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Dr. Pat Feinstein of Providence planned to return to her native Thailand
this month for the 45th reunion of her medical school class. Then, on
Dec. 26, 2004, the tsunami struck, devastating parts of the country and
coastal regions around the Indian Ocean. Feinstein's plans changed.
At the urging of a niece, a 1994 graduate of the Rhode Island School of
Design who teaches English in a Bangkok high school, the specialist in child
and adult psychiatry decided to see
if she could help survivors cope with the trauma the tsunami left
behind. These are her first-person reports:
Filed 2.2.2005
Final
log: Leaving with heavy heart, many memories
I'm back in Bangkok, reflecting on the tsunami experience and going over
my notes, pictures, clippings from newspapers.
More
...
Filed 1.28.2005, 1.29.2005
and 1.30.2005
Log
9: Facing loss with strength, determination and humor
Wang is a fisherman who goes out to catch and sometimes buys from other fishermen.
He brings back the fresh fish for his wife to sell in their store-front, rented
small house. They made a modest living. They moved from another province to
Phuket for a better income here, leaving their 4 older sons with relatives
to continue their education. Riem considered herself very fortunate to earn
more money than most of her relatives. Their lives were shattered on December
26.
More ...
Filed 1.27.2005
Log
8: Tsunami transforms once-pristine resort
I traveled almost 2 hours each way to Phang
Nga Province to volunteer my service at the The
Tsunami Volunteer Center in Koa Lak District.
More ...
Filed 1.26.2005
Log
7: The hardship of identifying victims
I started my journey from Phuket to Phang
Nga at 8 a.m. My first stop was the
disaster victim identification center.
More ...
Filed 1.25.2005
Log 6: The devastation of Phuket and the 'Sea Gypsies' prediction
Phuket, the largest island in Thailand, luxuriously verdant, about 600
miles from Bangkok, approx. the size of Singapore, nestles against Thailand's
southwest coast.
More ...
Filed 1.23.2005
Log 5: Waiting
for word, sending aid
I found out at the reunion that my classmate, Dr. Sum-Ang, an anesthesiologist
and also a member of the Royal Family's team of physicians, has had an agonizing
experience.
More ...
Filed 1.21.2005
Log 4: A tale
of survival and the nightmares that followed
She told me the tale of her escapade --- running for her life from the tsunami's
first wave. Then she stopped and started running again when the second wave
came, to the higher and higher ground.
More ...
Filed 1.20.2005
Log 3: Doing
good deeds in memory of the dead
"A ceremony to bid the spirits final farewell" was held in Phang Nga
Province, at a stadium for Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Sikh, causing a traffic
jam, reported by the Post.
More ...
Filed 1.19.2005
Log
2: From microchip ID tags to an abiding faith
The front page news today indicated a serious dispute
between the medical forensic expert and the police over responsibility for identifying
unidentified bodies.
More ...
Filed 1.18.2005
Log
1: To Thais, tsunamis are a foreign experience
I arrived at Don Muang International Airport,
Bangkok, Thailand at 3:30 a.m. I met an American couple from San Francisco
while waiting for my luggage. They were on their way to Phuket for their annual
vacation. They seem to have the need to see that it
is still there.
More
...
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