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Volume 13, Issue #3. Published on February 28, 2005
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Photo courtesy Lighting The Way International
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The tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004 caused staggering death tolls, resulting in many children orphaned.
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Lost Children of the East
In the wake of a devestating tsunami, authorities struggle to deal with orphaned children.
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Mary Vongsackda
Asian Pacific Review
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With a death toll of more than 160,000 dead and 127,000 missing, the earthquake-generated tsunami hit from the Indian Ocean, across several Asian coasts on Dec. 26, has left many orphans having to fend for themselves.
In a report from the United Nations, officials reported 8,000 to 10,000 children in the Aceh province of Indonesia alone had survived but have had no contact with their parents or other family members. Agents from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated up to half of all the victims in the tsunami were children, raising much concerns of the aftermath of these orphans.
However, recent events such as Feb. 15 reunion of a nine-year-old boy with his mother by UNICEF and Indonesian officials has shed hope for orphans.
Another case was the settlement of an eight-week custody battle over in Colombo, Sri Lanka's four-month-old baby, "Baby 81"on Feb. 9.
Baby Abilass, named Baby 81 because he was the 81st baby to have been admitted to the Kalmunai hospital, was reunited with his parents after he had been pulled away from his mother during the tsunami. Rescuers had found Abilass from mud and debris among bodies, hours after he was separated from his mother.
In another frustrating case, Murugupillai Jeyarajah and his wife Jenita were forbidden to pick up their son because they could not prove that he was theirs. Their home and family records were swept away in the tsunami. Additionally, eight other couples had also immediately claimed the baby to be theirs.
In anguish and discontentment, the Jeyarajah had attempted to get their baby by barging into the hospital and getting him themselves. Unable to succeed, the Jeyarajah furthered threatening to commit suicide unless their baby was returned to them.
A court ordered the baby to be kept in the hospital until DNA test results could determine who the baby's real family was. After a conclusive DNA match, the Jeyarajahs were finally reunited with their baby.
This reunion symbolized the anguish of thousands of parents who lost their children and the children themselves who are now orphans.
Fearing unscrupulous people taking advantage and attempting the illegal trafficking of children, governments have placed restrictions on orphan children leaving national boundaries. In a statement by the social affairs ministry, they caution institutions such as orphanages or adoption agencies.
Instead, the ministry is pushing for relatives and other family-based options for the children. These precautions are seriously being placed into affect in order to prevent the trafficking of children and to prevent further psychological damaging to the children.
As for humanitarian efforts for the aftermath, $7 billion has been collected but this is still short of the $11 billion needed for the estimated cost of the tsunami as stated by former president Bill Clinton. Clinton is a special U.N. envoy for tsunami aid and part of the special forces led with former President George H.W. Bush who are leading U.S. fund-raising for survivors.
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