By reuniting toddler Hannes Bergstrom with his family, the Internet shows it is one of the world's greatest relief workers. Plus, US President George W. Bush has another "My Pet Goat" moment -- he's "clearing brush" in Crawford while aid workers clear bodies in Southeast Asia.
A technological miracle Disasters, by their nature, create heroes. Our pick from the weekend tsunami trauma -- which now has claimed close to 70,000 lives -- is the Internet, which is doing yeoman's work connecting the lost with the living and the semi-living. We were all gripped by the saga of the sweet-faced blond, almost two-year-old Hannes Bergstrom, who was ripped from his grandfather's arms by the crashing waves and found injured and wandering alone. Technology -- and the great work of Phuket International Hospital workers helped reunite Hannes with his injured father, grandfather and grandmother. Staff members posted Hannes' picture on the Internet and his uncle in Sweden spotted it. Now Hannes is with his family again. His mother, sadly, remains among the missing.
His, unfortunately, is one of the few happy tales among the shocking number of family tragedies the tsunami left in its wake. Phuket International Hospital -- and various impromptu Web sites -- continue to post photos of the all-too many other injured, traumatized and possibly orphaned kids searching for their families. There is 10-year-old Sophia Michl, of Germany, looking for her parents Norbert and Edeltraud Michl. And brothers Kevin, 9, and Marius, 12, Bohn of Germany who last saw their parents on the beach at Khao Lak. The list goes on. Luckily, so does the list of survivors. And -- unlike the slow trickle of news coming to relatives after 9/11 and many other disasters, Asian hospitals have been quick to issue lists of patients' names. Phuket International hospital, for instance, gives the full names, the hospital numbers and nationalities of 383 injured. Humanity has triumphed over privacy laws -- and rightly so. Likewise, Bangkok Phuket Hospital offers the names of 1,726 patients. What a God-send for terrified relatives across the ocean -- or even just a few blocks away in a nearby hospital.
Other sites, like one from the Thai Health Ministry offer lists of those confirmed dead, and lists of the hospitals where families can find their injured loved ones. The site gets so much traffic that sometimes it overloads and can't be accessed. Phuket Disaster Forum has also established a bulletin board to help survivors get messages to their families and for families to let officials know the names of those missing. They have several hundred postings. In a time of panic, when the uncertainty of not knowing is as --if not more -- painful than the wretchedness of loss, these Web sites are their own private miracles. (11 a.m. CET)
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Another "My Pet Goat" Moment?"
We know U.S. President George W. Bush has famously slow reflexes. (Remember those appalling minutes he spent finishing up his reading of "My Pet Goat" to schoolchildren as the twin towers collapsed?) Yet, wouldn't it be comforting if the most powerful man in the world showed a tinge of leadership (or just offered a few comforting words and a pledge to help) during what is undeniably a world catastrophe in southern Asia? Instead, how has Bush been spending his holidays at the ranch in Crawford, Texas? "He's clearing some brush this morning," deputy White House press secretary Trent Duffy, informed reporters Tuesday. The president and first lady were also planning to have a few friends over, he said. Bush receives regular updates about the devastation left by the tsunami and did take time out to write letters of condolence to Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Maldives and Malaysia -- where more than 55,000 people -- including at least 11 Americans -- died. He also has been "biking and exercising as he normally does, taking walks with the first lady and thinking about what he wants to accomplish in the second term," Duffy said. What American leader has done the talk show circuit discussing the disaster and offering ways to help? Former US President Bill Clinton. "It is really important that somebody take the lead in this," he told BBC Radio 4's "Today" program Tuesday. "I think one of the problems is when everybody takes responsibility it's almost like no one's responsibility." (Do we detect a little swipe at Bush?) Clinton also came up with a plan. "Maybe what we should do is get countries or groups of countries to take responsibility for specific countries that were hurt." It may not be the best idea, but it beats clearing brush.
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http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,334789,00.html
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