DISASTER FORGES SWEDISH LINK
Volunteers return each anniversary
Story by ANCHALEE KONGRUT
Volunteering is not only about giving but also about learning, says Caroline Harlevi, a Swedish nurse and a volunteer at Takua Pa Hospital |
In Sweden, they say there are ''four degrees of separation'' between the Swedish people and the 2004 tsunami tragedy, says Caroline Harlevi, a Swedish nurse and a volunteer at Takua Pa Hospital. What that means is one in four Swedes knows a person affected by the tsunami in one way or another.
It reflects the impact the tsunami had on the Swedes, Ms Harlevi said.
Sweden, with nine million people, had the highest per capita death toll of any country outside Asia - 543 victims.
Ms Harlevi, 35, had no direct experience of the tsunami and did not lose friends or family members. She was in Hua Hin to celebrate the New Year when the waves struck the Andaman coast on December 26, 2004.
She immediately headed for Khao Lak, in the hardest-hit province of Phangnga to help the victims.
Like many Swedes, Ms Harlevi and her family returned last year and again this year to the Andaman coast in memory of the tragedy.
She said volunteering was their way of showing gratitude to Takua Pa Hospital for helping Swedish victims of the tsunami.
''You help the country come back by coming back here,'' she said. Income from tourism helped put local businesses back on track.
Ms Harlevi works as a volunteer twice a week, helping nurses at Takua Pa Hospital deal with foreign patients.
She said more and more foreigners, especially Europeans, are coming to Khao Lak and the place had become famous around the world.
But the local hospital - despite its high quality of service - sometimes encounters problems in communicating with foreign patients.
Her husband, Niklas, also teaches computer science and English at a local school three days a week. The family came in early December and will go back to Sweden next month.
''Volunteer work is not such a big thing. We did not do much,'' Ms Harlevi said. Volunteering is not only about giving but also about learning.
Volunteers from Western countries were still helping to rebuild houses in the Khao Lak area and on Phi Phi island.
''Takua Pa Hospital, despite its limited resources, did a remarkable job for tsunami victims. Had a tragic event of this scale occurred at a small hospital in Sweden, we would never have been able to cope with it,'' said Ms Harlevi.
Besides volunteering, Ms Harlevi enjoys walking along the beaches and visiting nearby villages.
She sees ramshackle homes and hard lives, but has discovered something else: Thais are resilient.
''Thai villagers lost everything - money, boats. But you see people starting all over again,'' she said. This was because they have hope and belief in the future.
She also feels Thais should be proud of their medical services.
And in life, the tsunami and its aftermath taught Ms Harlevi to ''try a bit more to see beautiful things today and to keep smiling despite adversity.'
degrees
levels, increments
tragedy
a very sad situation, especially one connected with death or suffering
reflect
to show, express or be the sign of something
impact
a powerful effect
per capita
per person (in this case, according to the population size: one dead per 16,574 people)
death toll
the number of people who died
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gratitude
thankfulness
victims
people who have been hurt, damaged or killed
patients
people who are receiving medical care
encounter
experience
resources
things that are useful or valuable
remarkable
special or unusual and therefore surprising and worth mentioning
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scale
size
cope
to deal successfully with a difficult situation
ramshackle
poorly or untidily made
resilient
able to return quickly to a previous good condition
aftermath
the period of time following an unpleasant event
adversity
a difficult or unlucky situation or event
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