A dark and somber mood filled Goddard Chapel Thursday evening as a small group of students and religious authorities gathered to remember the dead and injured from the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
"The enormity of the disaster goes beyond comprehension," said Ann Penick, Associate Catholic Chaplain at Tufts. "I live in Cambridge, which as a population of [more than] 100,000 people. It was like wiping out all of Cambridge in one day."
Reverend David O'Leary, University Chaplain, and Tufts Community Union (TCU) President David Baumwoll began the vigil by lighting 12 candles, one for each country hit by the tsunami. Prayers, words of wisdom and songs followed from leaders of the Jewish, Muslim, Protestant and Buddhist communities at Tufts.
"When disasters like this one occur, people ask us where God is. He is in the relief workers. Whenever we raise up those fallen by tragedy, our hands become God's hands," said Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, Associate Jewish Chaplain at Tufts.
The speakers and singers encouraged donations, in the form of both money and supplies, to numerous organizations, including the American Red Cross, Americares, Oxfam America, and the United Nations World Food Program, that are currently pursuing relief efforts in the hardest-hit regions.
"The devastation is sad - a lot of people died in just a few minutes," Imam Hawat, Associate Muslim Chaplain, said in his speech. "If this happened in America, we would want others around the world to help us. Please think of this when you are considering donating to [the relief efforts."
The United States remains vulnerable to the threat of tsunamis. The massive waves have hit the Hawaiian Islands multiple times, most recently in 1975. The West and East coasts have tsunami early-warning systems, a system lacking in Southeast Asia and Africa.
The tsunami, an extremely large ocean wave caused by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake on the ocean floor, struck nearly a dozen countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, leaving a trail of devastation and death in its wake. Relief workers and officials estimate that 144,000 people have died and 146,000 people remain missing.
For more information regarding donations to tsunami relief funds, contact any of the Chaplains on campus.
