Tsunami disaster – countries in crisis
Real lives
19 January 2005: Youth from around the globe contribute to the tsunami relief effort
NEW YORK, 19 January 2005 - Throughout the world, governments and aid organizations have been working around the clock to help the victims of last month’s tsunami. But what is equally amazing, and less well-documented, is the determination of individual young people from Bogota to Jakarta to help in whatever way they can.
Child centres help separated children rejoin their parents
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 18 January 2005 – For the first time since late December, seven-year-old Putri Mulyanis is together again with her family, having spent the intervening weeks not even knowing whether her parents and siblings were still alive.
Restoring children’s lives in Thailand
RANONG, Thailand, 18 January 2005 - Eleven-year-old Isamael Gumuda remembers clearly the day the huge waves took away his seven-year old brother. They were at school rehearsing a performance for the upcoming New Year celebration when they heard a roar.
UNICEF helps bring smiles back to children
CUDDALORE/CHENNAI, India, 17 January 2005 - Two sisters - Vineeta, 11, and Anita, 10 - are busy skipping rope while a group of other children cheer. They are relaxed and happy, with smiles on their faces. Their smiles have not been seen much lately, ever since the tsunami ravaged their village and swept away their mother and brother.
Helping children return to normalcy
MALE, Maldives, 17 January 2005 – On 26 December, 10-year-old Mohamed Samih watched helplessly as the tsunami smashed his family's house on the Maldivian island of Vilufushi and broke his wrist as he struggled to avoid being swept out to sea. The killer wave took more than 80 lives in the Maldives, and gave Mohamed the scare of his life.
Helping families get back on their feet in Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar, 14 January 2005 - After an earthquake shook the ground under Hla Than’s feet the morning of December 26th, she returned to her daily work, unaware of the danger that was approaching.
Thailand: children cope with tsunami
BAN NAM KEM, Thailand, 9 January 2005 - In a relief camp in southern Thailand, two little girls play with their dolls. Eight-year-old Ratana Komkham slips a bright blue wig onto the head of her doll and shows it to her sister, ten-year-old Rayana. They are a gift from relief organizations and the local community.
Children tell their stories of surviving tsunamis
TAKUA PA, PHANG-NGA, Thailand, 4 January 2005 - Three-year-old Oat was enjoying breakfast with his mother when the killer tidal waves slammed into his village of Baan Nam Kem on 26 December.
Helping children and their families recover from trauma
KANYAKUMARI/CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu, India, 4 January 2005 – At the relief camp in the village of Kolachel, Pradin appears happy as he plays with his sister Brinda. He and his sister run around the relief camp wearing donated clothes, seemingly oblivious to the destruction surrounding them. However, when asked whether he wants to return home, Pradin's smile quickly disappears. “I am frightened of the sea. I am frightened of the canal.”
Eyewitness account of the devastation in Aceh, Indonesia
ACEH, Indonesia, 31 December 2004 - A young boy clings to a plank. People are watching him from the bridge above. They stare for a few moments, and then move on. The boy’s dead body lies atop a sea of debris, the gentle ocean swell rocking him against the bridge’s wooden pillar.
A mother’s grief
NAGAPATTINAM, Tamil Nadu, India, 31 December 2004 - Twenty-five year old Laxmi is a mother who has failed to come into terms with the death of her 9 year old daughter, Remya, whose body was identified three days after the tsunami tragedy.
Children are suffering in overcrowded relief camps
KANYAKUMARI, India, 29 December 2004 - Sahai Radhika has her eyes wide open, but she is not talking. The 12-year-old girl lies in the lap of her father Krishtarajan and looks away if you try to talk to her. For three days, she has been suffering from high fever.
Two fishing villages in India tell their stories
AZHEECKAL VILLAGE, India, 28 December 2004 - Fishing villages along India’s southern coast bore the brunt of Sunday’s tsunami. Entire villages in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry were wiped out by the surging waves. More than 400,000 survivors are now in relief camps.
