As
we stood for a minutes silence to remember those who had died
in the tsunami, the moment was especially poignant, for we all
knew that many people in the room had lost people to the disaster:
family members, staff and volunteers.
This is the reality of working in the Red Cross Red Crescent
family. We know that it is our duty to help, when natural disasters
strikes, and it is this call to action that unites us.
It is this same solidarity that has brought us to Hong Kong
to take part in the Red Cross Red Crescent Tsunami Response
Forum. Over 150 participants from 50 countries are here.
Those directly affected by the tsunami are sharing their experiences,
and those who have helped to raise a record amount of funds
and have sent relief support to the affected regions are here
to support their colleagues and work out how they can further
help with the reconstruction phase.
Guest of Honour, Donald Tsang Kam-Kuen, Acting Chief Executive
of Hong Kong, paid tribute to the Red Cross and Red Crescent
volunteers and staff who helped regardless of their own loss,
and he thanked the Hong Kong public for the wonderful generosity
they demonstrated to help their neighbours.
The Secretary General of the International Federation, Markku
Niskala, paid tribute to the bravery of those who had helped
so far. “I am so very proud of all the work that has already
been achieved to help those affected by this disaster. The National
Societies, their volunteers, our fundraising efforts and our
immediate international emergency response – should all
be praised. We dealt with an extremely difficult situation with
professionalism and compassion. This is the true strength of
our Movement.”
The Federation President Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro
also addressed the opening session of the forum. “This
terrible tragedy is a difficult challenge for the International
Federation and our International Movement as a whole. But it
is also a marvellous opportunity to illustrate how the power
of humanity can help those vulnerable to natural disasters.”
The Forum is also being attended by Margareta Wahlstrom, the
United Nations’ Special Coordinator for tsunami affected
countries, who spoke of how the grassroots Red Cross Red Crescent
network is invaluable in helping people to better prepare for
future risks
“The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have a significant
opportunity to better protect peoples lives, livelihoods and
physical property,” she said.
The Tsunami Forum is looking at how the global Red Cross Red
Crescent Movement can develop a coordinated reconstruction and
recovery plan so that the support given to the countries affected
is appropriate and timely.
A key message highlighted at the forum is that it is wise to
take time to plan, as it will take years of hard effort to get
the affected communities back on their feet and able to support
themselves.
It was not only senior figures from the Red Cross and Red Crescent
and UN who addressed the forum. There were also moving testimonies
from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Somalia and Sweden, which told a
story of resilience and bravery.
Mezubar had travelled from her village near Banda Aceh, in Indonesia,
to tell her story. On 26 December she was washing some clothes
in her house when she felt the earthquake. She was scared but
had experienced earthquakes before so thought that once it had
stopped she would be safe.
Then about half an hour later she looked outside towards the
coast and saw that large waves were beginning to destroy houses,
and that the height of the waves was increasing.
Mezubar fled inland, reaching the safety of her local mosque
as the waves reached her and wrapped themselves around the building.
“It was such a strange day. The sun was shining and it
was warm. Then the tsunami came and destroyed nearly everything.
And afterwards when I looked out at the wasteland left behind,
I couldn’t help thinking that it was strange that the
sun was still shining. The weather had remained the same, but
everything else had changed completely,” she told the
gathering.
Mezubar, 19, had done some volunteering in the past and so decided
to walk to the nearest branch of the Indonesian Red Cross to
see how she could help.
‘In the first few hours I did whatever I could. I tried
to help the people who were injured, the people who had lost
their families. Then after a couple of days I started helping
with water projects. I also helped with translations. It was
good to help, it gave me something to do, which supported me
because one of my brothers drowned which makes me very sad,”
she explained.
We could see that Mezubar was both brave and resilient. It was
appropriate that she was there to remind the Red Cross Red Crescent
decision makers the reality of how people cope when faced with
major disasters.
It is this resilience and desire to help people get back to
normal as quickly as possible that must be weaved into the Regional
Strategy that will be developed over the three days of the forum.
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Acting
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang paid tribute to
Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff, as well
as the generosity of the people Hong Kong (p12661)
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Some
of the 150 participants watch a video on the tsunami operation
produced especially for the Hong Kong forum (p12660)
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Responding
to the long-term needs in tsunami-hit countries is both
a a difficult challenge and a marvellous opportunity,
according to Federation President Juan Manuel Suárez
del Toro (p12659)
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The
testimony of Indonesian volunteer Mezubar was a reminder
of the importance of building community resilience to
disaster, as the Red Cross and Red Crescent draws up its
recovery and reconstruction plans (p12658)
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