Res Publica 2005

The numbers they are bandying about as the death count rises are mind numbing.
The Drudge Report is talking a possiblity of 60,000 plus.

Some recent figures:

SRI LANKA

More than 18,000 bodies have been recovered from government controlled territory and around 2,000 more from rebel Tamil areas.

An estimated one million people have been left homeless. A naval ship anchored off Galle was sunk.

INDIA

The country has suffered at least 4,000 deaths. On the 572 scattered Nicobar and Andaman islands, entire tribes of stone-age people are feared wiped out. The jungle-covered islands were rocked by a second quake yesterday.

INDONESIA

Around 19,000 are confirmed dead but the final figure could up to 25,000.

Corpses were recovered from tree-tops and 1,500 were buried in a mass grave.

MALDIVES

The 1,200 tiny palm-fringed holiday islands have so far reported 52 dead with 70 others missing. The dead include two Britons — a man and a woman. Six islands have been evacuated while others remain cut off.

THAILAND

The official toll is 870 but is expected to top 1,000 — up to a third of them foreigners.

Authorities said 130 of the deaths were in Phuket, a resort popular with Brits.

Beach hotels were swept away. There were chaotic scenes at Phuket airport as bandaged survivors struggled to get on flights.

MYANMAR

There were officially 90 deaths, although it is thought the secretive government is withholding the true figure.

SOMALIA

The East African country is 4,000 miles from the quake but entire coastal towns and villages were swept away. The confirmed death toll is 100.

MALAYSIA

There are 65 dead, mostly elderly women and children, and about 100 missing.

Many are fishermen from the resorts of Penang and Langkawi. At least 220 have been injured.

Bangladesh has reported only two deaths despite a history of severe flooding.

Other places struck by waves included Kenya, Mauritius, Reunion and The Seychelles.
Several people are missing in these places.

(source: Online Sun)

And yet, even though the numbers numb us, turning the tragedy into a count game, easier in some ways to deal with, each loss is someone's tragedy:

The buzz of grim conversation in the darkened morgue was broken by a man's shriek as a small body was lowered onto a bed. "My son, my king," wailed Venkatesh, hugging the limp, shrouded bundle.
Thousands of miles away in Indonesia, farmer Yusya Yusman aimlessly searched the beaches for his two children lost in Sunday's tsunami. "My life is over," he said without emotion.
On the day disaster struck, Malaysian Rosita Wan, 30, recalled watching in horror as her 5-year-old son was gulped by the sea while he swam near the shore at Penang.
"I could only watch helplessly while I heard my son screaming for help. Then he was underwater and I never saw him again," she said with a sob.

(source: Washington Insider)
Each person who died - someone's son. Someone's mother. Someone's friend. Rich, poor, Moslem, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Atheist - each loss hurts. Each loss is a real tragedy.

Remember the faces you see in the news. These aren't TV dramas. This is grief and shock and hurt as it really looks, as it really is.

Each of these cries out for those of us who are their fellows here on earth to reach out and help.

This is what YOU can do:

Pray.


Stay informed. ReliefWeb has a page dedicated to what's happening, and includes press releases from agencies that are in the field. Cidi is also a good clearing house, as is USAID


Reach into your pocket if you can.


Spread the word.

Check out some of these, if you don't know who to contact (this list includes live web page links):

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018
212-967-7800
www.actionagainsthunger.org

ADRA International
Asia Quake Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
800-424-ADRA (2372)
www.adra.org

Air Serv International
6583 Merchant Place, Suite 100
Warrenton, VA 20187
www.airserv.org

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
JDC-South Asia Tsunami Relief
P.O. Box 321
847A Second Avenue
New York, New York 10017
212-885-0832
www.jdc.org

American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 10th Fl.
New York, NY 10018
212-736-2597
www.ajws.org

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave
Stamford, CT 06902
800-486-4357
www.americares.org

Baptist World Aid
Asia Tidal Waves
405 North Washington Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
703 790 8980
www.bwanet.org/bwaid

B'nai B'rith International
B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund
2020 K. Street NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
212-490-3290
www.bnaibrith.org

Brother's Brother Foundation
1200 Galveston Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-321-3160
www.brothersbrother.org

CARE
151 Ellis Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
800-521-CARE
www.care.org

Catholic Relief Services
209 West Fayette Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
800-736-3467
www.catholicrelief.org

Christian Children's Fund
Child Alert Fund
PO Box 26484
Richmond, Virginia - 23261-6484
800-776-6767
www.ChristianChildrensFund.org

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
South Asia Earthquake
2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Grand Rapids, MI, 49560
800-55-CRWRC
www.crwrc.org

Church World Service
PO Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
800-297-1516
www.churchworldservice.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.
Food for the Hungry
Asia Quake Relief
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-2-HUNGERS
www.fh.org

Gospel for Asia

International Aid
17011 W. Hickory
Spring Lake, MI 49456
800-968-7490
www.internationalaid.org

International Medical Corps
Tsunami Emergency Response
1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA 90404-1950
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

International Relief Teams
Asia Earthquake/Floods
3547 Camino Del Rio South, Suite C
San Diego, CA 92108
619-284-7979
www.IRTeams.org

International Rescue Committee
PO Box 5058
Hagerstown, MD 21741-9874
877-REFUGEE or 733-8433
www.theIRC.org

Latter-Day Saint Charities
Welfare Services Emergency Response
50 East North Temple Street, Room 701
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84150-6800
801-240-3544
ldscharities@ldschurch.org

LMS World Relief and Human Care
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
1-888-930-4438
www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=7270

Lutheran World Relief
South Asia Tsunami
700 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-230-2700
www.lwr.org

MAP International
P.O. Box 215000
Brunswick, GA 31521
800-225-8550
www.map.org

Mercy Corps
Southeast Asia Earthquake
Dept. W
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208-2669
800-852-2100
www.mercycorps.org

Mission to the World
P.O. Box 116284
Atlanta, GA 30368-628
866-373-6133
http://www.mtw.org/home/site/templates/splash.asp

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Ave. #200
Los Angeles, CA 90069
800-678-8876
www.opusa.org

Oxfam America
Asian Earthquake Fund
PO Box 1211
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211
800-77-OXFAM
www.oxfamamerica.org

Plan USA
Asia Disaster
155 Plan Way
Warwick, RI 02886
800-556-7918
www.planusa.org

Project Concern International
Asia Tsunamis Press List
5151 Murphy Canyon Road Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92123
858-279-9690
www.projectconcern.org

Project HOPE
Asia Tsunami Response
255 Carter Hall Lane
Millwood, VA 22646
800-544-4673
www.projecthope.org

Samaritan's Purse:
P.O. Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
Phone (828) 262-1980
Fax (828) 266-1053
www.samaritanspurse.org

SAWSO (Salvation Army World Service Office)
South Asia Relief Fund
615 Slaters Lane
Alexandria, VA, 22313
800-SALV-ARMY

Save the Children USA
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
1-800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Stop Hunger Now
SE Asia crisis
2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
888-501-8440
www.stophungernow.org

US Fund for UNICEF
General Emergency Fund
333 E. 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
800-4-UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org

World Concern
Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
19303 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98133
800-755-5022
www.worldconcern.org

World Emergency Relief
2270-D Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-930-8001
www.worldemergencyrelief.org

World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
800-56-CHILD
www.worldvision.org