The Common Sense Runs Wild blog does a great service in offering a list of tsunami victim lists. It also includes information on how to find hospital patient lists to try and locate your family and/or friends.
Unfortunately, you may have to print out the entire list and scan for any and all approximations of the name you are looking for. I checked into Vachira Phuket General Hospital at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time on December 26th and this is my experience.
While they seemed to be doing a superb job medically, administratively there was a bit more mayhem. Because the Thai alphabet is nothing like the Roman alphabet whatsoever, it is difficult for administrators and staff personnel to spell names correctly. Also, only the doctors themselves had a good grasp of English. Please do not just do a cursory look via search engine and assumed if you did not find your loved one's name, they are not on the patient list. This probably applies to most lists that originate in a non-English speaking country. You will have to very patiently scan names one by one. (BTW, this is not a complaint about the hospital's efforts; it was a very extraordinary circumstance to deal with - I am just wanting to explain to family members that they need to thoroughly check lists.)
To give you an example of what can go wrong, on one list arranged by country, I'm listed under at Vachira Phuket Hospital as being "unknown" in citizenry and my last name is mangled:
ไม่ระบุ UNKNOWN
12 Mrs. EVELYN ROORDDUEZ หญิง 0 40 ปี - OPD Observe กายภาพ
And this after I had already corrected a half-dozen versions of my first name and I pain-stakingly wrote out my full name for the administrators and nurses after seeing their first attempt at writing my name. I'm not sure everyone else would go through this much trouble - at the time, I didn't realize it would be that important - I just wanted my leg stitched up and could really care less how they spelled my name but yet for some inexplicable reason I persisted in getting it right. When they asked me what country I was from, they quizzically looked at me when I answered, "United States."
I then tried: "USA." Nothing. "United States of America." "America." Nada. Ah well, at least it didn't take me to long to clear up I was a Ms. not a Mr. They got that right by the time they wheeled me into x-rays.
Thanks for the link Evelyn. I was getting so much traffic from people looking for information on friends and family, I started to do a little research.
I was amazed that, while there's so much out there about the tsunami, it's so hard to find specific information.
Posted by: Janette | Jan 06, 2005 at 12:41 AM
I've completed an update on the tsunami victim information here http://commonsenserunswild.typepad.com/common_sense_runs_wild/2005/01/tsunami_victim_.html
Posted by: Janette | Jan 07, 2005 at 09:57 AM
Keep this going we may be able to locate someone who knows him.
Subject: Tsunami Victim, do you know him?
Subject: Have a quick look
Please pass this on.
You never know who we may know that has some information concerning this child.
Nobody knows who this boy belongs to! Please send this to all - we mean all! - the people in your entire network. Looking for his family. The boy about 2 years, vacationing in Khoa Lak is missing his parents.
Nobody knows what country he comes from. If anybody knows him please contact us by phone 076-249400-4 ext. 1336, 1339 or e-mail :
[email protected]
Hank Miller
World Office Systems, Inc.
Voice (757)499-4559 Fax (757)499-2998
Posted by: Samantha | Mar 29, 2005 at 11:05 AM
I am searching for a friend and former colleague who was to be in Bali at the time of the tsunami. I am hoping to know that she and her husband are well and to contact them.
They are Craig & Robyn Hurren.
He is Canadian born and she is New Zealand Born but now Australian. Is there any place to look for this information?
Posted by: Deb Henry | Jun 11, 2008 at 02:55 AM