A slight bump in the waves and a jostling of boats made Seattle resident Casey Green look to land. But after days of sailing in the Indian Ocean, he was accustomed to the roll of the waves and wasn't too worried. Pulling up anchor and pointing the boat towards deeper waters, Green and his family left Nai Harn, on the southwest corner of Phuket Thailand, and sailed towards Patong.
Two hours later, as they sailed into shore, a resident of Seattle, began to notice the water was littered with debris. Broken Pringles cans and packages of life vests floated by while the smell of fuel permeated the air.
"At first we thought a boat had exploded," Green said. "But when we saw the cars piled on top of each other on shore and the complete devastation, we knew it was something bigger than a single boat."
Just the day before Green and his wife had been looking for a bungalow on Ko Pepe island. No bungalows had been available so they had stayed Christmas night on the boat, unaware that this small twist in fate had very probably saved their lives, for complete devastion covered the island.
As they coasted into the shore of Patong, the Green family back home in Seattle didn't understand the magnitude of what had happened. They couldn't comprehend that being out to sea when the tsunami hit, rather than in the bungalow they had wanted to stay in on the beach, had narrowly saved their lives.
"We certainly felt lucky, but we also felt concerned about the people we'd met there as well," Green said. "When we went to shore in Patong and walked through the streets, that's when it hit us just how intense this was. Cars were piled up and big buses knocked over, there were boats in the street."
According to Green, one supermarket that was level with the beach had a tank pumping water out while bodies were being pulled from the wrecked building. People running from the wave had taken refuge in the store, thinking it would protect them from the relentless water. But the store had turned into a death trap; cornering and drowning everybody that entered.
Yet there are still stories of the fortunate people that escaped the wave. Friends of Greens' were in the ocean snorkeling when the wave hit. But they were lucky enough to grab a rope and hold on while the wave sucked others to their death.
"It's like a sound wave. It carries fast but it's not really big. It causes problems on shore because it has to go somewhere," Green explained of the tsunami.
"The human loss is tremendous. It's mind boggling how many people were lost and the children," Green said. "Many fishing men went out for the day to work and came home to find their village completely gone, their families gone."
Acting locally
The tragedy has brought out the humanitarian side of people, and many folks have shifted their day to day routines to spontaneously create ways to raise money for the tsunami victims.
Columbia City resident, Viki Yousoofian, counts herself as one of these philanthropists moved by a disaster that struck a part of the world she had traveled years ago. As a result, she organized a garage sale to raise money for the wave victims of South Asia.
"We didn't know what to expect or how many people would turn out to volunteer or donate," Yousoofian said. "We just hoped to make money for a locally based organization and we all had a need to help."
Yousoofian coordinated donations, volunteers, drivers, and cash in the form of a garage sale to the pubic, held at Orca Elementary School on Jan. 29. Over 20 people volunteered and over 25 people donated clothing, toys, furniture, food, and cash. In total, $1,303.02 was raised for World Vision to send to Asia.
"There are a lot of fantastic organizations out there but we wanted to support a local organization so we chose World Vision," Yousoofian said.
"Everybody has been very positive and the people who volunteered are very excited to help with the tsunami relief effort," Yousoofian said. "Columbia City is a unique community with a history of pulling together. We're all humans, but this disaster has pulled the Columbia City community together."
According to Kathleen Gillespie, a volunteer at the garage sale, the turnout of donations and help was larger than expected.
"People in our community want to do something about the horrible tragedy and this was a perfect opportunity for people to show their support," Gillespie said. "That shows there is a lot of heartfelt spirit in this community."
This local surge of community activism has helped bring the neighbors of Columbia City together in a positive way, and Green felt sure these feelings and actions were being reciprocated thousands of miles away.
"The Thai people are some of the kindest, most hospitable people I've ever met and it's a total tragedy," Green said. "They have the can-do attitude and they do what they have to and rise to the occasion. They have equipment for rebuilding roads, and I think they will be able to put it back together quite well."[[In-content Ad]]
