A Village Swept Away

"I ran into the mountains, so I lived. My husband did not. Nothing is left... I have registered to stay in temporary housing here." Yupa

Nowhere to call home: Yupa stands in a temporary shelter in a displaced persons camp. Along with the rest of her village, she is waiting to be rehoused, and can only contemplate what she has lost.

By Kathryn Reid in Southern Thailand

BANGKOK, 10th January 2005: Yupa Doiedee sits next to her daughter, Wanna Lim Sakul, on a mat, shaded by an open tent. She has bathed Wanna's baby boy in a metal pan and passes the naked child to his mother to dry him. The little boy is learning to stand.

Nothing remains of their home on the island of Kho Khao overlooking the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand. Yupa says, "I ran into the mountains, and so I lived. My husband did not."

When she returned to the valley where many generations of their family had fished and raised
cattle, everything she owned had washed away.

With 27 other families, she has relocated to a camp for displaced persons that the military is constructing in Plu Teow village. Under the long tin roof, she has a doorless, cloth enclosure. She has written 'cigarettes, coffee, bird's nests and soft drinks' next to the entrance, and hopes to make a little from her investment in wares.

Her daughter and five other family members who had shared her home are now scattered in other camps, or staying with relatives and friends. "My sister has a new baby who was born on January 1st," says Wanna, smiling at her mother. "She is living with my brother. My husband and I are staying in Ban-Na-Sri village."

In the valley, many members of her family had lived nearby, including the village chief. But Yupa no longer feels the same about the place where she has had such a great loss.

"I have registered to stay in temporary housing here. The military men are clearing the ground to build it," says Yupa. "They say permanent housing will follow."

Maj. Gen. Kasin Thongkomol from the building team, says, “ We will build 180 temporary units, and there is capacity for 300 permanent houses.” He is conferring with Boonsong Chaisawai, village chief. Chaisawai expects the new village will be large. “Plu Teow village was 400 families, 1,300 people, but now I think many people will want to move here," he says.

Not everyone agrees. Most of the homeless from Ko Khao and the nearby village of Nam Khem were fishermen, or worked at a resort, now destroyed. Either way, the only living they know is by the sea. They have no resources to travel far to work.

For now, Yupa is glad to be separated from the sea that has always formed a backdrop to her life. It is enough, this afternoon, to have her daughter and grandson safe and beside her.

You can help the efforts of the Habitat for Humanity Disaster Response Office by a donation to the Asia Tsunami Response Fund.