where many boats have gone missing,
and they just so happened to come here
before going over there. Strange how life
works sometimes."
Kristin's mom, Katherine Sheiko,
responded with her own posting: "One
day, one hour, one second can make all
the difference in one's life. We are so
grateful that you are all safe and at the
same time so saddened by the awful
destruction of the lives of so many thou-
sands of people."
Laya said: "Many friends waited days
to hear from friends over there, and
some still have not heard anything. The
thought of how close we are to what
happened is still frightening. Not to
mention the threat of disease which they
say may begin to spread throughout
Asia. I am so grateful that we are all safe
on the east coast, and that all the people
I know that were around those areas are
all safe as well.
"It really puts life into perspective and
makes you appreciate everything, know-
ing you are only a few hours from some-
thing so tragic, and there are people all
around you talking about friends they
still can't get a hold of," Laya said.
"Since the tsunami, every time the
waves seem bigger than usual my heart
skips a beat, and every time I look out
to the ocean I can't imagine what it
must have been like to witness a 30-foot
wave coming full speed from the dis-
tance, nor do I want to."
In spite of what could have been, as
the group gets ready for their next stop
— a short visit to Malasian Borneo —
Laurie knows the best place for them
right now isn't home.
"Fred and I will be meeting the four
of them in a couple of weeks," Laurie
said. And despite the fears of some, after
what this group has been through,
everything is relative. "I can't wait until
they're all safe with us — in Israel," she
said. ❑
Chabad In Thailand
As the only Jewish service agency in
the country dealing with this catastro-
phe, our offices and staff in Bangkok,
Chiang Mai and Ko Samui have put
everything else aside, working 24/7 to
assist those in need and comfort," wrote
Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, executive
director of Chabad Thailand in a recent
letter.
"Thailand's three Chabad Houses,
staffed by six full-time rabbis and 12
rabbinical trainees, were immediately
converted into crisis centers where
dazed survivors are receiving medical
help, free meals and funds for new
clothing, placing free international
phone calls and [using the Internet to
contact] their loved ones to inform
them of their whereabouts, and being
helped in their efforts to locate their
friends as of yet unaccounted for."
Chabad volunteers are visiting those
hospitalized and providing them with
kosher food and any other help needed.
Chabad staff is providing counseling to
Want To Help?
• Contributions can be made to the
B'nai Brith Disaster Relief Fund, 6735
Telegraph Road, Suite 304, Bloomfield
Hills, 48301.
• Council of Orthodox Rabbis, 16947
W. Ten Mile Road, Southfield, MI
48075. Checks may be made out to
Council of Orthodox Rabbis Relief
Fund.The COR also suggests the recita-
tion of Psalms 20, 91,121,123, and 142.
• Zaka Rescue and Recovery can take
donations by calling (877) ZAKA-911
or by accessing the Web site at:
wwwzakausa.org A team of ZAKA res-
cue and recovery workers already are
the survivors who are in a state of emo-
tional trauma and have fielded several
thousand phone calls from Israel, trying
to help families locate their relatives.
"The Israeli Consul in Thailand,
Yakov Dvir, asked for our help in locat-
ing hundreds of Israelis who are strand-
ed in the ravaged seaside towns of
Thailand, which we are doing to the
best of our abilities," wrote Rabbi
Kantor, who is the nephew of Rabbi
Avrohom Weinberg of Sara Tugman
Bais Chabad Torah Center in West
Bloomfield.
'As the initial efforts of search and
rescue wind down over the next week,
the grim work of identifying bodies and
counseling bereaved families will unfor-
tunately keep the Chabad staff fully
occupied for the foreseeable future. We
are also expecting the stream of sur-
vivors of this natural disaster appearing
at our doors in Bangkok to increase,
placing the burden on us to clothe, feed
and accommodate them as they slowly
try to make their way home.
"The initial estimate of expenses
incurred to our organization as a result
of this tsunami already runs into tens of
thousands of dollars for food, clothing,
shelter, medical expenses and trans-
portation to and from the disaster
zones." ❑
For updates on the tsunami aftermath, see
JNOnline.com
For 24-hour emergency phone
contact, call (661) 837 7618
or e-mail:
rabbi@jewishthailand.com
Checks may be mailed to: Chabad
of Thailand 96, Thanon
Rambuttri, Bangkok Thailand
10200 (For U.S. tax deductibility,
write checks to American Friends
of Chabad of Thailand), or donate
online at:
www.chabadthailand.corn
working in Thailand.
Jewish Relief
• American Jewish Committee Tsunami
Relief Fund donations may be made by
accessing the Web site at:
• Orthodox Union donation checks may
be made payable to OU Disaster Relief
Fund and mailed to: Orthodox Union,
11 Broadway, NY, NY 10004, with a
notation on the envelope reading, "OU
Asian Relief Fund." Credit card dona-
tions may be made online at: ou.org
https://ww‘v.ajc.orgissl/contribute_
tsunami_fund.asp
or by sending checks payable to the
American Jewish Committee Tsunami
Fund, to AJC Tsunami Fund, 165 E.
56th St., 8th Floor, New York, NY
10022. AJC will absorb administrative
costs.
• World Jewish Aid's tsunami relief fund
donations may be made online at:
www.workljewishaicl.org.uk
or by mail at: World Jewish Aid,
Freepost WC1152, London NW1 2YW
World Jewish Aid is a division of World
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to
Hunger donations may be made by
accessing the Web site at:
www.mazon.org or by mailing a check
to: MAZON: A Jewish Response to
Hunger, do Southeast Asian Recovery
project, 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Suite 260
Los Angeles, CA 90025.
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