Swedish tsunami report criticises Swedish officials, praises Finland
Finnish report coming in a few weeks
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A report published in Sweden on Tuesday on the response of the country’s officials to the aftermath of the Asian tsunami is sharply criticical of the slow and confused reaction to the disaster. A team of experts has found that Swedish tourists in the affected area underwent considerable unnecessary suffering because the first assessments by Swedish officials on the need for help came several days too late.
The report also praises Finland for reacting quickly to the crisis, and points to a lack of cooperation among the Nordic Countries in the effort. Ari Leppäniemi, the head doctor on an ambulance flight that brought Finnish victims home, confirms that there were empty beds on a flight. He says that for some reason, the Swedes did not want to use a Finnish airliner that was converted into an ambulance plane, which was offered to them by Finland.
According to the report, the first official Swedish aid team did not arrive in Thailand until four days after the disaster, while Finns got on the move already on the day that it happened.
"I consider the action of the Finns to be an example of a good way to deal with a catastrophe. If only Swedish officials had performed as well", said one of the members of the assessment team, Professor Sten Lennquist.
The writers of the report, Professor Lennquist of Linköping, and Professor Timothy Hodgetts of Birmingham pointed out several instances of slow action by Swedish officials.
Experts were not sent early enough to assess the Swedish tourists’ need for aid. Consequently not enough doctors, nurses, or medicines were sent to the Thai hospitals that were straining under the burden.
A law of the jungle seemed to prevail at the overwhelmed hospitals in the area. One Swedish tsunami victim said that he had to steal pain killers from a nurse to help his suffering family.
One Swede interviewed for the report said that he resorted to moderate violence to keep Thai doctors from amputating the arm of a young Swedish girl. The arm was later successfully treated in Sweden.
Four days after the disaster, the first official Swedish crisis worker arrived on the scene in Thailand, accompanied by one nurse. The report notes that by this time, many whose injuries were slight, had already been flown back home on flights arranged by tour operators, SOS International, or other countries.
The writers of the report noted that officials in Finland, Italy, and Germany managed to get assessment teams on the move to the area on the day that the disaster took place.
The professors place the blame for the poor coordination among the Nordic Countries squarely on the shoulders of the organisers of the Swedish rescue effort.
A report on the Finnish effort in the wake of the disaster is to come out in a few weeks’ time. It is being drafted by a team led by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 8.6.2005 - TODAY |
 Swedish tsunami report criticises Swedish officials, praises Finland
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