Word from Thailand

After five days, I finally got a reply from a friend at the Andaman Nature Resort in Ao Ton Sai, Krabi: to my relief, the staff there are all safe. Her email follows below. I'm still waiting to hear from my friend Yo in Phuket, however, and I'm afraid of what I'll learn.

After my recent Macau/Hong Kong trip I chose to go to Shanghai, but a large number of Macanese chose to spend some time in Thailand. Two days ago I received word that five of the people with whom I attended Macau Encontro 2004 were killed on Phuket, and that over 200 were still stranded there with no passports to travel. "There but for the grace of God go I", indeed.

I'm in Northern Virginia, still recovering from jetlag and a bad cold. Last night I went to a joint in Reston with an old friend and his wife for the New Years' Eve celebrations. I couldn't bring myself to watch the ball drop on the TV with the other drunken patrons. No one else seemed bothered by the death and devastation that dominated the news channels one remote click away.

For me, the elephant in the restaurant last night was the fact that we are all unbelievably fortunate. Due to our nationality and upbringing, two factors over which none of us exert any control, we are among the richest people in the world. There are billions of other human beings (even in our own hemisphere) who, due to their nationality and upbringing, are suffering from poverty and hunger. There are millions in south Asia right now who are suffering from much, much worse. The Bush Administration has now pledged to give USD $350 million to the relief efforts, but that is not nearly enough (as an expenditure comparison, keep in mind that the U.S. government spends more than that amount every three days in Iraq). Private donations are needed. If you'd like to contribute a small amount, there are many outlets online, including:

United Nations Children's Fund
International Red Cross/Red Crescent
Doctors Without Borders

Irrespective of donations, we should all count ourselves lucky that we are among the most priveleged people on the planet. If you believe in a god, be thankful to him or her; if you believe in destiny, thank the Fates or the Norns. Even if just for a day, we should act like we're aware of the fortune unknowingly bestowed upon us, and act accordingly.

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hi,christ

[...] so really thankz for ur best wish. i'm fine and yesterday i went to Ao nang for asking about staffs at Ao ton sai. a woman told me they are safe. don't worry. however, i'm so sad about this disaster. u know i cry everytime when i watch news on tv. this moment. i don't want to believe that it's true. many many people dead. we don't celebrate new year. u know nothing to celebrate. they are so pity. really pity. althought my relatives don't have any problem from Zsunami, i'm not happy. u will understand if u see many many dead bodies here. Phi Phi island was attracted by Zsunami. everyhotels, bungalows and houses was destroyed. oh, yes except 2 hotels that i can not remember. christ, i think this is our problem. it;s the problem of every thai people. u know every chanels in thailand make a programme for helping thai and foriegners. christ,u know i can learn many special things from this disaster. especially, impression of thai people and farang [foreigners]. nobody think about what are their native, or religion when we are trouble.i heard many impressed stories you know that's make me cry with happy and impressed. i went to Krabi hospital for being a volunteer as well but it's only 1 hour. there are many volunteers that would like to help. most of all are foriegners becoz they can speak German, swedish,french,........ that's enough.

At ao nang area we found only 5 dead bodies. it's not like PHi Phi , pHuket and Khao Lak. if u want to know about the impressed stories here maybe u can go in WWW.manager.co.th

thankz again for ur best wish.

take care urself