Tsunami survivors mark first anniversary
Ap, Phuket
Survivors launched a boat laden with flowers, candles and incense in the first ceremony yesterday to mark one year since the Indian Ocean tsunami swept away at least 216,000 lives in one of the world's worst natural disasters in memory. Peter Pruchniewitz, 68, who was swept from his hotel room and lost a friend to the waves, returned from Zurich, Switzerland to attend the ceremonies. Asked why, he said simply, "to remember."The commemoration in Thailand was the first of hundreds to be held on the grim anniversary in the dozen countries hit by the earthquake-spawned waves last Dec. 26. Amid the mourning, survivors and officials were taking stock of the massive relief operation and peace processes in Sri Lanka and Indonesia's Aceh province, the two places hardest hit by the tsunami. In both cases, success has been mixed. At Bang Niang beach in Thailand's Phang Nga province, mourners including Western tourists who were caught in the disaster placed offerings into a brightly coloured, bird-shaped boat that was floated into the Andaman Sea as members of the Moken, or sea gypsy, tribe chanted and pounded drums. The Moken believe the ceremony helps ward off evil spirits. A private memorial service for British citizens and two candlelight ceremonies were planned for later Saturday on the nearby island of Phuket. In hardest-hit Indonesia, workers on Saturday scaled the minarets of the imposing 16th century mosque in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, replacing missing tiles and slapping on a fresh coat of whitewash in preparation for special services on Monday.Thousands of survivors have been rehoused in Aceh, but agencies say they are only about 20 percent of the total number needing new homes and the landscape is still one of devastation in many places. But the tsunami did bring one positive side effect in Aceh it resulted in a cease-fire between the government and guerrillas that ended a decades-old separatist conflict. No such progress was made in Sri Lanka, where disputes over aid delivery and an upsurge in violence blamed on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have dashed hopes that the tsunami would end the country's long-running civil conflict.
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Sea gypsies release a boat to the sea during the one-year tsunami ceremony at Moken Community in Phang Nga southern Thailand yesterday. About 5,400 people, including at least 2,436 foreigners from 37 countries, were killed when the tsunami hit Thailand on Dec 26 last year.. PHOTO: AFP |
