Story and photo by Tinnakorn Sareenun

January 8-9, 2007, Phang Nga - Thailand was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in history on  December 26, 2004. The waves ravaged several villages along the Kingdom’s Andaman Coastline, causing unprecedented losses of human lives and damages to properties in six southern provinces.

The fishing village of Ban Nam Khem in Phang-Nga province, 790 kilometers south of Bangkok, was hit the hardest. As many as 850 people, out of the 4,478 population, were either dead or missing. In addition, 948 of the villagers’ homes and 439 fishing boats have been destroyed, a serious blow to the villagers’ lives and livelihoods. 

“I lost my four-year-old daughter in the tsunami,” said Urai Sirisuk, 47, one of the Ban Nam Khem villagers affected by the tragedy. “Our rented house was also destroyed. We had no choice but to fight for a new life.”

Without a property of their own, the Sirisuk family was considered one of the village’s poorest. To cope with the effects of the tsunami, Urai, her husband Chun, and her two children decided to leave everything behind and moved to Ban Pu Tiew, a village located 10 kilometers further inland from Ban Nam Khem. However, the heartbreaking memory and the loss of their youngest proved too difficult to forget – at least for her oldest daughter.

“I was holding my sister’s hand while walking back home,” recalled Urai’s daughter, Ying, 25.  “Suddenly, I heard a thunderous sound behind me and saw these huge, strong waves coming at us so quickly and destroying everything. Honestly, I didn’t think we were going to make it. I tried to run for my life but was still holding my little sister’s hand. We got separated later because the waves struck us so hard I couldn’t hold her hand any longer.”

Ying was able to survive by holding on to a floating mattress. Her little sister, however, was not as fortunate. Her body has never been found so she was presumed dead by the family and the Thai authorities. Having been pushed underwater during the tsunami, Ying herself had caught an ear infection resulting in a chronic earache. She still sees her doctor every month now, but her family is finding it more and more difficult to pay the 2,000- baht medical bills for her.

Two years have gone by; the Sirisuks are still struggling to rebuild their lives, as are other fishing families in the tsunami-hit areas. To support the restoration of the victims’ livelihoods, the World Bank has partnered with World Vision Foundation of Thailand in helping the villagers acquire or replace economic assets lost in the disaster. In Takua Pa district, where Ban Nam Khem is located, the bank has initiated a seafood processing project, with almost 350,000 baht (roughly $10,000) in funding. The fund, part of the $5 million grant from the Japanese Government for tsunami-affected communities and vulnerable groups in Thailand, was provided through Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) – the Japanese Government’s mechanism for delivering development aid to the poorest and most vulnerable.

Urai Sirisuk was among the 11 people from Ban Nam Khem who benefited from this World Bank-administered project. They used the grants to buy and install new cold storage as well as other equipments for seafood processing, and to buy fresh catches from other fishermen in the area. The catches would then be salted, dried or smoked and sold wholesale to markets, restaurants, and hotels in the province, as well as to tourists and retail shoppers.

Another project under the JSDF funding is designed for the tsunami victims living with HIV/AIDS. Many of the victims in Phang-Nga were from the fishing community, which generally faced a higher risk of HIV infection than other demographic groups. While the tsunami victims without HIV had received assistance to cope or deal with the shock and trauma, social stigma had prevented the HIV-infected tsunami victims from getting similar help, thus complicating and/or delaying their recovery.

To address this issue, the World Bank has used part of the JSDF grants to set up the Friendships with No Boundary Group, a civil society organization, to provide counseling to the HIV-infected tsunami victims in Phang-Nga. The ultimate goal is to help them reintegrate into the communities through increased social awareness and acceptance.

This project has enabled HIV-infected Bua, who asked that her true identity be concealed, to make friends with 20 other People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) affected by the tsunami. Bua contacted HIV from her husband, a one-legged fisherman who himself is also infected. During the tsunami, her husband lost another leg, making it impossible for him to go fishing. Her neighbors had shunned her family after discovering that they had HIV. Her eldest son was bullied and ostracized at school. Even her husband’s relatives abandoned them for fears that they would also get infected. “I was lonely and hopeless even before the tsunami struck,” she said. 

But the partnership between the World Bank, World Vision and the JSDF has helped to reignite her hope. Through assistance from Friendships with No Boundary, Bua now has access to anti-retroviral treatment and is healthy enough to work again. The Group also provides transportation to hospital for the victims and regularly organizes counseling for those still suffering from trauma. Skill training was also provided for female tsunami victims living with HIV/AIDS. As a result, Bua is now a proud supporter of her family, earning income from sewing.

Friendships with No Boundary also runs a series of advocacy campaigns aimed at improving HIV/AIDS awareness in three Phang-Nga districts. This has essentially removed or reduced social stigma facing them, said Yodying Chantrachok, a Friendships with No Boundary volunteer.

To Bua and her husband, however, being part of a group that welcomed, accepted and understood what they had gone through – both before and after the tsunami – was the best assistance from this project. “We made so many friends after joining this group; they all are willing to help one another,” she said, smiling. “I’m not feeling down and lonely anymore. Now I just wanted to live as long as possible and watch my children grow and be successful.”