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.