Humankind united to help tsunami victims

It is now one year since a massive magnitude-9.0 earthquake and deadly tidal waves devastated certain coastal regions of the northern Indian Ocean region, including Aceh province and Nias island in Indonesia, killing more than 220,000 people in a dozen countries. Unfortunately, Aceh was the worst hit area with at least 130,000 people dead and 40,000 others listed as missing. For the first time in human history, people from across the globe cut through barriers of age, gender, economic status, ethnicity, race and religion to join hands as one family to help the tsunami victims. Many did not even know where the Aceh was. Yet millions of people as well as scores of governments from all continents generously donated much-needed money and goods to the people of Aceh. Troops as well as volunteers from various countries came to Aceh and worked shoulder to shoulder in difficult terrain to help their fellow human beings. In the process, some even lost their lives, such as the nine Australian soldiers who died in an accident while helping tsunami victims. We dedicate this page to the thousands of people who have helped the victims of this catastrophe. -- JP