A cold yet pleasingly steady England. To be up and out of the Tsunami zone and into a hot bath within 2 days is strangely disarming. I feel as if I am betraying the local people left behind in this tragedy. Now, more than ever, people in these regions need the income from tourism to help them get back on their feet. The areas most hit obviously need the most help. But, in the badly affected places, the infrastructure is simply too strained to be able to support any further drain on water and food resources that visitors would bring. We actually left the Andamans following our intended schedule. There were enough supplies on Havelock to support the people there and many fellow travellers were choosing to stick to their original plans. Of course, news of the wider reach of the waves and the associated images that have been in the media all around the world hasn’t quite filtered round the islands yet. Believe me – I was choked by what the news showed on the plane coming home. We were blissfully unaware just how close we were.
So, now that we are home and safe with friends and family, what can anyone do to help? GIVE MONEY. Either donate to a specific organisation, such as the Red Cross and Oxfam, that are already based in some of the affected regions and doing excellent work. Or the Disasters Emergency Committee is running an appeal where you can also donate online. How much can you afford? Double it. Incredibly, even these sites are starting to buckle under the sheer enormity of things but please keep trying.
If you are looking for information about the situation in the Andaman Islands, an Andaman-Tsunami website has been created for those seeking to post or find out news.
Mark – I am glad you and your girlfriend are back home safe. Now begins the decompression. Like you – when I left Phuket – I felt guilty – and asked if I should have stayed – just to do something.
I am going to include you website on my blog – and you you want – you can do the same. Having people here FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS are valuable.
– Rick
http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com
PHUKET TSUNAMI first hand stories/
The National Next Of Kin Registry would like to inform those who have family members visiting or living in the Asian quake Tsunamis area to visit the National Next Of Kin Registry website, http://www.nokr.org to register vital information about their family members in the event this information is needed by the authorities or search and rescue teams. If you have a photograph please upload this on the registration page as this also helps in the identification process. NOKR search information has also been provided to the US State Department as well as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Tanzania and Somalia authorities.
The National Next Of Kin Registry (NOKR) is a new high-speed solution to locating your Next Of Kin in urgent situations. NOKR is designed as an emergency contact system to help if you or your family member is missing, critically injured or deceased. NOKR is a free service to the public as well as the Local and State agencies using the sear