Audio Minnesotans hope tsunami survivors include friends, relatives (story audio) Photos Working the phones Documentation of the dead Rescue workers comb village Resources National Public Radio coverage of the disaster American Red Cross Respond to this story Talk about this story in the MPR News Forum Submit a commentary Help us cover this story

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Minnesotans hope tsunami survivors include friends, relatives
December 28, 2004

A Thai rescue writes on a body bag in Phi Phi Village, Thailand. On Phi Phi island hundreds were killed when an earthquake caused a Tsunami wave destroying everything in its path. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Local organizations are busy trying to raise money to help victims of the Asian Tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people across 11 nations last weekend. For people who live in Minnesota and have friends and relatives in affected areas, the past couple of days have been filled with worry and desperate telephone calls.

New Brighton, Minn. — For Rina Sands news her family in Indonesia was alive finally came at about 11 o'clock Monday night.

"I happened to call my sister in Bali and she told me that she just got some news and when she told me that our parents were OK," she said. "And there were still some family missing at that time, but then I got a hold of my cousin this morning and found out that the family that was missing last night, apparently they're OK." And Sands had reason to worry. Her parents and other relatives live on the nortern tip of Sumatra, very near the height of the devastation.

	Working the phones

Her mom and dad live at a high enough elevation that their home was not flooded. Still, she says, they've traveled farther inland.

"And they are now moved to my grandma's village because I talked to my cousin and I said 'why? Why did you have to move?' Because it's too many dead bodies," she said.

Sands has been working the phone from her north suburban home in New Brighton since early Sunday morning when her brother called from Fargo to tell her about the tsunami.

She says Indonesians across the United States have been constantly trading information about the disaster over the telephone.

"We've been just calling each other with any news we know. We call each other and I got a call this morning from my friend in Dekalb, Illinois and she lost 10 of her family and she was just crying and crying and last night at midnight I got a call from my friend in Washington, DC, whose husband is from the area that was hit the hardest. The whole village was gone," she said.

	Rescue workers comb village

Sands says Tsunami victims will need all kinds of help and that donating money is the best way to pitch-in.

Minnesota's Indonesian community is relatively small, according to the of the Minnesota Indonesian Society. There are around about 100 families -- roughly 300 people.

The society has setup a relief fund at Twin City Federal Bank and is asking for donations. The group is also planning a fund-raiser dinner and auction for sometime next month.

India was also hit hard by the tsunami.

Rebinder Bains, president of the Indian Association of Minnesota, says there are about 20,00 East Indians living in Minnesota. She says her association is helping to coordinate giving from smaller indian-related groups.

She says it's too early to say exactly how the money will be used.

"It's such a vast area that's been impacted and the funds that we raise... obviously it's difficult to say how we're going to channel those, in which areas and whether it's going to be specifically just for India or Sri Lanka and other areas as well. We're thinking of working with other Asian groups also, rather than just with the Indian groups," she said.

Bains says difficulty channeling money directly to victims now will likely mean much of the cash that's collected will end up helping to finance redevelopment and other relief projects after the initial recovery.

Numerous other groups are also looking for donations to assist disaster victims. Soren Jensen, of the Minneapolis chapter of the Red Cross, says many people have already been calling

"What we tell them is right now the most important thing people can do is contribute money to out 1-800-HELP-NOW number," he said.

With the devastation so widespread, Jensen says the Red Cross is well positioned to provide assistance.

"Each of the countries effected has their own Red Cross just like we have an American Red Cross and we're all part of one, big international movement. So the local volunteers for the Red Cross are already on the scene and then our International Red Cross coming out of Geneva Switzerland is already coordinating the process and we'll be a part of it too as far as financial support, technical assistance. I do expect the American Red Cross to be very involved in this relief effort," according to Jensen.

Jensen says he also expects volunteers from this part of the world will eventually be called upon to help tsunami victims on the scene of the disaster.

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