Most Tufts students witnessed the damage caused by the tsunami that decimated Southeast Asia's coastlines on Dec. 26 secondhand. But for some, the effects of the massive tsunami -- which resulted from an earthquake in the depths of the Indian Ocean -- hit closer to home.
Now students at Tufts, along with millions around the world, are donating their time and money to relief efforts for the tsunami's victims.
Sophomore Jocelyn Halim is from Jakarta, Indonesia, which is located not far from Aceh, a province that was hit hard by the tsunami. Halim is the founder of the Jumbo Tsunami Relief Fund, an initiative that will take place from Jan. 30 - Feb. 11 and will include fundraisers like raffles, a Singaporean dessert sale, origami folding and a service auction.
Although Halim lives far enough from Aceh that she was not in grave danger when the tsunami hit over winter break, she feels that the disaster has involved her entire country, and she is eager to help.
"Even though [Aceh is] a different island, everyone is affected [by such a disaster]," she said. In the days after the tsunami hit, Halim recalls soldiers going door-to-door asking for donations of food and clothing.
Sophomore Pongrat Aroonvatanaporn of Thailand is another one of the Fund's organizers. He and his family were also unaffected by the tsunami, since they were trekking in Northern Thailand at the time.
"We were not aware of the degree of the disaster," said Aroonvatanaporn, who had initially only heard about the tsunami through a brief phone conversation. "The degree of the disaster was beyond our imagination, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I first learned of the death toll."
Aroonvatanaporn did not know any of the victims personally, but the youngest daughter of his mother's friend, who lived in Khao Lak -- one of the hardest-hit regions in Thailand -- died. She was a student at Rhode Island School of Design.
Senior Niki Luhur, a native of Jakarta, Indonesia, was shocked to learn the extent of the damage. "[I saw] images of corpses floating in the tide," Luhur said. The coverage by the media was "definitely one hundred times more graphic in Indonesia [than it was in the United States]."
"I arrived home the day before [the tsunami struck], on Christmas Day," said senior Avantika Taneja, who is also from Jakarta. "The event severely darkened the holiday season all around Indonesia."
According to both Taneja and Luhur, there is currently a politically contentious situation that exists between the devastated Aceh province and the rest of Indonesia.
"When the tsunami hit, the area was essentially attempting a separatist movement and in a state of emergency, and thus was very isolated," Luhur said. "[That's why] the leaders of the province have demanded all foreign aid workers must leave by Mar. 31."
Taneja agreed that the region is divided. "There was a national mourning period, but the fragmented island prohibited great national unity," Taneja said. "I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of nationhood like in Thailand, where volunteers could travel from all corners of the country to help."
All three of these Indonesian students felt a great surge of support and a willingness to help from both the worldwide community and the Tufts community.
"It's great how every nation put everything aside and focused on helping," said Luhur, who received a plethora of e-mails from concerned friends at Tufts.
Taneja, too, valued the tremendous international response and the concern from the Tufts community. She took part in clothing and food drives for much of her winter break.
"A large portion of my break was spent receiving and returning e-mails from worried friends," said Taneja, who added that a few of her friends even donated aid on her behalf. "I even got a letter from the Tufts International Center, which was sent out to students to make sure of their safety."
Luhur urges Tufts students to continue donating to legitimate humanitarian aid agencies. (See today's Campus Comment.) They can also become involved with the Jumbo Tsunami Relief Fund, which aims to spread awareness of the tragedy at Tufts and to raise money for the long-term recovery of the children affected by the disaster.
The group has been joined by a number of other existing organizations on campus hoping to help, including the Indonesian Club, the Thai Club, and the Singapore Students Association.
Through fundraisers and donations, the Relief Fund hopes to raise at least $10,000 for UNICEF over its two-week span. The Fund will also continue collecting after Feb. 11, aided by organizations like the Tufts Association of South Asians, which will donate the money raised from its culture show later in the semester to tsunami relief efforts.
