Flags across the IU campus and the nation flew at half-staff last week as the United States honored the victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The disaster, which has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people in Asia and Africa, has motivated Americans to help the devastated region.
The tsunami's impact on IU\nThough Bloomington did not feel the shockwaves from the 9.0 earthquake, the IU community was not unaffected by the tsunami. In the fall 2004 semester, IU-Bloomington had 549 student enrolled from the 11 nations hit by the tsunami, including 110 from Indonesia, where the death toll has reached nearly 105,000, 41 from Thailand and seven from Sri Lanka. Fortunately, as of Wednesday, there have been no IU students confirmed to have been victims of the tsunami, said Lynn Schoch, the senior associate director for administration at the Office of International Services. \n"We've sent out messages to students from the affected countries asking if they needed any help," he said. "We have had ... a handful of responses saying 'We are OK.' Now we're trying to get to the international student group leaders."\nBut he said it will take at least until the second week of classes before the Office of International Services can begin determining whether students from the affected countries haven't returned to campus.
IU relief efforts\nWith IU students just now coming back to Bloomington after a three-week semester break, the University is getting a later start on the relief effort. Faculty and staff are scrambling to help organize relief efforts on campus. Many student groups are planning to raise money for the tsunami victims, but since students are only now returning to campus, there are no relief efforts up and running yet, said Darrell Stone, the associate director of student activities for student organizations and service. She said she encourages students to donate to national relief organizations like the Red Cross until on-campus relief efforts are active.\n"We're still reacting now," Stone said. "We're deferring to national programs which are already handling the relief effort while we implement programs on campus."\nThough there are no major donation programs on campus yet, a number of efforts are in the works, she said. IU already has a Web site, www.indiana.edu/~tsunami, with information on tsunami relief efforts. The Volunteer Students Bureau is also planning a canister drive where students can donate cash and will have a table set up at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day activities this weekend, she said. \nA forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union titled "Indian Ocean Tsunami and Humanitarian Response: A Campus-Community Forum" will serve as the primary aid effort. Panelists will discuss the geological and humanitarian aspects of the tsunami disaster as well as the things students can do to help victims. After the forum, a reception in the Solarium of the IMU will present tables where student groups can advertise their aid efforts. To book a table, contact the Student Activities Office at 855-4311 by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Where to donate now\nThough the disaster relief infrastructure is still in the planning stages, students who want to help now can donate through national programs. Stone said some of the most popular donation organizations are Oxfam and the Red Cross. The Monroe County chapter of the Red Cross has already raised more than $20,000 for tsunami victims, said Carol Bentley, the local chapter's executive director.\nShe said money is the most helpful thing to donate and that the Red Cross is not accepting donations of materials such as food and clothing at this time.\n"We are not accepting materials at this point," Bentley said. "They are too difficult, too expensive and too slow to send. Sending money will ensure the people get the things they need."
Tsunami updates: from The Associated Press\nIn other news, Indonesia warned aid workers Sunday that separatist rebels have taken shelter in camps for survivors, while a burst of violence hit Sri Lanka, signaling a potential resurgence of long-simmering rebellions in both tsunami-hit countries that could hamper help for victims of the two-week-old disaster.\nCompounding the misery, tropical downpours complicated relief efforts already slowed by impassable roads and destroyed bridges. Tens of thousands of survivors living in little more than tents and the drenching rain underscored the need to quickly build permanent shelters.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael Zennie at mzennie@indiana.edu.\n--The Associated Press contributed to this report.
