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weekendTODAY • January 7 - 8, 2006

RRAAHHUULL VVEENNKKIITT IN PHUKETrahul.venkit@newstoday.com.sg

FRAMED photograph of a little girl in hand,Mr Vimon Thongtae soaked in the idylliccalm as the gentle waters of the AndamanSea kissed the shores of Ban Nam Kembeach in Phang Nga, Thailand.

However, in December 2004, the set-ting was anything but serene.

“Waves more than 20ft (6.1m) tallcrashed onto my house. I was scramblingto save my sister, six nephews and mythree-year-old daughter, Sudarat,” said the48-year-old fisherman, gesturing towardsthe photo frame.

But the monstrous tsunami showed nomercy, sweeping away his family, houseand livelihood in a matter of minutes.

It did not, however, break Mr Thong-tae’s steely resolve.

“The tsunami might have taken awayeverything from me, but it did not takeaway my hope,” he told TODAY. “We willrecover. We will overcome all obstacleswith resilience — that is the Thai way.”

WHEN VICTIMS BECOME HEROES It was to remember the victims and salutethe spirit of those such as Mr Thongtae thatthe Thai government organised the OneYear in Memory of Tsunami events inPhuket, Khao Lak and Phi Phi Island.

Many of the participants are heroes intheir own right, having chosen to look be-yond personal loss and save lives when theraging waters invaded their shores.

“I might not have been able to savemy family members, but I did save fourtourists,” said Mr Thongtae. “I used the roofof my house as a float and managed to dragthem on top of it. We then clung on to near-by coconut trees until the waters reced-ed.”

Mr Thongtae’s deeds did not stopthere. Choosing not to wait for official help,he brought together fellow fishermen af-fected by the tsunami and formed the KhaoLak Fishermen’s Forum.

“With the help of foreign donations,we managed to raise funds of 8 million baht($328,304), which will go towards the re-building of Ban Nam Kem district,” he said.

“Just because I am a victim does notmean I cannot help others.”

According to official figures, the tsunami on Dec 26, 2004, claimed 5,396 lives in Thailand. Without the selflessacts of those such as Mr Thongtae, thatnumber would have been much higher.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILYHowever, survivors attending the ceremo-ny such as the Haltmeyers from Austriakept their distance from the shore.

“We cannot bring ourselves to enter thewater. The images of dead bodies floatingin these waters still haunt us,” said Mr Heinrich Haltmeyer, 54.

Last year, his wife Ernestine and

14 other friends were staying at a resort inKhao Lak when the tsunami hit.

“The only reason we survived was be-cause of the locals. Even when they helpedus safely reach the Phuket airport last year,their only parting words were: ‘Please comeagain’,” he said.

So, the Haltmeyers did — this time with several volunteers and a hoard of

200,000 euros ($398,100).“When we reached home, the only

thought on our mind was to give some-thing back to the large-hearted people ofThailand,” said Mrs Haltmeyer.

Hence, the 16 friends came together to form a relief organisation named Flutopferhilfe Khao Lak (loosely translat-ed as “Tide Victims Assistance Khao Lak”).

Having travelled back to the badly-dam-aged region in June last year to distributefood, clothing and household items, thegroup also sponsored the education of 42 children at 70 euros per child per year.

The Haltmeyer family themselves spon-sored three children, whom they consideradditions to their family.

“I cannot wait to come back to Thailandin the future and see how my new childrenhave been faring,” said Mrs Haltmeyer.

“We had to keep our promise to theThai people. I am so proud of the way theyare rebuilding their lives,” added Mr Halt-meyer, fighting back tears.

TRAINING THE TRAINERSWith tourist arrivals increasing steadily, of-ficials said Thailand is well on its road torecovery.

“There was a 90-per-cent drop in in-ternational arrivals to Phuket immediate-ly after the tsunami,” said Ms Eumporn Jiragalwisul, director (Singapore, Indone-sia and Philippines) of the Tourism Au-thority of Thailand.

