Tsunami

That was a picture I took a couple of years back in early January, while lying on a beach called Batu Feringgi. It’s on the tip of Penang in Malaysia and it’s a gorgeous, calm beach that apparently is renowned for its peaceful waters and serenity. It was perfect while we were there; white sands, clear water and not another person in sight. Batu Feringgi is where more than 10 people, including four members of a single family, died on Sunday morning in the Indian Ocean earthquake. I’m sure they were enjoying much the same conditions we were, when the tsunami just came out of nowhere and smashed them onto the rocks. It’s really quite frightening to think that something as devastating as that can just come straight out of the blue and utterly destroy your life. I’m sure many people who have travelled in the region are thinking similar things.

Being on JET gives you certain opportunities that you probably wouldn’t have in a similar job in another country. One of these is the chance to travel around South East Asia. The yen is a strong currency and we have ample opportunity to use our days of paid leave to zip off around the region. Japan is a good launching point and especially over the holiday season it’s much cheaper (and warmer) to jet off to SEA than to stay in Japan. A lot of JETs end up in Thailand, especially first years, and Phuket is a particularly popular location. I’ve heard unofficial figures as high as 1,500 jets in the general area but it’s unclear as to how many of those are in Thailand or other areas effected by the quake. Most of my friends who are in the area have checked in, but I think when school starts in a few weeks time, several schools are going to be missing ALTs. That’s pretty fucked up.

This Wikipedia link has all the information on the situation as it develops and includes links to charity organisations around the world who are mobilising relief efforts. The world bank is estimating over 5 billion US dollars will be needed, so please give generously.

Posted in General on Wednesday December 29, 2004.