Forum educates IU on tsunami's deeper impact

Panelists stressed the need to maintain focus, attention and aid to nations and people devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, even as months pass and media attention diminishes at a forum in the Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union Thursday evening.\nThe event, which began at 7 p.m., was designed to educate the IU and Bloomington communities and kick off campus relief efforts for the Dec. 26 disaster which has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people. \nSpeakers covered many angles of the tragedy, from the scientific perspective, to the political climate of the region, to the Indonesian view of American aid efforts. \nPatrick O'Meara, the dean of international programs, visited Thailand after the disaster for a previously planned trip and recounted his experiences in the nation which suffered more than 5,000 deaths from the tsunami. \nHe said the disaster was a "great equalizer." O'Meara said the royal palace was occupied with memorial services for the grandson of the King of Thailand who lost his life to the waves. \nHe said he hoped the world would adopt the mindset of Thai Buddhist monks who have met the disaster with "remarkable serenity, willingness to go on, graciousness and willingness to plan."\nMaria Montessori, a professor at the State University of Padang in West Sumatra, Indonesia, offered heartfelt gratitude to the American people for the aid they have contributed.\n"As an Indonesian, I am really impressed with the way Americans have responded to the tsunami," she said. \nIU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis and Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan introduced the forum.\nKruzan said despite the tragedy, hope has cropped up in the Bloomington community and around the world.\nMichael Hamburger, a professor of geological sciences, said the earthquake off of the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, which caused the tsunami, was powerful enough to register on every seismograph across the world. \n"We have to take from this tsunami as much as we can and be prepared," he said, "so that a disaster of this scope doesn't happen again."\nMargaret Sutton, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies, who has studied Indonesia for many years, said an ongoing insurgency in the Aceh region of the country, one of the most devastated, has complicated the aid effort. \nSandeep Junnarkar, a visiting Weil Professor of Journalism, said it is important to have journalists covering the disaster who understand the broader political, social and cultural situations in the region, as well. He also spoke about the importance of maintaining focus on the region -- even after other news breaks.\n"The truth is the media can be fickle. When another big story hits, the media will move on, and bring the public with them," he said.\nThe Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Peter Kovach, said two major issues have dominated the extent of the U.S. government response to the tsunami. He said before aid could be delivered, the United States had to deal with issues of national sovereignty in the disaster-stricken countries. He also said the relief effort had to be an international one.\nThe Director of Emergency Services for the Monroe County branch of the American Red Cross, Maria Carrasquillo, said her organization is working on a local, national and world level to get relief to the people affected and that her branch alone has received more than $30,000 in donations.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael\nZennie at mmzennie@indiana.edu.