Six months later: news from tsunami-affected Thailand

[Ancalagon the Black]

A dispatch from a friend working over there. Quite sobering, but interesting. Haven't edited or changed any words.

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I have spent the last 4 weeks volunteering in Khao Lak, the worst hit Tsunami area in Thailand. Volunteering, at least for me, is an intense experience. The enormity of the tradegy is at times overwhelming. Only a few days ago the ocean spewed out a car and five bodies were washed ashore. Khao Lak is all consuming yet I feel compelled to write to you about my experience. There exists corruption here on so many different levels.

Khao Lak was previously sustained by fishing and tourism. Driving through the town centre there are little signs of the Tsunami, but hitch a lift from any passing car and each person has a story to tell about loss. Everybody has lost somebody, most people have lost everything. They tell us they have no work and they ask us "will the Tsunami come again?".

The visible signs of disaster are very real on the beaches where masses of resorts huddled togther along the coast. Rubble is shrewn and lonesome hollow structures stand. Desolate swimming pools lying silent and eerie. Shattered walls, furniture crushed, cars and motor bikes smashed. Personal items; suit cases, nike trainers, toiletries tell of western tourists caught up in the disaster. There are no obvious symbols or possesions of the thousands of local Thai people who worked in these resorts.

Rebuilding has commenced in Khao Lak and there is a heavy Burmese presence. The Burmese people are members only to Thailands underclass. They provide cheap labour, live in tin shacks not fit for tools and they work relentlessly, 7 days a week. Burmese workers are not included in Thialands "official" death toll figures. In one instance alone I know of 1800 Burmese construction workers who died building a hotel. We don't hear about these people, its as if they never existed, not even worthy of a number.

The enormity of the tragedy has been diluted further by the Thia government. Thialands "official" death toll lies at 5000 people including foreigners. From what I have seen and heard this number could easily be tripled, much more I suspect. Thousands of homes were destroyed along the coast. Its not good publicity for Thailand to be admitting the true extent of disaster here. The goverment priority is getting tourists back to Thailand and money is being diverted from those who need it most. All reconstruction efforts are focusing on the tourist areas, leaving little effort for fishing communities; those left homeless and with no capacity to earn money. Thousands of people still live without basic amenities, six months on and NGO's camps are still full. The goverment corruption is rampant with officials and developers conspiring to move people off their land.

Our organisation - Tsunami Volunteers - is Thai led. Projects are varied; one focuses on building furniture for schools, some teach English, others work in the camps teaching new skills and of course there are many construction projects. I build houses in Laem Pom where 30 families live in makeshift tents. It is a race against time to build their houses as a goverment official has signed off fake title deeds to a notorious and highly influential developer. They want to build a golf course. It was proved last week the company had already bulldozed homes as a threat to famillies still living there. As a result of the dispute the community cannot get access to any construction equipment and they are denied the help of the army to build their homes. They have no amenities; no electricity and water is in short supply. So far these people have recieved no government support and only donations have enabled them to start to build new homes. The villagers of Laem Pom are strong and organised withstanding intimidation, their strength in the face of adversity is truely inspiring. This village is only one, there are many many more in the same hopeless predicament.

We build their houses only a few meters away from the flattened houses they once shared with loved ones. Inevitably we dig up household belongings; tiny flip flops and teddy bears are reminders that the community actually has few children running around. Each house I have helped to rebuild has an owner who has suffered incomprehensibly. The wee blind man who lost his wife and children and is now left to look after his grandson. The young man who once was part of a full family, his parents, brothers and sisters were all killed, he is the only surviving member. The father left to bring up his teenage son, his wife was killed and his daughter suffering trauma has just commited suicide. The woman who has just identified her baby boy in a morgue and continues to search for her other son. The ten year old orphaned boy who apparently hung himself due to stress and threats of being thrown off his families land. These are real people with a remarkable strength.

For every worthy organisation doing valuable work there are many more manipulating the situation these people find themselves in. There are various voluntary organisations helping to rebuild houses and offering education, however, the number of religious groups that have decamped into this disaster zone is gut renchingly significant. History tells us that it is the vulnerable who are most suseptable to indoctrination. Money is a powerful tool of persuasion. I hear stories of children being asked to tuck away their buddhist necklaces in class and buddha images on walls being covered. "Spiritual guidance" is offered to those needing trauma counselling, specially built christian communities adopting orphans and homes given in return for conversion to christianity. I interviewed a christian charity which gave their support to Tsunami victims in this way, they were funded by western donations.

As "voluntourists" we bring significant income to Khao Lak with restaurants and bars competing with one another for our custom. Like the hoards of cattle we are following the flock and seldom trying new options we create an unfair distribution of income. I am confused by my fellow volunteers, many of whom sleep harder from hangovers than hard work. i am truly disgusted that these people are allowed to stay here, self gratifying under their "volunteer" status. I cannot understand those who treat this place like a backpacker resort showing no respect for local custom. Oh and as for the lazy ****ers; I don't believe in the theory that a "little is better than nothing", if you don't think these people deserve you working as hard as is within your capacity, then don't ****in bother.

There are many little angels who take their contribution in Khao Lak very seriously, so they should. Some work hard, keep themselves to themselves and only socialise on the weekend. There are those who seem to work hard and play hard; eventually showing signs of burn out, however, being a volunteer here as not as simple as that. People need time, not necessarily time to forget, but, time away from the work which can make you weiry. There are also those who have been here too long and are no longer able to make a positive contribution as they mentally cannot contain all they have experienced. Others are here for reasons of self medication, not realising that being here in itself demands a healthy mind to cope with what has happened here. You can become too emotionally attached, burdened with the responsibility - nothing will ever be enough.

Working here has given me fist hand experience of how organisations can become misguided. This organisation lacks structure, there is no communication with volunteers, many leaders are ego driven. Safety of volunteers is questionable, project leaders drink drive and there is missapropriation of funds. Despite all this it is very important we are here, our western presence bears witness to the corruption of the Thai government. The reason I came here is to help and support the Thai people. So when the BBC turn up looking for a "nice volunteer story" I won't talk about me, my travels and why I came here. I'll talk about the real issues; the Thai people, what they have lost and how their own government is trying to take even more away from them.