My Brother and his Family were in this region of Thailand for 2 years so I found this article very moving. I think we need not forget that there is still tragety and devastation going on. We may not be able to help in a physical way but we can help by remembering to offer prayers for those in need and for those you are there to help.
Phuket, February 8, 2005 by
Johann Christoph Arnold
I was drinking my coffee on the morning of December 26 when news of an undersea earthquake near Sumatra hit the news. The death toll was set at a few thousand and counting, but I sensed immediately that here was something from God that was a judgment on the whole world, and I called this to the attention of my family and congregation. Soon horror stories from twelve affected nations were filling the headlines, and we were asking ourselves what we could do to help out. Amazingly, doors opened within days, and we were soon in touch with Thai officials, first in New York and then in Thailand itself.
Now, six weeks later, a group of us are here in Phuket. It is one of the worst-hit regions of the country, with nine thousand dead or missing. Of course, there are no exact figures; as I write, some three thousand corpses are being held for identification in semi trailers near our hotel.
The Thai we’ve met so far have opened their hearts and doors to us and pleaded for help in any form we can give it, such as sponsoring orphan children and helping to pay for their monthly upkeep. Our church is planning to do this for twenty children—a small token that will alleviate only a tiny fraction of the tremendous suffering we have seen here, but at least something. At the request of the Thai government, we are also sending a couple to teach English in one of the many makeshift schools here still reeling from the loss of teachers and students.
(We observed something interesting, by the way, at a meeting with the governor of Phuket. A representative from Switzerland attending the same event was promising his Thai audience the world, presumably in the form of monetary aid. The governor’s response? “Thank you, but we need commitment. We need teachers. We need people here.”)
People here need to talk; they want to share their personal stories. We visited a fishing village where eight hundred orphans from the surrounding area are being housed. The village was essentially wiped out: there used to be fifty families, and now only seven are left. It’s the same in countless other places. At one point we passed twenty-seven kilometers of complete destruction. The annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the atom bombs could not have been more devastating. Everything and everyone is gone.
We have met forensic experts whose gruesome task of identifying bodies—by now almost completely decomposed—has left them so devastated they could hardly talk. Officials tell us the real statistics will never be known. (Apparently the situation in Indonesia is even worse; there, they are still digging out the dead.)
The tsunami’s effects on the economy are devastating. One of the first evenings we were here, we were taken to a rather posh restaurant, and treated to a beautiful dinner. The place was next to one of the biggest shopping areas in Phuket and used to serve three thousand people every evening. The night we were there, there were only thirty customers, half of whom belonged to our delegation.
Apart from tourism, Phuket depends heavily on fishing, but those who are left are afraid to go out to sea to continue their livelihood. First, there are aftershocks almost daily, some measuring up to more than 7.0 on the Richter scale, so many people are still panicky and on edge. Second, they fear the fish will have eaten the bodies of those who drowned. (Officials tell us that this is not the case; there are no sharks here, and the other ocean fish are not carnivorous.)
We hear again and again of the amazing selflessness of the Thai people. In the wake of the tsunami, they have treated foreign visitors better than their own citizens. The government, too, has been incredibly helpful. It ensured that survivors from other countries made it home as quickly as possible; it arranged medical coverage for all tourists who were injured; and it paid their return airfare.
Such generosity seems impressive, and it is. But to the Thais, it is simply part of their culture—a heritage that goes back thousands of years. Deeply influenced by Buddhism, it is a culture of forgiveness and respect for life, though it accepts suffering and death as part of life. It is also a culture that respects the elderly. Our guide told us that until his grandmother died at ninety, she was the force behind all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; and at festivities the whole clan still goes to her house to honor her memory.
We westerners have so much to learn! Here in Phuket, one feels a sense of community, joy, service, and respect for every human being. Meanwhile, what do we have to offer Thai visitors to our countries, aside from selfishness, violence, drugs, alcohol, cheap entertainment, promiscuity, and endless loneliness? The contrast is very stark. These poor people are far ahead of us.
Thailand is about 80% Buddhist, and only 5% Christian (the other 15% are Muslim), but it is easy to find common ground. Many of the Buddhist rules for living—do not kill, do not commit adultery, and do not steal, for instance—are the same as those found in the Ten Commandments. There is also an openness to the Gospel, as we found when we visited an old Buddhist monk yesterday. A master of one of the temples here in Phuket, he is 109 years old, and told us that in his lifetime he had never experienced such a disaster. Later he told us that he had met Jesus in his meditations. Then he spoke about forgiving. He said that it is the most important act we can perform, even if it is the hardest, and that the fruits are unending.
Today is Chinese New Year, which is widely observed here, and our guide took us to a celebration at the temple. While the monks were chanting and singing and bringing their offerings to the Buddha, I got into a conversation with an American couple from Colorado. They have lived in Thailand for eighteen months, and happened to be on a nearby beach when the tsunami hit, though luckily on a protected section of the bay. They thanked God for letting them survive, but wanted to do more. Now they have decided to stay here and serve the Thai people for the long run. They’ve just signed a lease for their house for the next twenty years.
Talking with this couple reminded me of Jesus’ words, “Whatever you do unto the least of them, you do unto me.” Like countless others suffering around the world, the people of Thailand (and the other countries hit by the tsunami) have now become “the least of them.” We should not forget their plight, but unite around it. And—no matter how little it seems—we should continue to do whatever we can for them.
Related articles:
Woodcrest 3rd/4th grades: The Big Wave - Children's Poems
Johann Christoph Arnold: The Tsunami: A Wake-up Call
Marianne Williamson: Where's the Miracle?
Donal McKernan: Busking for Change
Bill Wiser: Now What?
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