LETTER TO THE WSJ/WSJE RE: OLIVER STONE AND THE TSUNAMI 2004

August 17, 2006

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Re: TSUNAMI 2004

Sir,

Your review (WSJE 8/7, 06) of Oliver Stone’s latest film quoted the distinction he made between man-made 9/11 and an a c t  o f  G o d like the Tsunami caused by Dec. 26, 2004 underwater earthquake. Error! Though the wave was caused by a quake its effects were man-made.

Had the myriad stations around the globe, military or scientific, that register quakes no matter where, been more forthcoming the threatened areas could easily have been warned in good time. Monitoring devices on land, in space, on submarines and in the ocean (sonar) nowadays measure the slightest tremors and noises thousands of miles away and locate them with absolute precision. Via satellites experts watched the approaching lethal danger on their screens and felt obliged to keep mum.

Northwest Sumatra was badly hit, but another 75 minutes (up to 2.5 hours counting from the quake on) were left to warn the hotel-studded holiday west-coast of Thailand. Alert the thousands of visitors on the beaches, yes or no? Annoy the tourist industry with a false alarm as had happened before?

Ten minutes before a tsunami washes ashore the sea water is sucked away from the coast, the unambiguous advance notice. Even then, Bangkok could still have phoned the walkie-talkie equipped soldiers billeted in the hotels for the protection of foreigners and have the beaches cleared. Had there been where advisable building restrictions for the most areas close to the beach threatened by tsunami, many lives, many of these people who cruel died would have been saved. Unlike most of its neighbours, which are a bottomless mess with or without a disaster, in the field of infrastructure and modern communication Thailand isn’t any less developed than America. And Christmas isn’t a holiday. Lots of people could have been contacted on all levels of the efficient Thai administration and, of course, the hotels, too. Instead, the Thai government preferred to play Russian roulette and do nothing. The high-rolling Thai government didn’t win. Result: A few thousand dead tourists and many more Thais.

A wonderful plot for an Oliver Stone film. Plenty of contrasting and exotic locales. What a colourful cast! Dopey government scientists in Denver and Honolulu, uniformed pinheads in military settings, who allowed the catastrophe to proceed while looking on in cold blood, unsuspecting sunbathers from all corners of the earth, bored western politicians under Christmas trees, greedy landlords in postcard scenery, incompetent or corrupt pols in eastern capitals and heaps and heaps of corpses.

Yours truly,

Jerzy Chojnowski

Tsunami survivor in Thailand

Chairman-GTVRG e.V.

© mgr Jerzy Chojnowski

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GERMAN TSUNAMI VICTIMS RESPONSE GROUP
WORKING TO PREVENT MAN-MADE DISASTERS
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