Together, we will restore strength as well as faith
Together, we will restore strength as well as faith
Kofi Annan, Jakarta
What happened on Dec. 26, 2004 was an unprecedented, global catastrophe. It requires an unprecedented, global response. For the United Nations, it is the largest natural disaster the organization has had to respond to on behalf of the world community, in the sixty years of our existence.
From the nameless fishing villages of Sumatra to the modern tourist resorts of Thailand; from the beaches of Sri Lanka and India to the coastal communities of the Maldives and Somalia; the disaster was so brutal, so quick, and so far-reaching, that we are still struggling to comprehend it.
It seems at times like a nightmare from which we are still hoping to awaken. Except that for millions of people in twelve affected countries spanning two continents, and for tens of thousands of visitors from forty nations around the world, this nightmare is devastatingly real.
We will never know the exact magnitude of how many men, women and children perished on Dec. 26, and in the eleven days that have passed since then. The real figure is likely to exceed one hundred and fifty thousand.
Families have been torn apart. Whole communities have disappeared. In countries where religion, spirituality and culture lie at the heart of human existence, places of worship have been wiped out. The very things that defined people's identities and values have been swept away.
So as we grieve for the dead and pray for those still searching for loved ones, we have a duty to the survivors. To treat the wounded.
To stop the tsunami from being followed by a second wave of death, this time from preventable causes.
And in the longer term, to prevent a third wave of despair, where people cannot recover their livelihoods, homes or communities.
Although we were powerless to stop the tsunami, together, we do have the power to stop those next waves.
The governmental response has been matched by unprecedented generosity from the general public. Consider the six-year-old boy in Shenyang, China, who donated his life savings of US$22. Or the citizens of Sweden, a country of nine million inhabitants, who have raised more than $70 million for the relief effort in Asia, while struggling to cope with the fact that almost 2,000 of their compatriots are still missing in the tragedy.
As the UN spearheads the international coordination of the relief effort, member states are supporting us in every possible way, including by providing indispensable military logistics assets.
As this conference shows us, the primary response to the catastrophe has come from you and your people. And you have not only risen to your responsibility; you have reached out to one another.
The United Nations is here to support you.
I am launching an appeal for the immediate international relief effort which the United Nations is undertaking in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles and Somalia. This initial appeal is in addition to the $59 million which our partners in the Red Cross and Red Crescent have asked for.
In the six-month period covered by this appeal, we will need $977 million to cover the humanitarian emergency needs of an estimated five million people.
We will need $229 million for food and agriculture.
We will need $122 million for health care.
We will need $61 million for water and sanitation.
We will need $222 million for shelter and other urgent non- food items.
And we will need $110 million for the early restoration of livelihoods.
The UN humanitarian effort is led by my Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland; and within the affected region, by my Special Coordinator, Margareta Wahlstrohm.
Also with me is Mark Malloch Brown, who, as Chair of the UN Development Group, will be coordinating our recovery effort with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
As you know, the total sum already pledged and contributed exceeds the amount I am asking for today. This appeal provides for a focused set of programs, agreed with you, the affected governments, that can start now. They must set the stage for efforts in the longer term, as we move from saving lives to recovery and reconstruction.
The United Nations will be there to support you in that work too.
We must also draw and act on every lesson we can, to prevent tragedies like this occurring in the future. As you have made clear, Mr. President, prevention and early warning systems must become a priority.
The United Nations will be there to contribute.
The past eleven days have been among the darkest in our lifetime. But they have also allowed us to see a new kind of light.
We have seen the world coming together. We have seen a response based not on our differences, but on what unites us. We have seen an opportunity to heal old wounds and long-running conflicts.
We have seen everyone pull together -- North and South, East and West, governments and citizens, the media and the military, business and religious leaders, non-governmental organizations and international institutions.
Let us now show that we are committed for as long as it takes. When I hear the heart-rending stories of those struck directly by the disaster, I am moved by one thing, time and again: Their will and ability to recover seems to be determined not only by how they were affected themselves, but by what they were able to do to help others.
It is as though, in that way, they were able to prove their humanity and give themselves hope. Let us now ask the same of ourselves.
Together, we will restore strength and faith. Together, we will rebuild. Together, we will recover.
The article is an excerpt from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's speech at the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on the Aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami.