When we asked some of our employees who live and work in the South East
Region of Asia about the local environment and to describe some recent
events, they responded with very individual, personal impressions and
observations.
Rick McCarthy, Country
Manager for Crown Indonesia, had this to say. "The area
affected is up on the tip of Sumatra and down the North West Coast
of Sumatra.
This area is about level with the Thai/Malaysia border. Banda
Aceh is a distance of 1830 klms. The province of Aceh has tried
to break away from Indonesia for 25 years and in the last year
or so
was pretty much locked down. Little business was conducted in this
part of Indonesia. On the other side of the North tip of Sumatra
is the city of Medan, the largest city in Sumatra. Medan had been
a staging point for the larger planes to fly into and then transfer
relief aid and supplies to smaller planes to ferry across to Banda
Aceh for distribution to helicopters and smaller planes.
Medan was unaffected
by the Tsunami but, being a staging point, the airport is handling
four to
five times the amount of traffic it normally
copes with—something like 300 landings a day. It is difficult
to get a commuter flight in and out of Medan right now from Jakarta
and
I suspect from regional centers like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Business has been unaffected elsewhere in Indonesia and it is, relatively
speaking, business as usual for us here at Crown Jakarta and Bali.
Transport companies
and logistics/warehousing companies in Jakarta are providing assistance
by way of donating trucking services, cartons and
warehouse space. Many relief effort coordinators from the U.N. and
other international aid agencies are arriving in Jakarta to set up
their main
operations/coordination centers. We have been asked to provide assistance
to USAid in the form of ferrying goods from staging points and providing
labor. We expect to start helping out next week.
I spoke with a newly
arrived AmeriCare emergency relief coordinator this week about the
use of warehouse space and labour supply and we may
use part of our warehouse or advise on the best way forward for their
logistics requirements, when they in turn have an understanding about
the volume of goods that need sorting and how much warehouse space
and trucking is needed.
Many of the aid agencies are working right now on the logistics of how
to consolidate the shipments in Jakarta and other ports in Indonesia
and get up to North Sumatra. At the Sumatra end it is a huge coordination
effort to distribute what arrives in Medan or direct to Banda Aceh, plus
the aid going directly into the area from aircraft carriers and ships
based off the north west coast of Sumatra.
We supplied a truck
to ferry goods from Bali to Jakarta as part of the collection effort
in Bali. We have also donated cartons with clothing
and old truck covers. These are just some examples of the many aid
programs and efforts going on right now across Indonesia."
Ronan Kelly,
Country Manager for Crown Malaysia commented. "As you are
aware though confirmed 64 persons lost their lives in Penang, Malaysians
are all very grateful that our country was not more badly affected.
The Malaysian government is taking care of those affected in Penang
and Malaysians
in general are contributing by many means to the relief efforts in
the other countries affected.
Regarding the effect on business, none of the forwarders or shipping
lines has intimated delays to us though I suspect that household good
shipments to India and Sri Lanka will have some delays. So it is business
as usual for us in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
We have been in contact
with one of the main coordinators for The Malaysia Red Crescent Society.
We are providing 300 cartons for clothes as well as
offering packing and loading services and transportation to port
if required. We have already committed used boxes to a local Church
for their appeal.
We expect to provide Red Crescent with some more packing/carton services
in the coming weeks, as they require."
Claire Deacon,
Marketing & Promotions
Consultant for Crown Bangkok remarked. "People here just
got on and did what they could. It was all
very close because nearly all of us living in Bangkok have visited
the resorts that were affected so even if we don't have people
close to us
injured or missing, it all feels very personal. My husband and I
were recently in Khao Lak and the hotel we were in was virtually
demolished
and a large majority of the guests died or are missing. It's all
very sobering. My parents were in Krabi and Koh Phi Phi just four
days previous
and close friends from Singapore were in Phi Phi with their two young
children right up until Christmas Eve. Our houseguests were staying
in Koh Lanta when it happened but were fortunate to be out on a
dive trip
in deep water and so were safe.
Sadly there are some families at the schools we work with and also at
the British Embassy that have lost several family members and it's heartbreaking
to talk about.
One of my friends works at the international hospital BNH and says the
following:
' BNH Hospital worked closely with the Thai Red Cross to receive donations
of clothing, food and money. In response to requests for help, clothing
suitable for foreigners was donated directly to the hospital by the
expat and Thai communities for patients who had arrived in Bangkok
with no
clothing. Many people donated new clothing they had bought for the
situation—shoes,
underwear and warm clothing were of particular need.
'The International
Centre team responded to offers of help and to queries from the expat
communities by phone and by email and once enough volunteers
had been recruited to help at the hospital advised people to go to
the Thai Red Cross to donate blood. The International staff also contacted
counselors from international schools to assist with patients and
relatives
traumatised by their experience and ministers from Christ Church,
Rumrudee Catholic Church and the Scandinavian Church were called to
give religious
comfort and counseling. Over 300 people volunteered to act as translators
and a database of helpers were set up and the reception staff accepted
over 100 deliveries of clothing. Any clothing and items not required
by patients at the hospital will be delivered to the Thai Red Cross
to be sent on to help in Phuket. Monetary donations received at the
hospital have also been forwarded to the Thai Red Cross.
'Between 27th December
2004 and 30th December 2004, 120 patients were admitted from 23 nationalities.'
Claire continued,
"When we went to give blood on Monday 27 December, the Red Cross was
teeming
with
people — Thai
and expat and by the next day they actually had more blood than
they could safely store and were just calling for
rare blood types. When I asked about helping out at the hospital
(BNH) they already had 'too many” volunteers and had everything
under control.
"We are now concentrating
on helping areas that don't reach the news. Thailand is lucky because
infrastructure remained intact—clean
water, sanitation, food etc. But there are remote villages that have
been decimated and these do not necessarily receive aid, as much
seems to be concentrated on the areas in the news like Phuket.
One of the villages
supported by a member of the British Women's Group was almost totally
destroyed with 50 people dead. The school was swept away so there
is work being done there to raise money for school items so that
the children
can get back as soon as possible. Another member is escorting a truckload
of donated items down to Rayong to visit the less publicised areas
that have been affected.
"Most of the expatriate
events that had been planned are redirecting money raised to the Tsunami
relief. The big AmCham Ball is now dedicated
to that. The SILC (one of the International Ladies Groups) Ball is
changing its lucky draw to a Silent Auction and all funds will go to
the relief
effort. The BWG event next weekend will be donating also.
"On a separate note,
someone asked if the Thai people were resentful of the attention
and money
etc. being raised to help all the foreigners.
Thai people are just not like that - it really is an amazing culture
in that respect—I suppose it is partly the Buddhist way of
life. They have a saying here "Nam Jai". Nam means water,
Jai means heart, together they mean “water from the heart.” Basically
it is kindness extended to others with no expectation of anything
in return.
"Our office in Bangkok
has taken up a clothing and toiletry collection and delivered six large
bags
to the
American Women’s Club and to the British
Club for distribution through the British Chamber to Thai and foreign
victims.
"One of our staff
members is on the volunteer list to man the government help line
for people trying
to find missing relatives etc. I am on the
BWG committee for the relief efforts being coordinated through them—decisions
still to be finalised, but likely to be projects in Rayong to help
rebuild small villages wiped out by the disaster. One of the projects
is likely
to be to rebuild a school."
