Torn From Moorings, Villagers From Sri Lanka Grasp for Past

(New York Times) AVALADY, Sri Lanka - This village had been the loveliest of places to live, sitting on a narrow sandbar that extended into the Indian Ocean like a skeletal finger. On one side was a resort-caliber beach, on the other, a lagoon that separated the village from the nearby town. Palm trees dripping with coconuts provided shade. Water glittered all around.