*EPF405 12/30/2004
South Asian Americans Organize Tsunami Relief Efforts
(Private American relief agencies report millions of dollars in donations) (820)

By Edmund F. Scherr
Washington File Special Correspondent

Washington -- South Asian communities across the United States are mobilizing resources to help fund relief efforts in the wake of the December 26 tsunami that devastated coastal areas of countries throughout the region and to support those who have lost friends and family members in the disaster.

American-based private relief organizations report being overwhelmed by donations and offers of help.

The United States has several large concentrations of immigrants from the affected nations and thousands of American-born citizens with ties to that region.

Southern California has well over 100,000 immigrants from the nations hit by the tsunami, and the San Francisco area has thousands of immigrants from India and Sri Lanka. California is also home to about half of America's 70,000-strong Indonesian immigrant community.

Chicago has an estimated 120,000 residents of Indian descent, and there are large numbers of South Asian immigrants in the New York, Detroit and Washington metropolitan areas.

Local temples and South Asian community groups have become centers for news, relief efforts and grief sharing.

The Wat Thai Temple in North Hollywood, California, is conducting a special New Year's Eve prayer service for tsunami victims and plans a fundraiser for relief in Thailand. Meanwhile, the Islamic Relief USA organization of Burbank, California, has asked for donations of funds to buy tents and medical supplies.

In Southfield, Michigan, the Great Lakes Buddhist Vihara established a Sri Lanka disaster relief fund. Some 150 people attended a memorial ceremony December 28 for those killed by the tsunami.

At the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, trustees told the Chicago Tribune that phones are ringing with offers of food, money and clothing. And in Barlette, Illinois, a Hindu temple will join its national organization in sponsoring six villages in India's Chennai area. "We will do whatever needs to be to be done. No matter what," temple spokesman Harish Patel told the Tribune.

Relief efforts are also under way by the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America, an organization of Indian-Americans from the Indian coastal region that was hit by the tsunami.

Bevis Peiris, president of the Massachusetts-based Sri Lanka Association of New England, called many of the group's 200 members and put together a shipment of food and clothing for Sri Lanka.

Pastor Dharma Dande of the Indian Christian Fellowship of New England is preparing for a flight within a few days to Andhra Pradesh and the village of Machilipatanam in India. "It is my duty. I want to help them as much as possible," he told the Boston Globe.

The Washington Post reported that the Center for Disaster Information, which gives donors information about relief organizations, has been inundated with telephone calls. The paper also said that calls continue to pour into the Association for Indian Development, located in the Washington area. By December 28, the groups' chapters had already raised $270,000 for relief efforts.

Elsewhere in the Washington area, the International Buddhist Center in Wheaton, Maryland, is staying open 24 hours a day for those who want to meditate.

The outpouring of charity and expressions of concern have not been limited to the South Asian community, however. In a letter to the half million Catholics in the archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick called upon the church members "to remember these disaster victims in our prayers in a special way" and contribute to Catholic Relief Services, which is aiding in the tsunami relief effort.

In Los Angeles, city officials along with the American Red Cross joined with representatives from Sri Lanka, Thailand and India on December 28 to appeal for donations for disaster relief. Their goal is $5 million.

Many American relief agencies are using the Internet to raise funds for the disaster relief effort. The American Red Cross, which has collected $18 million in relief funds in three days, got more pledges via the Internet than by telephone.

The Internet search engine Google has a link on its home page that guides users to relief agencies, and Amazon, the Internet bookseller, is collecting donations through its Web page.

Relief agencies have encouraged contributors to send financial donations rather than material contributions. Money allows professional relief organizations to purchase exactly what disaster victims need most urgently and to pay for transportation of those supplies.

The American relief organization CARE is on the ground in the most affected zones, including India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and has begun responding to the crisis. The Christian Children's Fund, with staff and volunteers already working in Sri Lanka, was able to start providing immediate help to survivors there.

Relief and assistance has no boundaries, either geographic or religious. Among the groups raising funds for South Asia victims are Catholic Relief Services, the Lutheran World Relief organization, International Orthodox Christian Charities, and the American Jewish World Service.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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