The Foreign Service Journal, April 2005

46 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 5 ast December’s Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 200,000 people and dis- placed nearly two million more, gener- ating the largest relief effort in history. The sheer magnitude of the disaster has, understandably, overshadowed the crucial role Foreign Service person- nel throughout the region played in assisting the many American tourists and residents in the affected areas. Here are examples, drawn mainly from their reporting, of the spe- cific consular assistance Embassies Colombo, Bangkok and Vientiane rendered to U.S. citizens in the hectic days follow- ing the tsunami. Sri Lanka: A View From the Consular Section Even though the tsunami hit on a Sunday morning (and the day after Christmas), the consular section swung into action by noon to respond to inquiries from American citi- zens and from local government officials. The Colombo area was not severely affected by the tsunami, though many areas just south were hit. We were lucky in that respect, as the embassy is located about 100 yards from the Indian Ocean. After informing the Operations Center back in Washington of the disaster, we began sending warden’s messages, bringing in emergency drivers, fielding inquiries, posting warnings on our Web site, and making arrangements for the next day’s forays into the Maldives (part of our consular district) and the resort districts around Galle (located on the southern coast of the island) to survey the damage and assist Americans. Other sec- tions of the embassy were equally busy, gathering infor- mation and coordinating with local officials and Washington. Next to Indonesia, Sri Lanka suffered the heaviest casu- alties inflicted by the tsunami. Phone service was severely curtailed and the police stations and hospitals located near the coast were damaged. The main police station in Galle, for example, had a minivan embedded in its front doors, undermining police operations throughout the area. Additionally, almost all of the coastal roads were covered in debris, while internal roads were crowded with emergency, police and private vehicles heading in all directions. The congestion was exacerbated by the narrowness of the roads, so a trip of 60 kilometers (about 36 miles) could take six hours. Most evacuations of foreigners took place by heli- copter. During the early days, after the disaster, cell phones in many of the affected areas were not functional, and even the landlines in many areas were not working. Despite all this, the Sri Lankan emergency services did an impressive job in responding to the disaster. The next day, an American consular team flew to the Maldives. They managed to land safely even though the airport had been under water the previous day. After local officials briefed them on the extent of the damage throughout the country, the team was able to determine that most of the American tourists were unaffected by the disaster, so it returned to Colombo. On the same day, another consular team visited Kiripitiya Hospital, a large medical facility in Galle that was still oper- ational. There they found an American family (including a pregnant woman) at the overcrowded facility and transport- ed them back to safety to Colombo in the van. The consular team also witnessed mass casualties in the Galle area, A FTER THE T SUNAMI : A SSISTING A MERICANS IN D ISTRESS C ONSULAR OFFICERS AND OTHER F OREIGN S ERVICE PERSONNEL THROUGHOUT THE I NDIAN O CEAN REGION PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ASSISTING MANY STRICKEN A MERICAN TOURISTS AND RESIDENTS . B Y S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY Steven Alan Honley, a Foreign Service officer from 1985 to 1997, is the editor of the Journal . L