From the archives: Enormity of the toll hits home

This story was originally published in Newsday on Dec. 28, 2004.

Dix Hills resident Sajid Hussein was back in his hometown of Madras, India, on Sunday visiting his parents when the tsunami crashed onto the coastline and devastated everything in its path.

Hussein survived unscathed because he was inland, but four distant cousins of his wife - children playing cricket on the picturesque waterfront - were washed away by a massive wave triggered by the world's worst earthquake in 40 years.

When the children's father went to identify them, Hussein said by telephone from Madras yesterday, he nearly passed out. "He was so shocked when he had to see the bodies at the mortuary," said Hussein, 33, a dental assistant.

A day after the tsunami left tens of thousands dead in 10 countries from Southeast Asia to Africa, immigrants from India - one of the hardest hit nations - tried to reach loved ones by telephone, started organizing relief efforts on Long Island and in Queens, and struggled to make sense of a seemingly unfathomable natural disaster.

"They themselves can't believe what has happened," said Meena Sridhar, director of the Center for India Studies at Stony Brook University, who has relatives in Madras who escaped harm. "At this point there is a numbness. People don't know what to say or what to do."

She added that, as the numbers of reported dead kept rising yesterday, the shock simply deepened. "There is a certain kind of sadness, numbness and helplessness," she said.

The tragedy prompted immediate plans for relief efforts. Bishop William Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre announced that all churches in the diocese will take up a special collection this weekend.

"I ask the People of God on Long Island to pray for the victims," Murphy said. "I also ask for their generosity in sharing God's gifts with those in need as result of these tragic events."

In Queens, members of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association met at the Delhi Palace restaurant yesterday to discuss ways to get small businesses to donate money. Nearly four years ago, the same five members sat in the same restaurant figuring out how to help victims of the Jan. 26, 2001, earthquake in India that left more than 13,000 dead.

"We're unfortunately used to getting donations," said association chairman Nitin Vora, who lost nine family members in the 2001 tragedy.

Kanchana Poola, head of New York Tamil Sangam, a group of immigrants from Tamil Nadu state where Madras is located and who also are raising funds, said survivors of the disaster were being evacuated from India's coast.

"They practically have a bag or two in their hands. They lost everything," the Old Westbury resident said. The devastation is "utterly unimaginable. The more you watch the news - I can't explain my feelings. I'll start crying."

Prakash M. Swamy of Rego Park said he partly blamed the Indian government for not being prepared for the disaster.

"We all know that no government can do anything against nature's fury," said Swamy, editor-in-chief of the Manhattan-based weekly newspaper The Urban Indian. But he still thinks they should have had an early warning system in place that could have evacuated thousands of people from the coast ahead of time.

Now, he added, "no relief measures will compensate for the kind of loss" of life.