Events:
Week of Awareness: The Tsunami Relief Awareness Week (April 3-8) was a big success! TRYC extends thanks to all that participated and helped make the week possible, including guest speaker Leonardo Stoute of the Silat Federation.
Special thanks to our major sponsors and guest speaker:
International Silat Federation
UOFC
Southeast Asia Studies Council
For a complete list of sponsors, visit the International Silat Federation page "event-recap."
Yale Tsunami Relief Spring Festival: This event has been postponed until Fall 2006. However, it will needlessly to say still be an enormously fun and enlightening experience. Further details forthcoming.
Weekly meetings: Saturdays, 2pm @ the Berkeley Bagel Bar. Come help us help the victims of the tsunami.
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Highlights of the Web:
UN Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery: Detailed website about the most recent developments in the recovery process.
http://www.tsunamispecialenvoy.org/
Photo documentary of the effects of the 2004 tsunami:
http://www.jenniferesperanza.com/documentaryphotography.htm
“The initial outpouring of relief was generous and swift, but it tapered off as the year went on,” U.N. Spokesman Brian Grogan commented on the relief efforts for the Iranian earthquake in 2003.
“For global relief efforts to succeed, however, it’s critical that they continue to receive funding. The impulse to do something now is commendable, but the process of saving lives and rebuilding communities in a dozen countries will take years. Past calamities have shown that no matter how large the initial contributions, follow-up resources tend to be scarce….and above all, remember: much as they need help now, the millions whose lives have been upended by the earthquake and killer wave that followed will still need help years down the road. Maybe a worthwhile New Year’s resolution would be to send a check in 2006 too,” - Bill Powell, Time Magazine special edition on Tsunami.
“Two weeks after the tsunami hit Asia,
causing massive death and destruction, the international community has responded
with an unprecedented outpouring of assistance. Nearly all of the aid has
focused on emergency relief: getting supplies to those with the most critical
needs, burying the dead, nursing the seriously injured and preventing massive
outbreaks of disease.
However, the critical question we now face is, ‘Where will the
international community be in six months when the world has moved on and other
disasters have made claims for our attention?’