ASIAN TSUNAMI DISASTER REPORT

Following the Asian disaster that affected Southern Thailand, along with other parts of South-East and South Asia, this has some effect on gay life there but it was less than previously feared compared to city as a whole. Having said that, only time will tell what the long term effect will be

LYC THAILAND MEMBERS “ALL SAFE”

Immediately after the event happened, there was confusion. Some of the Bangkok-based LYC Thailand members were keen to find if any of their friends and members were affected. This included their members who were currently travelling abroad and they had to email to Bangkok to find out. Thankfully, all the LYC Thailand members, as far as we know, are safe.

HOW IS THE CONDITION OF THE GAY AREA IN PHUKET?

According to various sources, the gay precinct in Phuket remains relatively unscathed although two establishments, the Club One Seven B&B and Kenya's Sea Hag Resturant were affected. One of the managers of the B&B was killed.

Boontarika of the Rendezvous Hotel he wrote soon after the Boxing day disaster took place: "So far today everything seem to be return to normal, shop re-opened as usual, bars and gay club will open tonight. And even birthday party of Mr Boon from My way has been celebrated on 27th with Party on my way. Paradise complex din't suffer from tidal wave at all

Charles of LYC Thailand reported in his email:

”Sphinx Phuket was spared any damage as it sits behind the Andaman Resort, which took the brunt of the wave. ICON (hotel) is up the hill and far enough removed to have been damaged. It now serves as a Red Cross station.”

Joel of James Dean Bar Guest House informed Long Yang Club : “Yes, we are all fine. The water didn't come any further than Rajuthit Road, so the gay area was not touched The wave hit about 9:30 so most of us were still asleep. The beach is stripped bare though. There is a lot of a lot of damage though - the supermarket in the basement of Ocean Department Store at the south end of the mall became a tomb for anyone who was in there." In the Utopia-Asia website, one of gay Asia’s leading web pages, Jerry Bowes (an ex-LYC Thailand officer) wrote, “What they, unconscionably, do not show you is the lack of damage a mere two minute walk away from the beachfront -- no sensational images to capture, no corpses, no buses in swimming pools, no twisted wreckage and no stunned survivors. There is in fact, no physical damage there. “Paradise Complex”, he added, “where most of the gay businesses are located, is unscathed, as are all businesses along Rad Uthit Road and beyond.”

From what LYCI understand, all except one of the gay hotels and guest houses remain open.

In the Utopia-Asia website, one of gay Asia's leading webpages, Jerry Bowes (an ex-LYC Thailand officer) wrote, "; "What they, unconscionably, do not show you is the lack of damage a mere two minute walk away from the beachfront -- no sensational images to capture, no corpses, no buses in swimming pools, no twisted wreckage and no stunned survivors. There is in fact, no physical damage there.

"Paradise Complex", he added, "where most of the gay businesses are located, is unscathed, as are all businesses along Rad Uthit Road and beyond."

CASAULTIES

Daniel See, of Club One Seven Bed and Breakfast which was located along Patong Beach where the waves struck, sent an email to inform people that they have ceased operations "due to the total destruction of our lobby, 1st floor rooms, and gym room. We have also lost all of our database to handle any reservation at this time." One of their managers, Mr Chan Kee Keong, was washed away in the tsunami. However, it plans to re-open in two months.

Mr See is also the co-chairman of the Phuket Gay Festival.
At the Phuket branch of the Sphinx restaurant , which was opened only in 2003, lost family members.

There was a Dutch gay group (not Long Yang Club) called Eurofaries which was going to have their second gathering in Southern Thailand after their enjoyable gathering last year. Their event was scheduled to take place from  Jan 21-30. There was no news whether it was going ahead or it was cancelled.

PHUKET GAY FESTIVAL POSTPONED

Initially, the Phuket Gay Festival was supposed to take place in February. (that was already postponed from a previous date due to the Thai general elections). As one of the victims of the tragedy is a grandson of the King of Thailand, the nation does not allow any party or celebration to take place for 100 days. As a result the Phuket Gay Festival, due to take place in February, has now been postponed to April 7-10, 2005, one week before Songkran, the Thai New Year

EFFECTS ON GAY BUSINESS

The immediate aftermath of the disaster has affected businesses in Phuket’s gay community.

At www.gaypatong.com it said: "Phuket's gay community faces very difficult times due to cancellations brought on by media reports that fail to point this out. The fear exploited by the media for its own purposes have threatened to decimate the current season, on which so many of the small businesses that cater to the gay community depend for survival. Many annual visitors will return; they know there is no reason to stay away, but new arrivals may not understand that the island paradise known the world over is alive and well."

Gay businesses in Phuket are appealing to people to help them by visiting Phuket.

EMERGENCY AID & WESTERN BLOODS REQUIRED

Paisarn Likhitpreechakul, the co-secretary of LYC Thailand appealed for blood donations. I would again ask you to consider donating blood, if you haven't done so already.

This is particularly important for the Westerners among us. The Red Cross still very much needs Rh negative blood for injured foreigners. Most of us know the ABO blood system (ie. A,B,AB,O). Each of these groups can be subdivided into Rh positive and Rh negative. Rh negative is relatively common among Westerners (15%), but very rare among Asians (0.3%).

This is your chance to help save those whose lives are in danger far far away from home and loved ones. And it could have happened to anyone of us, anywhere in the world. If you're not sure about your blood type, it's a good idea to go ahead and do it anyway. Rh+ A and O groups are also needed.

36 SRI LANKAN GAY ACTIVISTS KILLED IN TSUNAMI

In Sri Lanka, the gay organization Companions on a Journey suffered quite significantly. On their website http://www.companions-lanka.org/, it reported that 36 of its members were killed, 9 were missing and 131 were killed. According to www.365gay.com The executive director of the organization Sherman de Rose said ""These are numbers that we have received so far," said Sherman de Rose, the group's director. He added Fortunately for the gay community," de Rose said, "the tsunami didn't make its appearance in the evening; otherwise lots of gays cruising along the beaches would have perished."

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