Missing Phuket Nepali tsunami victim finally identified

[webfact]

Missing Phuket Nepali tsunami victim finally identified
Saran Mitrarat


De Pa: 'I was very sad when I saw my father’s body, but I had to accept it.'

PHUKET: -- After losing her family in the 2004 tsunami, De Pa waited for 10 years for news on her father. Her dream of finding her father came true, even if it’s not the ending she had hoped for.

Ms De Pa is a 20-year-old Burmese-Nepalese national who has been living and working in Phuket for more than two years.

On December 26, 2004, De Pa’s father opened his tailor shop at Bang Nieng Beach, Khao Lak, just before the massive waves rolled in from the ocean. The tsunami killed her mother and a younger sister. Her father’s body, however, was not found.

Ms De Pa was 10 years old at that time, and was living with her grandmother in Myanmar. After the tsunami in Phang Nga, they tried desperately to find out about her Dad.

“It seemed hopeless to think that he had survived. I prayed every day expecting my father to still be alive as we tried for a long time to find news about him. But it was very hard, as we lived too far away from each other,” she told The Phuket News.

Her life changed drastically after she lost her parents. She left school after grade 6 and went to work as a maid to support herself financially. In 2012 she moved to Thailand.

Six months ago, the people in Phang Nga notified Nepalese Associations around Thailand – including the one in Phuket – in the hopes of identifying the last Nepalese body from the tsunami, which was housed in a graveyard in Phang Nga.

That marked the beginning of the search to find De Pa.

Phanupong Limbuprasertkul, Adviser to the Honorary Consulate of Nepal in Phuket, told The Phuket News. “We notified all of our members in Phuket, and it took about four months to find her. When we did find her, she was working for a member in our association – she wasn’t aware that the association existed.

“Although we were able to identify her and her father, it was very hard for government officials to release the body for a funeral ceremony because neither the Burmese nor the Nepalese embassies counted her as a citizen.

“Also, all of her father’s documents that might have confirmed his name were lost,” he added.

“Finally, we contacted the Nepalese consulate to help us issue some documents so that we could ask officials to confirm the name of the body and to confirm that he and De Pa were related. This took four to five months, but finally we were able to pick up the body on September 27 for a funeral.”

De Pa’s life has improved since finding her father’s body, she says.

“When I heard that my father’s body had been found, I was overcome with emotion. I was so glad to know and identify him, as well as being very sad to realize that he was actually dead,” she told The Phuket News.

“When the Nepalese Association in Phuket notified me, I didn’t believe it 100 per cent, but then I saw the body at Bang Maruan in Phang Nga. Even though I had hoped it wasn’t true [that he was dead], it was.

“I was very sad when I saw my father’s body, but I had to accept it,” she added.

The Phuket News has learned that her father had some property and money left, which is now being processed by the Police Hospital in Bangkok. Once the results are confirmed, De Pa will receive it.

There are some 400 bodies still being held in storage in Thailand that have not been identified since the tsunami.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/missing-phuket-nepali-tsunami-victim-finally-identified-50241.php


-- Phuket News 2014-12-22

[smileydude]

A true double tragedy. Lost family members and citizenship-less.

Last I heard 3000+ are still missing and presumed dead so there are still many more families that have not received closure.

[Toknarok]

Sad story. At least the lady got closure in her quest.

400 bodies in storage? What is the point after 10 years?t ake DNA samples for identification purposes and then cremate the mortal remains. I lost a friend who is amongst the thousands listed as 'missing'. I know he's gone, that's it, I'm not going to waste any time searching for a 'will 'o the wisp'. Goodbye Ian, I know you would agree with me.