First,
there are voices, so many voices, and in so many languages:
Thai, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, German, Chinese.
At the Assistance Centre for Victims of the Tsunami, set up
by the Thai government and the Thai Red Cross, locals and people
from all over the world are gathering to give and collect information
about their loved ones still missing after the tidal surge that
hit the southern provinces of Thailand on 26 December.
Today, the grim toll of dead and missing persons in the resort
of Phuket alone has risen to over 1,800.
In the town’s small alleys, handwritten notes and photocopies
of pictures of people lost in the tragedy tell a story of a
multitude of personal catastrophes beyond the rising number
of dead and missing.
Here, the colour of hope is pink.
When a person is located, the word FOUND is written on their
picture and highlighted with a pink marker pen.
Unfortunately, this is a rare occurrence in a disaster where
the death toll has risen to over 120,000 people, 4,500 of them
in Thailand and half of those foreigners. Almost 6,500 people
are missing in Thailand.
But there are exceptions, such as the picture of an unidentified
two-year-old boy at Phuket International Hospital.
Hannes – a blond haired boy with red spots all over his
face from mosquito bites – was swept away from his mother,
father and grandmother. Hannes was found sitting on a road not
far away from the town of Khao Lak.
When his Swedish uncle, Kim Karkhainen, saw the picture on the
Internet, he booked an air ticket to get him. “This is
a miracle, the greatest thing that could happen,” the
uncle says.
Today, Hannes Bergstrom father and grandfather have been located,
but sadly his mother is still missing.
Nopadol Tiatra is one of the many volunteers in the Assistance
Centre who has been working around the clock over the past five
days. He looks tired but keeps on going.
"What else can I do?" he asks with a steady voice,
evidence of the English interpreter he is. "We must stand
by the people affected. But of course, I do suffer in particular
with the parents coming here looking for the children."
He points towards the registration centre where information
is collected: What was she wearing when last seen? Colour of
hair? Eyes? Any distinctive features like tattoos or other marks?
These questions are all important tools as the tracing takes
place.
Puangpayom Yuvaboon is leading the work of the Thai Red Cross
in the Assistance Centre. Behind her, three volunteers are seated
at a desk, ready to register new donations from the public.
"No one ever expected such a disaster of this magnitude,”
she says. “But now we have to do our utmost to assist
the people in need. Many thousands of people have come forward
to help. Food, money, water and clothes, among other things,
have been given by the public. So has blood. Many people have
been lining up to give blood to the injured, a need which now
is covered.”
Staff and volunteers at the Assistance Centre are also offering
psychological support, as well as more practical arrangements
like free phone calls and flights to Bangkok.
Meanwhile, a convoy of trucks with food supplies and non-food
items bound for the local population in Phang-Nga is arriving
from Bangkok.
A policeman is directing truck after truck into the area of
the Assistance Centre. And as the relief work continues, so
does the search for a missing husband, wife, brother or friend.
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People
look at the information boards containing pictures and
descriptions of those missing after the tsunami struck
(p12350)
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Thousands
have been left homeless by the disaster (p12351)
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Thai
Red Cross aid is arriving in areas affcted by the tidal
wave (P12354)
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Little
Hannes miraculously survived the disaster, but his mother
is still missing (p12353)
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Red
Cross volunteers in Phuket take donations from the public
(p12352)
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