austraLasia 986
Thailand: it's a bit hard to get the kids back to school when the school has gone!
SURAT THANI (Thailand): 6th January 2005 -- The BBC and other media outlets using similar material, has been showing scenes of children returning to school in southern Thailand. Heartening news, and accurate for any number of cases, but not for all. We hear regularly through the media that half of those who lost their lives in Thailand were foreign tourists. Also accurate - but it means the other half were Thai, probably poor, and have left further impoverished families behind. What follows is part of that story.
Bishop Joseph Prathan, Bishop of Surat Thani (the city is on the East coast, but his diocese extends to the West and South and includes Phuket et al), visited the coastal stretch off which lies the island of Phuket. There along the coast the found seven or eight villages, and the destruction of local schools which served them.
The school Ban Bang-sak, in the village of Ban Muang, part of the township of Ta-kua-pa in the Province of Phang nga (that should help with map location!) is one school in question. Another is Yu Lak, 15 km from there, with 120 children from bubs to 6th Grade. Unfortunately nothing at all remains of this school but rubble.
150 families lived around the school in Ban Maung, their main source of income being fishing. 70 of those families have been relocated in one area, others are either unaccounted for, or have gone to pagodas and a local national park area for shelter. Those who are cleaning up the area are still finding bodies even today, buried beneath sand in most cases.
After surveying all of this, Bishop Prathan has noted the relief now in full flow from many international organisations and donors. But he has also noted those places and persons who will be overlooked if the Diocese does not take them into account. He has told the people there:
"Although many have been injured and possessions lost, the Lord is still with us, and doing things for us. There are many organisations helping regardless of nationality, or religion. Our Diocese is working with them in a network. We are currently providing communications and information to Catholics elsewhere who wish to help, and we are bringing actual help at two levels: diocesan representatives are bringing basic materials, foods, medicines, to those most in need of them. At another level we are setting up programmes to provide for rebuilding of schools, provision of work tools, especially for those who up till now have received none of this help." He then names the different Religious Congregations, including member groups of the Salesian Family, who are helping, along with the Parish priests of the area.
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