Humanitarian-relief mission supports tsunami victims

  • Published
  • By Donna Miles
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The largest humanitarian relief effort since the Berlin Airlift in 1947 is providing desperately needed water, food and medical supplies to victims of the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, the general coordinating air support for the operation said Jan. 9.

Brig. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas, director of the Combined Support Force Air Component Coordination Element based in Utapao, Thailand, called the relief effort "a monumental task" but said he is impressed by the extent of the international response and the speed with which it has come together.

Tremendous distances between the affected nations and destruction at many airfields following the devastating Dec. 26 tsunamis have challenged the relief effort, General Jouas said. However, C-130 Hercules aircraft are currently able to land at one site in Sri Lanka, three in Thailand and three in Indonesia. From these sites, as well as airfields in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Singapore, rotary-wing aircraft and trucks are then ferrying relief supplies to tsunami victims.

In addition, Sailors are playing a big role in delivering supplies in ship-to-shore operations that eliminate the need to use damaged or overcrowded airfields.

General Jouas said the search continues for more runways to expand the airlift support to the region.

Secretary of State Colin Powell stressed that the United States must plan to give long-term support to the region during the recovery period ahead.

"This is a long-term prospect," Secretary Powell said following his visit to the region last week. He said the United States must help fund not just "immediate humanitarian relief … but also infrastructure development."

Secretary Powell said it is important to continue assessing need to avoid flooding the area too quickly with more supplies and more financial assets than are yet needed for rebuilding.

Rebuilding timetables will vary throughout the region, Secretary Powell said. Banda Aceh, Indonesia, one of the hardest-hit areas, will take "years" to rebuild after much of it "was scraped to the ground," the secretary said. Other areas will return to relative normalcy much more quickly, he said.

Besides delivering water, food and medical supplies, the relief effort is also focused on providing sanitation and shelter for some 1.5 million people left homeless following the disaster, said Tom Fry from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Mr. Fry leads the agency’s disaster assistance response teams. He said the relief effort will soon become a rehabilitation effort. Rebuilding people's livelihoods is as important to their long-term survival as rebuilding homes, he said.