Students engage in tsunami relief efforts

Rachel Wolff Senior Editor

A major earthquake in the Indian Ocean caused a tsunami wave to crash down on islands in Southeast Asia, claiming approximately 225,000 lives on Dec. 26. Several Vassar students were in the disaster area at the time, and have since returned to campus.

Dilkushi Poovendran ’07 flew into Columbo, Sri Lanka on the day of the tsunami, unaware of the situation. Her plan was to visit family, but she quickly became focused on what was happening around her.

“When we first got to Sri Lanka, I didn’t notice anything unusual, except there were all these people in the streets…sleeping on the streets and at the train stations,” said Poovendran. “At first I thought they were homeless, but there were too many. And so many people just looking, watching the ocean.”

The tsunami had swept through approximately 20 miles away from where Poovendran and her family were staying. She often accompanied her father, a doctor, to refugee camps occupied mostly by women and children.

Many of the patients “had nothing physically wrong with them, but were obviously psychologically disturbed,” said Poovendran.

“The hardest part was seeing the kids…they were traumatized, but they’re so little that they thought it was just some fun thing,” she added.

Within days of the tsunami, the Red Cross and other relief organizations began sending aid.
“Relief wasn’t distributed very well and now there’s also a lot of political conflicts in the region,” said Poovendran.

Tara Pyle ’06, who went from Singapore to an island of Indonesia during the tsunami aftermath, said that, although it seemed a struggle to get help to the appropriate places, teams were doing the best that they could.

“In that sort of incredible situation, it was a whole different scale of helping,” Pyle said.
Despite organized efforts and the far reach of mass media, both students said they felt seperated from the situation even while they were in the affected areas.

“As time went on, tourists that had been staying at beach resorts started coming in [to my hotel] crying and comforting each other. And all I could think was, ‘How do I know anything about the tsunami?’” said Poovendran.

Pyle said that her experience was similar to those here in America watching television. “Because of the globalization of news media, even though I was there, I was still so far away from it all,” she said.

Both students also felt separated when they returned to the United States. “It’s really bizarre being back because the first thing I read in the papers was ‘Brad and Jen Broke Up!’” said Poovendran. “I couldn’t imagine what people had been thinking about.”

“[The tsunami] hit the whole Third World; I feel that that magnitude cannot really register with so many Americans,” said Pyle.

Despite the enormity of the death toll and the destruction, Poovendran said that victims “have a lot of hope…there is a great effort to smile and people are trying as hard as they [can] to go on with their normal lives.”

Poovendran encouraged donations to the Red Cross. Campus organizations and committees are also mobilizing to raise money for victims. The South Asian Students Alliance will be donating all money raised this semester to a charity committed to long-term aid and development in the affected regions.

SASA is also appealing to Vassar students with family buisnesses to set up donation displays to collect money for the victims.

Class of ’05 President Vivek Mahapatra organized a concert for Friday, Dec. 28 at 9 p.m. in the Villard Room with a suggested donation. Mahapatra is also planning a panel discussion, an art project, and other fundraising events. All proceeds will go directly to tsunami relief organizations.