Tourists Help Rebuild Phuket

[george]

Tourists help rebuild Thai town

Trading swimsuits for shovels

BANG TAO, Thailand: -- A Norwegian man nearly falls through a roof he's trying to take apart. Two Australian brothers, covered in dust, clear rubble from a laundromat. A British woman helps knock down a wall.

These are no ordinary relief workers: Many are travelers-turned-volunteers who've traded their swimsuits and sandals for shovels and boots to help rebuild Bang Tao, a village on the Thai resort island of Phuket leveled by the December 26 tsunami.

"You don't really want to be enjoying yourself while something like this is going on," said Russell Kerr, of Maghera, Northern Ireland, who was at a "full-moon party," a youthful all-night dance bash on a Thai beach the day the tsunami hit.

"We've got a good bunch of guys and ... we're doing as much as we can," he said, dripping with sweat.

"We all ... probably could have been enjoying ourselves and having a good time somewhere else but, yeah, we made the right decision."

About 20 volunteers are working on the Bang Tao project, started by Springville, New York native Mike Cegielski, who has lived with his family on Phuket for nearly three years.

He left Phuket's Kata Beach minutes before the tsunami hit. He and his family were unscathed.

Cegielski, a business development manager for a Bang Tao hotel, said he and his wife pondered what they could do -- "knowing we were 10 minutes from needing help rather than being able to help."

He assisted at a hospital, then returned days later to Bang Tao where he saw people in shock, their community in ruins. He decided something had to be done.

The project's goal is to help the town's 100 families get back on their feet, using donations to repair homes, clear wreckage and to help rebuild businesses by fixing shops or buying equipment, like fishing nets.

"You can't just come in and fix homes," Cegielski said.

"Then we would have to keep feeding them because no one bought them boats, no one got the hotels going."

The volunteers hail from Germany, France, Ireland, Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States and Norway. Covered in dirt, they knock down unstable houses, sweep out shops or fill large holes in the beach with rubble. Most lack construction experience.

Dutch student Jan Rosing of Utrecht, who was at a debating tournament in Malaysia before coming here, joked that construction possibly wasn't his "genetic manifest destiny," but he felt compelled to come.

Some stopped their Thai vacations midway to help. Others came from Singapore, Britain and the United States -- including a team of Alaskan firefighters whose usual specialty is search and rescue.

"I lived through 9/11 and I volunteered" there, said Gail Evertz of New York, who organized a food program for 3,000 workers after the terror attacks there, and brought new drills and hammers to Bang Tao.

"I felt for their plight. I felt I understood what they were up against."

Bang Tao was lined with hotels, bungalows and tourist shops that had sprung up just a year before the tsunami.

Offshore it still looks idyllic, with about 20 red-and-blue fishing boats bobbing on the clear green sea. But onshore there are piles, bricks, capsized boats and flooded cars. At least 30 people died here.

Richard Clinton, a policeman from Memphis, Tennessee, said he was moved to help after seeing images of the destruction.

"I'm tired of just writing a check. In America, that's how we help," he said.

"That's good, but this is better."

Some residents were initially leery of the help, but many have changed their minds.

Suthep Thongyorn said he felt defeated when he saw his travel agency's ceiling cave in.

Like other shops, he'd been banking on this area's peak tourist season -- which is now -- to survive. He had some doubts about the team, but after talking with them he said, "We feel better, like we have friends, we have someone to help us."

Volunteers said Bang Tao was already looking much better, as were the people, who were busy Monday slapping cement on new walls and cleaning up.

Cegielski aims to have villagers back on their feet before Chinese New Year in February, when business would normally be good.

"I hope in some way ... that we created hope that they actually could see their community back together again," he said.

--AP 2005-01-12

[damnaam]

Tourists help rebuild Thai town

Trading swimsuits for shovels

BANG TAO, Thailand: -- A Norwegian man nearly falls through a roof he's trying to take apart. Two Australian brothers, covered in dust, clear rubble from a laundromat. A British woman helps knock down a wall.

These are no ordinary relief workers: Many are travelers-turned-volunteers who've traded their swimsuits and sandals for shovels and boots to help rebuild Bang Tao, a village on the Thai resort island of Phuket leveled by the December 26 tsunami.

"You don't really want to be enjoying yourself while something like this is going on," said Russell Kerr, of Maghera, Northern Ireland, who was at a "full-moon party," a youthful all-night dance bash on a Thai beach the day the tsunami hit.

"We've got a good bunch of guys and ... we're doing as much as we can," he said, dripping with sweat.

"We all ... probably could have been enjoying ourselves and having a good time somewhere else but, yeah, we made the right decision."

About 20 volunteers are working on the Bang Tao project, started by Springville, New York native Mike Cegielski, who has lived with his family on Phuket for nearly three years.

He left Phuket's Kata Beach minutes before the tsunami hit. He and his family were unscathed.

Cegielski, a business development manager for a Bang Tao hotel, said he and his wife pondered what they could do -- "knowing we were 10 minutes from needing help rather than being able to help."

He assisted at a hospital, then returned days later to Bang Tao where he saw people in shock, their community in ruins. He decided something had to be done.

The project's goal is to help the town's 100 families get back on their feet, using donations to repair homes, clear wreckage and to help rebuild businesses by fixing shops or buying equipment, like fishing nets.

"You can't just come in and fix homes," Cegielski said.

"Then we would have to keep feeding them because no one bought them boats, no one got the hotels going."

The volunteers hail from Germany, France, Ireland, Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States and Norway. Covered in dirt, they knock down unstable houses, sweep out shops or fill large holes in the beach with rubble. Most lack construction experience.

Dutch student Jan Rosing of Utrecht, who was at a debating tournament in Malaysia before coming here, joked that construction possibly wasn't his "genetic manifest destiny," but he felt compelled to come.

Some stopped their Thai vacations midway to help. Others came from Singapore, Britain and the United States -- including a team of Alaskan firefighters whose usual specialty is search and rescue.

"I lived through 9/11 and I volunteered" there, said Gail Evertz of New York, who organized a food program for 3,000 workers after the terror attacks there, and brought new drills and hammers to Bang Tao.

"I felt for their plight. I felt I understood what they were up against."

Bang Tao was lined with hotels, bungalows and tourist shops that had sprung up just a year before the tsunami.

Offshore it still looks idyllic, with about 20 red-and-blue fishing boats bobbing on the clear green sea. But onshore there are piles, bricks, capsized boats and flooded cars. At least 30 people died here.

Richard Clinton, a policeman from Memphis, Tennessee, said he was moved to help after seeing images of the destruction.

"I'm tired of just writing a check. In America, that's how we help," he said.

"That's good, but this is better."

Some residents were initially leery of the help, but many have changed their minds.

Suthep Thongyorn said he felt defeated when he saw his travel agency's ceiling cave in.

Like other shops, he'd been banking on this area's peak tourist season -- which is now -- to survive. He had some doubts about the team, but after talking with them he said, "We feel better, like we have friends, we have someone to help us."

Volunteers said Bang Tao was already looking much better, as were the people, who were busy Monday slapping cement on new walls and cleaning up.

Cegielski aims to have villagers back on their feet before Chinese New Year in February, when business would normally be good.

"I hope in some way ... that we created hope that they actually could see their community back together again," he said.

--AP 2005-01-12

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Anyone know if they could use another pair of hands or is that a stupid question?

[Darknight]

How does this reflect on WP rules ?

Sure it's the human thing to do , but are they also at risk from persecution for Working without a Work permit ?

Has the Labour Departement provided any Statement on this ?

hopefully they turn a blind eye but then again TIT.