Tsunami Maldives Essay Example for Free

Tsunami Maldives Essay Natural disasters act as strong bonds to join the hearts of people even if they live poles apart. Irrespective of caste, religion and creed, everyone sympathise with the victims and comes forward to help them. Helps pour in from every corner of the world. Even persons who have little idea about the locations where such disasters occur, offer their wholehearted support, be it monetary or simple condolence messages. I have chosen this topic because of its sensitivity. It is very necessary to highlight the issues which are very crucial from humanitarian point of view. Tsunami in South Asia created havoc and caused widespread devastation. As an educated and responsible person, I volunteered to work for the needy people. I actively took part in the rescue and relief operations in Maldives. I performed my duty to my home country as well as to the mankind. It is always seen that volunteers always take the initiatives to participate in the rescue operations much before the official machinery reach there. It is a unique example how the tragedies unite people emotionally. Such tragedies make the national boundaries irrelevant. In such terrible times, we only remember one thing that we are human beings and offer physical and moral support to our fellow brethren who are suffering at the moment. I could not have chosen a better topic than this one. Rather than writing on my works, I have focused on how people from all sections of society join hands to help the people in distress. Humanity plays a great role in such incidents. Importance of volunteers and workers in such disasters cannot be undermined. It is necessary to make people aware of their responsibilities as human beings. Everyone should know about the impact of such disasters on the affected people who go through traumatic experience. The difficulties experienced by the official machinery in helping the affected people clearly emphasise on the need of volunteers in such incidents who are always in a better position to reach the victims immediately. Tsunami in South Asia A devastating earthquake occurred off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra (Indonesia) on 26 December 2004. It magnitude was measured at 9.0 on the Richter scale. Another earthquake of magnitude 7.3 occurred in the Great Nicobar Islands, India. These two earthquakes triggered Tsunami in South Asia. A series of aftershock were reported in this region. The worst-affected countries by Tsunami were India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. The 30 feet high tidal waves or Tsunami that travelled at the speed of up to 500 miles per hour, caused massive destructions all over (Behreandt, 2005, p. 4). Maldives was one of the countries in South Asia, which was affected heavily by the killer Tsunami waves. Maldives comprises of 199 islands in the Indian Ocean. It has a population of around 300,000. The geographic position of Maldives makes the transportation system a little bit complex. Boats and Ferries are the prime mode of transportation between the islands in Maldives (Behreandt, 2005, p. 16). When Tsunami struck, it damaged most of the boats, ferries and jetties. Falling trees and damaged houses blocked the public transport system. It became tough to rescue the victims who were stuck under the debris. The government machinery was completely paralysed as it was never prepared to deal with such a situation. It did not have the resources and immediate manpower to help the victims. Isolation of places and problems in transportation aggravated the situation further. Bad weather hindered the rescue and relief operations. Agencies such as Red Cross, Red Crescent and others found it difficult to provide immediate relief to people who lived in distant places. Several areas in Maldives were without power and water due to the damage caused by Tsunami. There were several tourist resorts in Maldives which were completed damaged. Heavy Destruction Rescue Operations in Maldives At the time of Tsunami, I was in Maldives due to vacation. My mother was in one of the most affected island (TH VILUFUSHI) during tsunami. But it was not possible for me to go there as all the communication links were cut off. Although I was disturbed and panicked for the well-being of my mother, I knew I could only pray for her safety. Situation around me was tense and horrible. Death toll was mounting and people are not getting the help they desperately needed at that time. Official machinery was not effective and other agencies were finding it difficult to reach the affected areas. In such a situation, there was need of volunteers who could understand the geographical conditions very well and offer helping hands. I joined the group of volunteers in the rescue and relief operations. Maldives was experiencing the worst disaster in its history. There was panic and grief all over. Our main focus was to save as many lives as possible. We dig out the debris to look out for the survivors. We had witnessed people crying under the debris for help. It was not easy to rescue the survivors safely as they were already injured and we had to pull them out with proper care and caution. I remember one incident when one of my co-workers got himself injured during the rescue operation. He was hit by a large stone on head and bled heavily. We immediately rushed to his help with first-aid. But he urged us to ignore his condition and help the victims who had been affected badly by the killer Tsunami and needed immediate attention. That incident filled new spirit in us and made us more determined. Role of Volunteers in the Tsunami Relief Operations Although the death toll in Maldives was 82, there were many people who would have died without the rescue operation undertaken by volunteers. Volunteers played a major role in locating the survivors and providing them food and medical aid. It was really heartening to see the youth volunteering in the operation without any self interest. Our group was comprised of 20 people and we carefully carried out our operations. Our first priority was to recover, identify and bury the dead. We provided emergency food, water and shelter to displaced people with the help of NGOs and other foreign agencies. We experienced a series of problems in burying the dead as many of the bodies were beyond recognition and could not be identified. There were several people who were crying and looking for their family members and relatives. We tried our best to help them in identifying their deceased relatives and then burying the bodies. Sometimes, we got distracted by the emotional experience around us. But we knew we had to keep patience and help the survivors who were completed stranded without any basic amenities. I remember a 12-year old boy who lost all his family members and was crying bitterly. He had lost everything in the disaster and was clueless about his future. There were several such incidents which occurred before us and other volunteers. While the rescue operation was going on, I got the news of safety of my mother. It boosted my confidence and filled new spirit in me. I was determined of doing my best to help people of my country at the time of disaster. My country was going through the worst-phase of its history and it desperately needed volunteers like me. Once the debris was cleared and all the survivors were rushed to safe places, we had another challenging task in hand. It was very necessary to clear the mess created by the Tsunami. Broken houses, debris, falling trees and contaminated water would have resulted in deadly epidemic like situation. With the help of government officials, NGOs and other foreign agencies such as Red Cross and UN volunteer groups, we worked on a war-footing to restore the water and power supplies. We had launched a cleanliness drive to purify the water and improve the sanitation facility. It was really surprising to see a large number of volunteers participating in such operations. Role of Foreign Groups and Agencies in the Tsunami Relief Operation The overwhelming response received from governments, charities and NGOs of foreign countries had provided a great support to the rescue and relief operations in Maldives. There were several such groups and agencies that played an important role in helping Tsunami-affected people. The death toll in Maldives would have been much higher without the help of volunteers who came to rescue of the victims and survivors. