JAKARTA CONFERENCE: Kofi Annan told the Jakarta conference that the tsunami disaster was a challenge for mankind
We have started the new year with a singular chance to prove our humanity, a chance to prove that when calamity strikes, we are equal to the task of uniting to protect and assist our fellow human beings in need.
What happened on 26th December, 2004, was an unprecedented, global catastrophe. It requires an unprecedented, global response. For the United Nations, it is the largest natural disaster the organisation has had to respond to on behalf of the world community in the 60 years of our existence.
From the nameless fishing villages of Sumatra to the modern tourist resorts of Thailand, from the beaches of Sri Lanka and India to the coastal communities of the Maldives and Somalia, the disaster was so brutal, so quick, and so far-reaching, that we are still struggling to comprehend it.
It seems at times like a nightmare from which we are still hoping to awaken. Except that for millions of people in 12 affected countries spanning two continents, and for tens of thousands of visitors from 40 nations around the world, this nightmare is devastatingly real.
We will never know the exact magnitude of how many men, women and children perished on 26th December, and in the 11 days that have passed since then. The real figure is likely to exceed 150,000.
We do know that at least half a million people were injured, that more than a million people are displaced, that nearly two million people need food aid, and that many more need water, sanitation and health care.
Millions in Asia, Africa, and even in faraway countries, are suffering unimaginable trauma and psychological wounds that will take a long time to heal.
Families have been torn apart. Whole communities have disappeared. In countries where religion, spirituality and culture lie at the heart of human existence, places of worship have been wiped out. The very things that defined people's identities and values have been swept away.
So as we grieve for the dead and pray for those still searching for loved ones, we have a duty to the survivors: to treat the wounded; to prevent further suffering as a result of polluted drinking water, destroyed infrastructure, lack of food, clothing and shelter; to stop the tsunami from being followed by a second wave of death, this time from preventable causes; and in the longer term, to prevent a third wave of despair, where people cannot recover their livelihoods, homes or communities.
Although we were powerless to stop the tsunami, together we do have the power to stop those next waves.
Since the catastrophe struck, we have seen an outpouring of pledges and contributions from countries large and small.
To protect the maximum number of lives, to restore dignity and hope, our assistance must be timely and well co-ordinated. Many of the pledges have come to us in cash and in kind. We need the rest of the pledges to be converted into cash quickly. We also need more people, and more material, to get the aid to those who are most in need, often in remote areas.
The governmental response has been matched by unprecedented generosity from the general public. Consider the six-year-old boy in Shenyang, China, who donated his life savings of $22. Or the citizens of Sweden, a country of nine million inhabitants, who have raised more than $70 million for the relief effort in Asia, while struggling to cope with the fact that almost 2,000 of their compatriots are still missing in the tragedy.
So the goodwill and concern around the world are enormous. So are the challenges facing us. There are daunting, logistical constraints. But they are not insurmountable. It is a race against time, but together with the host governments we are overcoming them. I want to thank those governments who have offered major logistical support to make it possible for us to move aid to the needed areas and to be able to distribute it, with the US government in the lead. Every hour we are seeing more goods reaching those in need...
The past 11 days have been among the darkest in our lifetime. But they have also allowed us to see a new kind of light. We have seen the world coming together. We have seen a response based not on our differences, but on what unites us...We have seen everyone pull together - north and south, east and west, governments and citizens, the media and the military, business and religious leaders, non-governmental organizations and international institutions.
Let us now show that we are committed for as long as it takes.
The full text of Kofi Annan address may be read at: www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp