb on Sri Lanka's coastline."

During my three decades in the humanitarian field, I have seen war, famine, and natural disaster wreack unimaginable suffering on innocent civilians on a massive scale. But I had never seen such total destruction before in my life. It was like someone had dropped an atomic bomb on Sri Lanka's coastline: - David Crawford Oxfam Country Programme Manager - Sri Lanka; BBC

"Our needs are greater."

The Tamil Tigers argue that the area under their control has received almost no government aid and is neglected when compared to the Sinhala-dominated south. "We are happy with the support we are getting from the aid agencies, but not with the government's efforts," Tamil Tiger spokesman Daya Master says. "This is an area which has suffered heavily because of the war and now with the tsunami. So our needs are greater." : BBC

"There is no-one at home to go back to."

Antony had been married for 17 years and still struggles to come to terms with his loss. "My wife used to wait for me every day with a cup of tea when I would come in from the sea," he says, his eyes brimming with tears. Observers say the trauma of losing their wives has left a deep psychological scar on these men, and many of them are quite simply unable to cope. "The question of family formation has been deeply affected. In these social set ups, it is the woman who runs the family as a unit," says Professor Sivathambi, a Tamil scholar at Colombo University: Loss of women haunts fishermen: BBC Dilemma of the disproportionately high percentage tsunami widowers: "How do we face the future?"