Saturday, January 24, 2015

Dec 29, 2004; a post on andamanicobar@yahoogroups.co.in; revisiting Dec 2004

Dec. 29, 2004

Dear Andamanicobar group,
 I only recently joined this group a few weeks ago, not dreaming of the disaster which would overtake the area of the islands, but with a general interest in conservation there. I am communications officer for the Society for Conservation Biology's Asian Section, so we have many members of our own society in southern India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia about whom we are anxious. Through these posts, I found myself drawn into your worries, fears, anger and sorrow, and have gotten to know you and these islands in a way I never imagined. 
I am writing from the other end of Asia (Israel) but the SCB network spans the continent, so I am forwarding any information (news, contacts) posted here to our own SCB Asia newslist for our members who may either need to know or want to help. We also have abou 60 Israelis in these islands, and of course many more in the disaster region as a whole. 
Yesterday Israel sent a complete hospital with medicines, materials and doctors to Sri Lanka (with whom we have no diplomatic relations) and they are on the ground there setting up facilities now. We are preparing more such missions, and there is a national drive to collect donations of relief supplies and money for the stricken areas. We area getting daily updates including what's happening in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, so I expect some of our relief help will come to these areas too. We are a small country and cannot do much but we have a lot of medical expertise especially with disaster situations, are quicker than lightening in emergencies, and can certainly help there. If you have suggestions I can relay them to the teams who are organizing the help here in Israel. 
Thanks for giving us a living, personal window on this part of the disaster area. There is no place so remote that our concern and our prayers cannot reach it, and sometimes we can do more than that. If you have anything you would like me to post for SCB Asia, please send it to olsvig2000@yahoo.com or my address above, and I will be glad to relay it to our SCB list.

shalom,
Dr. Linda Olsvig-Whittaker
Science and Conservation Division
Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority
3 Am Ve Olamo Street, Givat Shaul
Jerusalem 95463, Israel
Telephone: +972-2-5005444; Fax +972-2-6529232
mailto:Linda.Whittaker@nature-parks.org.il
Data service: http://ww2.bgbm.org/natureinfo
INNPPA website: < http://parks.org.il

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