The name of the last unaccounted for Maltese person remaining on the tsunami disaster list was removed yesterday, as her relatives phoned the Foreign Affairs Ministry hotline to confirm that the 30-year-old woman was safe and sound in Madras.
A ministry official interrupted an ongoing press
conference being given by Minister Michael Frendo, and broke the news immediately after hanging up from talking to the backpacker’s relatives.
“She is safe and sound and was completely oblivious of the disaster, let alone the fact that she was on a missing persons’ list,” he said. Minutes before, Minister Frendo had just said that Interpol had been informed of the case.
The 30-year-old, whose identity was not disclosed at the request of her family, has a British passport as her mother is English but her father is a Maltese national. “We can breath a sigh of relief, at least as far as Maltese people are concerned,” Dr Frendo remarked, cautioning, however, that this is an ongoing situation and it cannot be categorically ruled out that no other Maltese person is or was in the region at the time of the tsunami.
As for the Maltese people still hospitalised in Thailand, Dr Frendo said that the ministry officials on site, Olaf Terribile and Chris Mercieca, had visited all the people in various hospitals across the country along with the Maltese Consul to Thailand Niplan Benjaviles and his son. They will be returning to Malta as soon as the situation is under control as far as the Maltese nationals in the region are concerned.
One of the women hospitalised is expected back some time this week while the Woolner family – a mother and two daughters – who have all been hospitalised after having suffered the full effects of the tsunami in Phi Phi, will remain there until they are fit to travel.
It seems that the two daughters are all right; one of them has even left the hospital. But the mother is still in bed and will probably not be able to travel for another couple of weeks.
They have been furnished with travel documents as they had lost their passports and have also been reached by their father. Mr Woolner has left Libya where he works and reached the rest of his family in Bangkok.
Now the ministry’s efforts will be completely focused on the relief efforts. “We have decided to focus our efforts on Sri Lanka, being a Commonwealth country and also one of the poorest and hardest hit. India is a Commonwealth country as well, however they seem to be managing well and are even leading the relief operations in the neighbouring countries that have been struck by the disaster.”
In the coming two weeks a team of medics ñ a nurse and three doctors ñ from SOS Malta will be leaving for Colombo in Sri Lanka. With them they will be taking some 124,800 intravenous units produced by Baxter Malta.
The Sri Lankan foreign Ministry advised the Maltese government to send this equipment as there is severe shortage and because they are produced in Malta.
The ministry will be funding these IV units with next year’s relief and development fund as well as the money collected from next Sunday’s continuation of L-Istrina, the entire proceeds of which will go to the relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
The SOS Malta team is made up of Dr Rachel Attard, Dr David Paul Galea, Mr David Grech (Nurse) and Dr Vanessa Saliba.
SOS Malta call on the generosity of the public to support this young courageous team in their efforts to bring their voluntary professional services to the victims of Sri Lanka.
Contributions can be sent to:
SOS Malta,
Dar L-Emigrant
Castille Place
Valletta
SMS 50617356 Lm1
SMS 50618074 Lm2
APS a/c 20000245111
HSBC a/c 006070932050
BOV a/c 40013974950
Asked why the medics could not reach the area before, Civil Protection Official John Gera, explained that before they leave, the coordinating team in Malta wanted to make sure that they had all the necessities when they get there. “It does not make sense to send a team of people who after a couple for days will end up needing as much help as the people they are helping,” Dr Frendo intervened.
In fact, the team will be staying with the nuns of Mother Teresa in Colombo, which will serve as their base. They will then travel to the area where their assistance is needed.
After three days at the site, the medics will prepare a needs assessment report. Asked at this point, whether this meant that the ministry would finance the sending of more medics, Dr Frendo said that it was too soon to say.
“It’s an ongoing process we will have to decide then based on the situation and information at hand then.”
As a sign of respect towards the victims of the tsunami disaster, the Prime Minister has requested that all government ministries and departments today carry Maltese national flag at half-mast.