Fata Futo
A nurse had taken the baby from the hospital, but returned him after hearing that his family was alive. The ordeal, however, was far from over. Nine other families had submitted their names to the hospital, claiming “Baby 81” as their own, so the hospital administration refused to hand over the child to Jayarasa and his wife without proof. Jayarasa Abilash's story symbolized that of the families torn apart by one of the worst natural calamities in modern history, but it also offered hope. More than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka were killed, with others missing. The 2-month-old baby was washed away by the tsunami in eastern Sri Lanka and found some distance from home by rescuers. At the hospital, he was No. 81 on the admissions registry. His father, Murugupillai Jayarasa, spent three days searching for his scattered family, with little left to his name in those early hours but a pair of shorts.