Chandrika to adopt tsunami orphan

Associated Press

Colombo, January 11:

President Chandrika Kumaratunga wants to adopt a minority ethnic Tamil child orphaned by last month’s tsunami, the state-run Daily News reported today.

Kumaratunga, who is from Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority, was “visibly shaken” at a meeting she was heading to discuss rehabilitation efforts.

She said “she will adopt a Tamil girl victim of the tsunami disaster,” the Daily News said.

Kumaratunga, who has two children, is against sending youngsters to orphanages, it said.

The December 26 tsunami killed more than 30,000 people in this island nation, and people have expressed hope that the disaster will help Sri Lankans come together across the ethnic divide.