Tsunami: 740 from SA unaccounted for

A total of 740 South Africans were still unaccounted for after last week’s tsunami disaster in South Asia, the foreign affairs department said on Wednesday afternoon. Another six, who were reported to have been in the direct path of the giant waves, were feared dead.

The number of confirmed fatalities remained at nine — all of them in Thailand, the department said in a statement.

”In order to expedite the government’s attempts to ascertain the numbers of people unaccounted for, South Africans who have returned from the region are urged to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs to report their safe return,” it said.

The department’s operations room can be reached on (012) 351-1520/ 0063/ 0050 or 0035.

The department could on Wednesday not release any details about the latest four South African bodies identified earlier this week, saying the victims’ families have requested privacy.

But the Beeld newspaper identified one of them as Nicola Liebowitz, 30. It said her boyfriend, Avadya Berman, 31, was still missing.

The department would also not release any particulars of the missing, but a spokesman said there were no children on the list.

The South African government, in partnership with Airserv International, a United States non-governmental body, would send a cargo aircraft with two helicopters to the area on Wednesday evening to help with the distribution of emergency supplies in the Maldives and Indonesia.

The aircraft belong to South African private operator Naturelink, which would also conduct the 60-day operation.

The operation would cost the South African government and Airserv about R4 million each, the Ministry for Provincial and Local Government said in a statement.

”This is the first part of the monetary contribution that the government plans to spend in the tsunami-stuck areas”.

The government would also send a mobile water purification plant and five tonnes of relief supplies with the cargo aircraft.

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, meanwhile, announced that twelve 20-foot containers of confiscated clothing and footwear would be donated to tsunami victims.

”The donated goods are the proceeds of smuggling seizures undertaken by the SA Revenue Service over the last few months,” the SARS said in a statement.

Deputy foreign affairs ministers Aziz Pahad and Sue van der Merwe in the morning signed a book of condolences at the Indonesian embassy in Pretoria in the presence of ambassador Abdul Nasier.

The message reads: ”On behalf of the South African government, we wish to express our deepest sympathy to your Excellency and to the people of your country on the unimaginable tragedy that has occurred.

”The people of South Africa share your grief and we will do all in our power to assist your country to rebuild that which has been lost and we wish you to know that you have our friendship and solidarity during this awful time.”

South African citizens, meanwhile, have also dug deep into their pockets — pledging more than R600 000 towards the Tsunami Disaster Fund SA.

The fund, founded by the SABC and television production company Welcome Msomi Gateway, was set up to assist victims and their families. The money would be donated to relief organisations in the affected region.

South Africa’s three cellphone networks, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C, have supported the initiative and agreed to waive their charges for donations via text messages, the fund’s founders said in a statement.

Donors could SMS the word ”Asia” to the number 42410 to make a donation of R30, or to 39669 for a donation of R15.

Direct deposits could be made into the fund’s Standard Bank account. The account number is 022298347 at the Hyde Park branch — code 006605.

”The funds will be transferred into a trust account at Webber Wentzel Bowens attorneys before being distributed, and is managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers,” the statement said.

A South African delegation left for Indonesia on Tuesday to attend an international donor conference to be held in Jakarta on Thursday.

The delegation, led by Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, would seek to determine the affected countries’ most pressing needs in a bid to focus South Africa’s relief efforts.

Europe stands still for tsunami victims

Europeans honoured the 146 000 victims of the Asian tsunami disaster on Wednesday, observing a European Union call for three minutes’ silence at noon.

European Union officials and lawmakers from the European Parliament joined together outside EU headquarters in Brussels to observe the call.

Flags were lowered to half-mast, stock exchanges stopped trading and public transport came to a temporary standstill in many capitals across the 25-nation bloc.

Stores in the midst of January sales asked clients to take a pause from their shopping.

The disaster has claimed hundreds of European lives, and hundreds more remain missing.

TV and radio networks in Britain, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands interrupted programme schedules to include the three-minute tribute. Swiss public television planned a special telethon to raise more aid.

Nordic countries

Flags were flying at half-mast across Sweden on Wednesday as public transport ground to halt around Nordic countries and streets came to a standstill to remember those who died in the tsunamis.

In Sweden, where 52 people are confirmed dead and almost 2 000 are still missing following the December 26 catastrophe, people paid tribute by observing a three-minute silence called for by the European Union.

In central Stockholm, public transport came to a halt and shoppers on the normally bustling street Kungsgatan stood still under clear blue skies, as Prime Minister Goeran Persson led a brief ceremony at the government offices attended by the members of his Cabinet.

Employees at the Apollo charter group in Stockholm, which is still unable to locate a number of its holidaymakers in Thailand, disconnected their phones and lined up at midday to respect the silence.

Department stores in the capital and ski resorts in the north also came to a standstill.

In Finland, a three-minute silence was observed in schools across the country, while public transportation came to a halt and many pedestrians stood still at noon local time to commemorate the victims of the tsunami disaster.

In addition, the Helsinki Stock Exchange observed the silence by interrupting trading during the period. Fifteen Finns have been confirmed dead and 183 are listed as missing.

Earlier, the Nordic country’s government ”strongly recommended” that Finns observed the EU-wide silence for the victims of the devastating disaster in Asia.

Denmark, which lost seven nationals and still has 166 people missing, did not observe the silence because a two-minute silence was held on Sunday, although the Danish Stock Exchange stopped work and a bridge linking Copenhagen to southern Sweden was also closed.

Norway, which is not a member of the EU, did observe the three-minute silence. At Oslo’s central station, where traffic was halted, many passengers stood silent. Sixteen Norwegians died and 88 are still missing.

The Netherlands

Tens of thousands of Dutch bowed their heads in silence on Wednesday in train stations, airports, supermarkets and on the streets in tribute to the 146 000 people killed in the Asian tsunami disaster.

At Amsterdam’s international Schiphol airport, the luggage conveyor belts stopped running for three minutes, while customs officials stopped checking travellers’ passports.

In the city’s famous Dam square, close to 200 people stood in silence as radio and TV stations interrupted normal programming, and supermarkets stopped cash tills ringing.

In The Hague, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende paid tribute to the victims in Parliament, surrounded by ministers and MPs.

”We will remain silent for three minutes in face of the suffering of relatives who have lost their loved ones … This suffering is too vast to comprehend completely, but at least try to imagine the suffering of a mother who has lost her child,” he said.

”We are united in our compassion for the relatives of the victims wherever they are in the world. This catastrophe has touched all of us.”

At least six Dutch have been confirmed as dead after the December 26 tragedy.

Ireland

Ireland’s President Mary McAleese led the country in observing the three-minute silence on Wednesday, a government spokesperson said.

Ambassadors and consular representatives were among those who joined McAleese in observing the silence on the steps of her official residence on the outskirts of Dublin.

Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his government ministers, who were holding regular Cabinet discussions, also broke off their meeting in Dublin to mark the moment of silence.

Ahern had asked that the Irish flag be flown at half-mast on all public buildings.

RTE national radio went silent for three minutes and the national television channel carried a live broadcast of the ceremonies.

So far, there has been one confirmed Irish fatality from the tsunami.

The body of Dubliner Eilis Finnegan (27), who had been holidaying with her boyfriend on the Thai island of Phi Phi, was identified on Tuesday.

According to the Irish Foreign Ministry, there are three other ”top priority” cases of Irish people still unaccounted for. — Sapa-AFP, Sapa-AP

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