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, in coordination with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), had deployed teams of UN Volunteers in Tsunami-affected countries. Their aim was to help governments and other UN agencies provide relief to thousands of people who lost their homes and family members. The UNV sent its team of volunteers who worked along with the local people in the rescue and relief operations. They mainly work for the rehabilitation and restoration of the fishing villages devastated by the Tsunami in the islands of Maldives (Behreandt, 2005, p. 24). RedR is one of the agencies which played an active role in the Tsunami relief operations. It deployed logisticians, engineers and camp managers in Maldives. It provided selected relief personnel to clear the areas and rebuild them. Australian Volunteers International (AVI) worked in areas affected by the tsunami. Many of the volunteers had expertise and experience in handling such type of operations. During the rehabilitation process, AVI launched a project to tackle the shortage of teachers in Maldives (Behreandt, 2005, p. 25). Another volunteer organisation, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) launched a number of projects such as the educational sector grant initiated by the Development Cooperation of Ireland. It provided library books and facilities to 27 tsunami-affected schools. It also trained 230 teachers in 20 schools across the Maldives. Another key voluntary organisation was Friends of Maldives (FOM) that sent over 100 tons of medical supplies, food, clothing and tools to Maldives. FOM is the major NGO bringing aid to the Maldives aftermath Tsunami (Behreandt, 2005, p. 25). Rehabilitation Process According to the government estimates, more than two-thirds of the population in Maldives were affected by Tsunami. Fifty per cent of houses in Maldives were affected. Communication links, jetties, power supply, hospitals and sewerage system had been heavily hit. Transportation to the islands had become more difficult. The government had little resources to cope with the situation arisen after Tsunami. The President of Maldives declared a State of National Disaster and called for international help. Several countries and foreign agencies responded with the financial aid. Donations of food, clothing, medicine, tents, blankets and other necessary goods poured in. However, it was necessary to distribute these relief materials among people. It would not have been possible without the help of volunteers. We coordinated with the local officials and a team of Red Cross workers who developed an effective psychosocial program in the Maldives. The main focus of the psychosocial program was to address the physical, mental and social well-being of the Tsunami-affected people in Maldives. We took the initiative of providing community support to families. After the disaster, children were too scared to go to school. Once the school buildings were repaired, we met their parents and convinced them to send the children to school. With the help of other agencies, we provided them food, clothing and books. There was shortage of teachers in the schools. Most of us volunteered to assist the teachers in our spare time. I also took part in the teaching programmes and taught in two schools on a part-time basis for a few weeks. Red Cross played an important role in the rehabilitation work. Besides launching psychosocial programs and providing educational support to the children, it reached the local women groups that were active in the society. Red Cross believed that providing support to women would benefit their families and children. It launched mass awareness programmes to persuade people come out of their home and work to earn money for their families. Due to the joint efforts of Red Cross and local volunteers, more than 13,000 people were assisted by the psychosocial programme. The Commonwealth provided medical assistance to the Tsunami-affected Maldives. Doctors from the Commonwealth countries were brought to Maldives to provide adequate treatment to the injured people. Doctors with expertise in orthopaedics, paediatrics, general surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology and medicine joined the team of volunteers under the Commonwealth Service Abroad Programme (CSAP). They coordinated with the local staff for the development of rehabilitation health programmes (Behreandt, 2005, p. 26). Teaching the children was a great experience for me. It was a tough task to motivate the students who were already going through the traumatic experience of Tsunami. They could hardly concentrate in study. Our first priority was to help them regain their confidence. We were trained with child-centred teaching techniques. The new techniques involved bringing the children into groups and wiping out the fear from their mind. Rather than going for the traditional way of teaching methods, we tried to create a child-friendly environment. That worked perfectly and they soon started forgetting the bitter memories of Tsunami. They felt more comfortable in groups and became more open. We introduced games, competitions with rewards and other entertainment programmes to add fun to their life. It was a great achievement for us as we succeeded in bringing smile to the faces of the horror-stricken children. Conclusion From my experience as a volunteer in Maldives, I realised the importance of working for the well-being of the needy people during disasters. The poor and helpless people desperately needed help in those hours of crisis. The role of volunteers becomes very crucial in such rescue and relief operations as the official machinery always find it difficult to cope with the situation. Its time for the youth to realise its full potential in life. They need to rise to the occasion to fulfil their obligation towards the nation and the mankind. Every responsible youth must understand the importance of volunteering during disasters. We understood our responsibility and did whatever we could for the benefit of the community. Our sincerity and dedication have been appreciated by everyone. Our work was purely based on humanitarian ground and we never expected anything in return. We had a one point agenda – to bring smiles on the face of people who lost almost everything in the disaster. Â   Bibliography Behreandt, Dennis. 2005. Swept Away: The Epic Disaster in Southeast Asia Has Taken Many Thousands of Lives. As Failures by the Involved Governments Attest, the Relief Efforts Are Best Left to the Private Sector, The New American, Vol. 21. 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