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Original poster

EARTHQUAKE AND TIDAL WAVES IN S.E.ASIA WHERE IS LOU33??

676 replies

KangaSantaMummy · 26/12/2004 07:51

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE LOU33 IS?

IS SHE BY THE COAST?

THIALAND,

MALDIVES under water we loved them when we were there 3 years ago.

EARTHQUAKE AND VERY FAST TIDAL WAVES REALLY AWFUL

OP posts:
Nutcracker · 30/12/2004 10:36

Are Oxfam collecting clothes or anything else ??

pixiefish · 30/12/2004 10:38

they prefer the money as it's hard to ship stuff out BUT if you donate stuff to the shop then they can sell it and use the money

Hulababy · 30/12/2004 10:40

But they have already been told that they can't get off the cruise at a number of places so the cruise is not going to be their "holiday as planned". Mum's friend says she wishes they'd just cancel it and give the money to the appeals, even if not back to them. They would benefit more that way than having tourists coming round surely? Especially so soon, where the after shocks may even still be happening.

pixiefish · 30/12/2004 10:42

on the news yesterday there was a couple who had come home from there who said that tourists should come home now- because the tourists were using water etc meant for and needed by the locals.

Nutcracker · 30/12/2004 10:49

Ah right, thanks Pixifish, will do that for now then, until i can donate some money.

winterwarmmummer · 30/12/2004 10:50

This is just Horrible, horrible, horrible. I cannot believe the scale of this . The stories are heart breaking. I am so pleased that Lou33 and sarahu are OK, I hope that you have good news soon about friends and relations. Our thoughts are with you.

PuffTheMagicDragon · 30/12/2004 11:25

A friend who used to work for the Red Cross said that the most useful items donated were those that took up the least shop/floor space, but generated a lot of cash for their size. I'm looking at unopened presents I've received which yes, are lovely and I would definitely use but in all honesty I don't need.

SuzyWongMerrilyOnHigh · 30/12/2004 12:08

I can't bear it, the scale of the disaster, the loss the devastatioin.

NameChangingMancMidlander · 30/12/2004 12:13

DH told me earlier that the death toll is up to 87,000, which is just unimaginable. Those poor, poor people. It's horrendous, I mean where on earth would you even begin with an aid / clean up operation ?

sarahu · 30/12/2004 12:16

Hello everyone

well things have calmed down a little here at school, as many people have now headed to Bangkok or home. There are lots of foreign aid workers here now. We are at the grim stage where tourists are now looking at photos of the bodies and trying to identify relatives. It is gruesome - I didn't know that a person could look like that In all the hospitals and aid centres there are just hundreds of photos of people who are missing. We have some people staying here who have lost an 8 month old. As someone said further down, there are many children who have lost parents - some so young that they can't tell anyone what their name is

Some colleagues of mine have been up in Khao Lak again today helping to dive for bodies in the flooded hotels. I believe that 800 have been pulled out from one hotel and that there are still 400 there.

There are rumours that when all the bodies have been brought back from Phi Phi that the authorities will just pour oil on the island and set fire to it to clear it. A horrible thought but I don't see what else they can do.

THe death toll goes on rising. More people are flying in from overseas to look for relatives. It is all so so so sad. How do you know what to say to someone who has lost their entire family?

There are so many Thai people affected by this. My husband has lost two very good friends - and we don't know about everyone else yet; The phone lines hhave been so jammed up that its too hard to contact people.

I got an email from Lou33 - its good to hear that she is safe and well.

OK I have to go shopping otherwise my poor DD can't eat tomorrow

take care of yourselves and your family - you just never know what is coming.

NameChangingMancMidlander · 30/12/2004 12:18

What a post sarahu, that has really drummed the horror right through me . Nature is a truly terrifying force.

MerryTissMas · 30/12/2004 12:21

thanks for taking the time to post here sarahu. I really don't know what to say. I hope you all find some way through this appalling experience.

NameChangingMancMidlander · 30/12/2004 12:21

I just asked my DH to read it, and it reduced him to tears. We have both agreed that we must make a significant donation.

Original poster
KangaSantaMummy · 30/12/2004 12:22

islamic relief 0121-622-0622

I think they were the ones on BBC news this morning

It was a 0121 telephone number and I was not quick enough to write it down have just got this off ceefax p126

Anyway they were collecting paracetamol and plasters to send out so perhaps nutty you could phone them

OP posts:
winterwarmmummer · 30/12/2004 12:23

Thinking of you and all in the zone, sending love and hugs. Your bravery and strength is amazing.

sarahu · 30/12/2004 12:25

Sorry NCMM didn't mean to upset. It's just that I don't think that anyone who is not here has any idea of what it is truly like - including colleagues who are in their home countries for the Chrismtas holidays. They will all come back next week for the start of term (which has been postponed) and they will get a small idea of what we have been through - but will never get the full picture. On the other hand though, some people will be so shocked when they come back - expecially those who live near the beaches......when they left there were pristine beaches, hotels, food stalls, restaurants, shops and bars and now there is complete devastation. They just won't have any idea what to expect.

Fortunately there is a counselling programme startinf for us tomorrow which is good. We have all been helping out for huge amounts of hours because everyone felt that they had to be there all the time. No on ehad time to make a rota......so its been 0800 till 0200 more or less every day.

OK I realy am going shopping now, back later on
My friends car was parked outside her house adn is now jammed into someones living room.

Original poster
KangaSantaMummy · 30/12/2004 12:25

sarahu I don't know what to say

Thank you for keeping us updated

OP posts:
Hulababy · 30/12/2004 12:27

Sarahu - thank you for taking the time to post. I am shocked and saddened beyond belief at the tragedy. I don't know what to say...

Take care.

Twiglett · 30/12/2004 12:27

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} to all

We feel so impotent money donation just doesn't seem enough

NameChangingMancMidlander · 30/12/2004 12:32

sarahu, please don't think I was chastising you in any way for posting the realities of the situation. It is just so horrific and enormous that it's almost impossible to get my head around, then a post like yours really makes me understand that 87,000 isn't just a number, they are people - mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands, wives.

Ailsa · 30/12/2004 12:36
Sad
fairyfly · 30/12/2004 12:49

Sarahu, my thoughts are with you, nobody has to witness the things you are. I hope your strength stays with you, and your friends and family find comfort with each other. It is heinous that you have all been through this but these dreadful jobs need to be done at the same time. I really wish i could be there to help. I hope you hear of no more personal disasters and for what its worth will light a candle for you and yours in church today. Peace x

PuffTheMagicDragon · 30/12/2004 12:55

sarahu, thank you for taking the time to post.

We feel so powerless to help, except to donate cash in the hope that it makes some difference.

It feel like a drop in the ocean when you are told that deeply traumatised children are attempting to kill themselves because they have lost their whole family.

maomao · 30/12/2004 14:00

sarahu, thank you so much for your posts. I've been following this thread, but not posting very much. Like everyone else posting on here, I feel very helpless, and wish there was more that I could do other than donating to places such as Doctors Without Borders....

NameChangingMancMidlander · 30/12/2004 14:21

toll is now at 123,000 and rising. Helpless is exactly the right word, i think. It is really good to see that the world really is mucking in on this one, though.

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