Asian tsunami continues to haunt those who were involved in disaster
By Ville Seuri
More than 200,000 people perished on Boxing Day five years ago in the destruction caused by the sea-surges in the Indian Ocean following an underwater earthquake in Sumatra.
Among those Finns who were either on holiday in Thailand at the time of the catastrophe or were otherwise involved in the disaster were a survivor, a rescuer, a bishop, and a psychologist.
They all have different memories from the time.
A survivor’s recollections may come back unexpectedly, at any time
Helsinki resident Irene Aho was on holiday in the Khao Lak beach resort on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast at the time of the disaster.
Khao Lak was practically wiped out, and there was huge loss of life.
Seeing the approaching wall of water from her hotel, Aho tried to flee towards the hills. However, she managed to run only some twenty metres, after which point the water surface was so high that running was no longer possible.
Seeking support from trees, Aho tried to fight against the power of the surging water.
Eventually she managed to climb up a tree, reaching a fork in a tree from where she was later assisted down.
Aho planned to spend the fifth anniversary of the catastrophe in Spain.
”The anniversary itself does not provoke any thoughts, even though family and friends naturally remember it”, says Aho.
”However, in connection with certain associations the experience may cross my mind, even in the most unexpected of situations”, she adds.
Aho notes that the tsunami ripped apart the picture of real life for a while.
At first, all she could think of was how close to death she had been.
”Nowadays, the worst thing is to remember the mothers who lost their small children”, Irene Aho recalls.
A rescuer spent anniversary at work
On Boxing Day morning in 2004, diving entrepreneur Janne Miikkulainen and a group of tourists were on a diving trip some 50 kilometres away from Khao Lak, when the tsunami passed under their boat without incident.
The group returned to Khao Lak early in the evening, witnessing the full scope of the catastrophe as they arrived on shore.
For the following three days, Miikkulainen and his colleagues were evacuating people, providing them with first aid and food, while at the same time sending home valuable information about the fates of Finns, while the Finnish authorities themselves struggled to get a grip on the situation.
The divers' work in the aftermath of the disaster has been widely praised, for good reason, and the way in which their blogs and other websites easily outran the cumbersome ministry announcements was a revelation - for several days after the tsunami struck, they were the primary source of reliable information for worried relatives.
The tsunami was followed by a number of further assistance projects. The diving enterprise raised EUR 50,000 from donors and from the sales of a book on the Asian tsunami. The last financial aid was distributed in the spring of 2007.
On the fifth anniversary of the catastrophe, Miikkulainen was working.
”On diving trips we usually spend a moment’s silence to honour the memory of those who died in the disaster”, Miikkulainen noted.
The catastrophe left a permanent scar on Bishop of Helsinki
Eero Huovinen, the Bishop of Helsinki, was on his way to Thailand for a holiday on Boxing Day in 2004, when the plane heading for the resort of Phuket was suddenly redirected to Bangkok.
From there Huovinen and his travelling companion, a Lutheran minister, continued to Phuket.
For three days, the two clergymen assisted the Finns who were waiting at the airport.
”We tried to listen to people, as was our job”, Huovinen says.
After returning to Finland, Huovinen said that in Thailand ”all prayers faded away on our lips”.
He was wondering why God allowed people to be treated so harshly.
”Some things are like permanent scars”, Huovinen noted. ”One just has to learn how to live with them. I believe that God will always take care of people and the world, and I put my trust in him”, he concluded.
A psychologist is surprised at people’s strength
Crisis Psychologist Salli Saari received the first news on the catstrophe on the Boxing Day morning Finnish time.
That was when the Finnish airline Finnair asked her whether she was prepared to leave for Bangkok.
”I considered it for a moment and said that I was ready. However, Finnair then said that there was no need to go there after all”, says Saari.
All the same, this was the beginning of several years’ work. Saari organised aid operations at the Red Cross, meeting Finns at the airport upon their arrival from the crisis area.
The busiest phase lasted for two weeks, but the post-treatment phase was yet to follow. For the following two and a half years, Saari organised peer support groups for those who had lost family members in the tsunami.
The anniversary reminds Saari of the experiences she heard in these groups.
”I am amazed at people’s tenaciousness and strength”, she says. ”At that time, I was wondering whether one is able to cope with such a situation. I have to say with some astonishment that people have managed to get over the shock in quite an unbelievable way, taking hold of their lives again”, Saari concludes.
BACKGROUND: The tsunami in 2004 was caused by a strong underwater earthquake
Early on Boxing Day in 2004 a strong earthquake occurred west of Sumatra. The earthquake registered at least 9.1 on the Richter scale, which makes it the second strongest earthquake on record.
The underwater quake caused a series of tsunamis or sea-surges as high as ten metres, which hit the coasts around the Indian Ocean.
The disturbances killed approximately 230,000 people. The most severely affected country was Indonesia with around 130,000 deaths.
The number of Finns who died in the catastrophe was 178. Nearly all were tourists holidaying in Thailand. A very large proportion of them died in Khao Lak.
A major global aid campaign was organised to help the victims of the Asian tsunami. The Finnish Red Cross (SPR) alone raised a total of EUR 26.7 million for the victims.
Assistance in the tsunami-affected areas will still continue in 2010–2011, and all funds donated to the Finnish Red Cross have been budgeted to be used within the period.
In 2010, support will continue for sea rescue programmes and to blood transfusion centres.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 27.12.2009
Previously in HS International Edition:
About 30 Finns to join tsunami memorial in Thailand (28.11.2005)
Report criticises actions of Finnish officials in tsunami aftermath (15.6.2005)
Tsunami panels find officials failed to utilise information coming from public (16.6.2005)
As many as 100 Finns could remain unaccounted for after tsunami (9.2.2005)
See also:
Divers´ website gets nearly a million hits in days after tsunami (5.1.2005)
Diary of Destruction, 26.-30.12.2004 (4.1.2005)
VILLE SEURI / Helsingin Sanomat
ville.seuri@hs.fi
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| 5.1.2010 - THIS WEEK |
Asian tsunami continues to haunt those who were involved in disaster
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