“With most damaged areas now rebuilt,that drop now stands at 50 per cent. Infact, hotel occupancy rates were at 80 percent during the recent festive season.”

Another priority is empowering localsand helping them get on with their lives, saidLt Gen Amnat Barlee, director of the ThaiRed Cross Society.

“We are deploying trained helpers invarious tsunami-hit areas to help peoplecope with its practical and psychological ef-fects,” said Lt Gen Barlee, adding theywere currently in the process of “trainingthe trainers”.

These helpers will have a wide spec-trum of duties, ranging from being a life-guard to a counsellor.

“It is an honour for me to be selectedto serve my nation,” said 32-year-old Vi-rote Niratvattanasai, who is currently un-dergoing training to be a government helper.

“And if need be, I would jump into thewater to save lives if another tsunami hits.Nam jai khon Thai — it is in our Thai bloodto help others.”

WHEN THE TSUNAMIMET THE THAI WAY

How compassion overcame a force of nature

In Iraq, a bloody question markBAGHDAD — Even as deadly attacks killedmore than 170 people in Iraq in just twodays, a top United States general said vi-olence in the country should decline thisyear. But the bloodshed has raised furtherdoubts about Iraq’s political stability.

“(As) more Iraqis want a peaceful so-lution and see the benefit of their govern-ment, there’ll be fewer places for the ter-rorists to take refuge,” General Peter Pace,chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.“So I believe the violence will subside overthe course of the year.”

On Thursday, about 130 people werekilled in a series of attacks — including two

devastating suicide bombings in the holycity of Karbala and in Ramadi. An attack alsotook place the previous day in Mukdadiyah,north of Baghdad. The incidents have fu-elled sectarian tensions and taken the deathtoll to over 170 in 48 hours.

The largest Shia party, the SupremeCouncil for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq,denounced the minority Sunnis for incitingthe violence after faring poorly at the polls.

Reinforcing fears of a civil war, they saidsome factions may take direct action be-cause the US-led coalition was "hamper-ing" attempts by the government to com-bat the insurgents. — AAGGEENNCCIIEESS

GLOBALROUNDUPTTEEHH TTAARRIIKK DDOOEESS NNOOTT LLEEAADD TTOO SSTTRROOKKEEThe Health Ministry has refuted an earliernews report that said Malaysians wereprone to stroke due to their obsession withteh tarik, the New Straits Times reported.

Health Minister Chua Soi Lek denied thatthe big dose of condensed milk in teh tarikwas a main factor in stroke. But he saidincreased consumption of condensed milkcould lead to diabetes. The leading causesof stroke are high blood pressure, high cho-lesterol, diabetes and smoking.

CCHHIINNAA,, JJAAPPAANN TTOO HHOOLLDD TTAALLKKSSJapan and China will hold one-day talksnext Monday in Beijing on bilateral ties and

a dispute over gas deposits in the EastChina Sea, the Japanese Foreign Ministrysaid. Tensions between the Asian rivalshave risen over the past year, particularlyover the Japanese prime minister’s visits toa Tokyo war shrine that China considers aglorification of militarism. — AAPP

WWHHAATT RREEAALLLLYY GGOOEESS OONN IINN AA BBRROOTTHHEELLA German theatre company has said that itwill stage a play in a Berlin brotheldesigned to focus attention on “what reallyhappens” in the world of prostitution. Aftertwo performances of the play, called JoyServices, two madams will discuss thework of sex workers. — AAFFPP

WWEE RREEMMEEMMBBEERR:: AA ccoommmmeemmoorraattiivvee wwrreeaatthh llaaiidd aatt PPaattoonngg BBeeaacchh,, PPhhuukkeett ((ttoopp)).. AA pphhoottooggrraapphh ooff tthhrreeee-yyeeaarr-oolldd SSuuddaarraatt,, wwhhoo wwaass kkiilllleedd bbyy tthhee wwaavveess,, bbeeiinngg hheelldd bbyy hheerr ffaatthheerr,, MMrr VViimmoonn TThhoonnggttaaee ((aabboovvee))..

RAHUL VENKIT