As
we stood for a minutes silence to remember those who had died
in the tsunami, the moment was especially poignant, for we all
knew that many people in the room had lost people to the
disaster: family members, staff and volunteers.
This
is the reality of working in the Red Cross Red Crescent
family. We know that it is our duty to help, when natural
disasters strikes, and it is this call to action that unites
us.
It is this same solidarity that has brought us to
Hong Kong to take part in the Red Cross Red Crescent Tsunami
Response Forum. Over 150 participants from 50 countries are
here.
Those directly affected by the tsunami are
sharing their experiences, and those who have helped to raise
a record amount of funds and have sent relief support to the
affected regions are here to support their colleagues and work
out how they can further help with the reconstruction
phase.
Guest of Honour, Donald Tsang Kam-Kuen, Acting
Chief Executive of Hong Kong, paid tribute to the Red Cross
and Red Crescent volunteers and staff who helped regardless of
their own loss, and he thanked the Hong Kong public for the
wonderful generosity they demonstrated to help their
neighbours.
The Secretary General of the International
Federation, Markku Niskala, paid tribute to the bravery of
those who had helped so far. ¡§I am so very proud of all the
work that has already been achieved to help those affected by
this disaster. The National Societies, their volunteers, our
fundraising efforts and our immediate international emergency
response ¡V should all be praised. We dealt with an extremely
difficult situation with professionalism and compassion. This
is the true strength of our Movement.¡¨
The Federation
President Juan Manuel Suˆhrez del Toro also addressed the
opening session of the forum. ¡§This terrible tragedy is a
difficult challenge for the International Federation and our
International Movement as a whole. But it is also a marvellous
opportunity to illustrate how the power of humanity can help
those vulnerable to natural disasters.¡¨
The Forum is
also being attended by Margareta Wahlstrom, the United
Nations¡¦ Special Coordinator for tsunami affected countries,
who spoke of how the grassroots Red Cross Red Crescent network
is invaluable in helping people to better prepare for future
risks
¡§The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have a
significant opportunity to better protect peoples lives,
livelihoods and physical property,¡¨ she said.
The
Tsunami Forum is looking at how the global Red Cross Red
Crescent Movement can develop a coordinated reconstruction and
recovery plan so that the support given to the countries
affected is appropriate and timely.
A key message
highlighted at the forum is that it is wise to take time to
plan, as it will take years of hard effort to get the affected
communities back on their feet and able to support
themselves.
It was not only senior figures from the Red
Cross and Red Crescent and UN who addressed the forum. There
were also moving testimonies from Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Somalia and Sweden, which told a story of resilience and
bravery.
Mezubar had travelled from her village near
Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, to tell her story. On 26 December
she was washing some clothes in her house when she felt the
earthquake. She was scared but had experienced earthquakes
before so thought that once it had stopped she would be safe.
Then about half an hour later she looked outside
towards the coast and saw that large waves were beginning to
destroy houses, and that the height of the waves was
increasing.
Mezubar fled inland, reaching the safety of
her local mosque as the waves reached her and wrapped
themselves around the building.
¡§It was such a strange
day. The sun was shining and it was warm. Then the tsunami
came and destroyed nearly everything. And afterwards when I
looked out at the wasteland left behind, I couldn¡¦t help
thinking that it was strange that the sun was still shining.
The weather had remained the same, but everything else had
changed completely,¡¨ she told the gathering.
Mezubar,
19, had done some volunteering in the past and so decided to
walk to the nearest branch of the Indonesian Red Cross to see
how she could help.
¡¥In the first few hours I did
whatever I could. I tried to help the people who were injured,
the people who had lost their families. Then after a couple of
days I started helping with water projects. I also helped with
translations. It was good to help, it gave me something to do,
which supported me because one of my brothers drowned which
makes me very sad,¡¨ she explained.
We could see that
Mezubar was both brave and resilient. It was appropriate that
she was there to remind the Red Cross Red Crescent decision
makers the reality of how people cope when faced with major
disasters.
It is this resilience and desire to help
people get back to normal as quickly as possible that must be
weaved into the Regional Strategy that will be developed over
the three days of the
forum.
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Acting
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang paid tribute to
Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff, as well
as the generosity of the people Hong Kong
(p12661)
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Some
of the 150 participants watch a video on the tsunami
operation produced especially for the Hong Kong forum
(p12660)
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Responding
to the long-term needs in tsunami-hit countries is both
a a difficult challenge and a marvellous opportunity,
according to Federation President Juan Manuel Suˆhrez del
Toro
(p12659)
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The
testimony of Indonesian volunteer Mezubar was a reminder
of the importance of building community resilience to
disaster, as the Red Cross and Red Crescent draws up its
recovery and reconstruction plans (p12658)
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