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Tsunami - Thailand the Aftermath By Bev Clement

This is an extract from the book written by relief workers a month after the Tsunami struck Thailand from the experience of being in the camps helping the local people. 

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As we watched our television screens, read the newspaper and even surfed the web, all of us will have seen pictures of the devastation and read different stories about the Tsunami.

The desire of this book is to remember the plight of those who were affected both in Thailand and other Tsunami hit countries. We also want to raise awareness of the needs of the people in the long term, and to see aid reaching them.

The people we spoke to in Thailand all asked for the same thing.

Ÿ        Please remember us in the months and years to come. When aid has ceased to be given please remember and help us as we build new lives.

Ÿ        Remember the beauty of this country and continue to come and visit us.

There are many stories of how people managed to escape the wave but for every one of these stories there are stories of the ones whose families died.

Thailand is a land of great beauty, and for much of Southern Thailand it was unaffected by the Tsunami. All the locals who work in the resorts want the tourists to return.

At the last count it was nearly 300,000 people died and over 120,000 still missing many who are presumed dead. Maybe the true number will never be known.

But for so many people they never knew what happened as life was suddenly taken from them.

It is almost impossible to relay the immense grief that so many people are suffering. Like many people of many countries whose loved ones died, we can only share something of the grief and put it as a testimony to all who are grieving at this time.

This book is a tribute to all who died but also for those who survived and are now trying to build a new life for themselves and their families. 

Before the Tsunami the Andaman coast was a busy tourist area. The Andaman coast runs from Ranong in the north to Phuket in the south.

Because of the rainfall in this area it has become almost tropical with both rubber and coconut trees. Thailand is one of the largest exporters of rubber in the world.

All along the seafront there were resorts, shops and restaurants. Many businesses offering diving as it is one of the best areas in the world to dive in. Many people enjoyed wonderful holidays here, lounging on the beautiful beaches with clear blue almost turquoise sea.

The local people are friendly and go out of their way to be helpful. For those who made the trip to Thailand over many years, some of these locals became friends.

Phuket was the wealthiest province in Thailand as much of its income was derived from tourism. Many Europeans chose this as this ideal holiday with its white sand and sparkling clear blue seas. Palm trees lined the roads and it was a dream holiday destination for many people.

The temperature is always hot here and it is a perfect destination to get away from the cold winters of Europe especially at Christmas time. 

For the people of Asia it was already December 26^th and the start of another day. For some people especially in America it was still Christmas Day and they would be enjoying the festivities that went with that day. It was however 1.30 am. GMT when the Tsunami hit.

For those working they would have been going about their normal tasks, fishermen on the sea. Those working at the resorts would have been busy serving breakfasts, cleaning rooms or setting out the deck chairs and sun loungers.

The businesses on the sea front would have been opening up ready for the start of a new day. It was anticipated that it would be another busy day as there are many people around. Lots of people would want to go shopping as well as relax in the sun.

Most of the resorts would have been full as it was the Christmas holiday and high season. Many people were on holiday enjoying the sun and sea away from the madness that so often happens in the Western world at Christmas time.

Some would have noticed there was something wrong that day with the sea, but for many it wouldn’t have occurred to them what would be happening. Many diving schools cancelled the days diving as they saw something was wrong with the sea. They couldn’t explain exactly what they were seeing, but knowing there was a problem was enough to keep them from the sea and again reducing the number of fatalities.

Yet there were people like the 10 year old from Great Britain who had been told by her teacher what would happen prior to a Tsunami occurring and she was able to put that knowledge into action. She saw the wave going out fast and realised that a Tsunami was about to happen. She told her mother, who then told the resort manager. Both believed her and because of that 100 people were evacuated and had their lives saved.

It was with shock and horror that people around the world saw the news about the Tsunami. If a survey had been taken a month before asking what a Tsunami was not many people would have been able to answer the question. Today hardly anyone would fail to know the correct answer.

All around Asia life was going on as normal, but then something happened that would change their lives and be set into the annals of history. The earthquake was felt in many parts of Asia, parts that were not affected by the Tsunami. Friends of ours in Northern Thailand felt the shake but didn’t immediately realise what was about to occur.

Then suddenly disaster struck. That earthquake had started a Tsunami, and with little warning it caused such devastation that most people wouldn’t have been able to dream of let alone imagine. It is only when you visit the areas hit that you start to appreciate all that has been destroyed, yet also to see what has been untouched by the wave. It is impossible to capture everything via the television, Internet or through a book.

December 26^th 2004 is another one of those dates that will remain firmly fixed in the minds of people. It will become like 9/11 where just the mention of the date and people immediately know what occurred and the devastation that followed.  

Many people who saw the events through their television screens would be asking, “Is this true?” “Is this really happening?” As people watched 9/11 with disbelief so they are watching the events unfold with even greater disbelief.

The devastation that a wave could inflict is almost beyond belief, and yet devastation and destruction was certainly the end result. As of 27^th January 2005 the death toll was almost 300,000 people. All ages, races and status were affected. But there doesn’t seem to be figures about those who survived the wave and need now to rebuild their lives.

The wave swept along anyone and anything in its way. Whether it was a new born or elderly person was immaterial. There was no way the wave could distinguish between rich and poor, tourist or local, old or young, living in a mansion or on the streets. At the end of the day everybody was the same, life was taken from many that day. A day that hardly anyone could have envisaged.

“What is it like to live through the wave and then to suddenly find you have lost everything you possessed?” “How did the people feel as they watched loved ones taken by the wave and not being able to help them?” “How are they feeling when they see the site where they once lived or worked and now it is totally destroyed?” These are the sorts of question many people in the West are asking.

Even though there are so many questions for some there will be no answers because it is not the time to pry too much. People are grieving and will need time to work through the events of that day, and the days following.

It is almost impossible to imagine what it would have been like to watch this wave travelling at 1,000 kilometres per hour. To watch as it destroyed everything in its path and then to do even more destruction as it sucked everything else back to the open sea.

People both young and old were sucked into the open sea without any opportunity of being able to get back to dry land, boats, businesses, homes even the trees and roads are destroyed.

One moment people are lying on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine of this new day the next second; life is being sucked out of them.

© Bev Clement - www.robbev.com