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American Morning
Massive Tsunami Relief Efforts Underway; Survivors Speak Out
Aired January 03, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: By land and air and sea, a massive relief effort in the aftermath of the tsunami. Will help arrive, though, in time to save the survivors?
The U.S. now saying beef imports from Canadian will resume even after another case of mad cow disease is discover there.
And buried down deep -- a winter storm that just keeps on coming on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you guys in New York.
It's 8:00 p.m. here in Phuket in Thailand.
As you can see over my shoulder, very dark here.
I want to show you some pictures of some of the work that's been going on here. A couple of hour's drive north of here is where some of the very worst damage in Phuket has been seen. Entire villages really just wiped away by the force of the tsunami that just ripped through, obviously, many, many people. Thousands killed in the region. But even more than that, the lives of those who have survived completely uprooted.
Coming up in just a little bit, we're going to talk to a man who's made it his mission to try to help some of those folks. That's just ahead -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, thanks, reporting live in Phuket.
We'll get back to you in a few moments here.
The latest, though, that we have on the story this morning, there are now at least 156,000 people reported dead and still tens of thousands of others still missing.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush leaving yesterday, arriving in Thailand later today. Also on their tour list is Indonesia and possibly Sri Lanka after that.
Helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln flying supplies to remote parts of Indonesia. Twelve hundred Marines helping to distribute aid in Sri Lanka. The U.N. says about $2 billion in aid has been pledged internationally and $350 million of that has come so far from the U.S., $500 million from the country of Japan.
With that as a backdrop, we want to get back to Soledad now with more now in Phuket, Thailand -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, let's talk a little bit more, in fact, about that money.
I wanted to introduce you to a guy named James East.
He is the World Vision Asia Pacific communications director and we have spent a lot of time together over the last couple of days.
First, thanks for talking to us.
Give me a sense of how much money you've been able to raise.
JAMES EAST, WORLD VISION ASIA: Well, so far, what we've done internationally has raised about $60 million, which is, you know, an amazing figure. When we raised money for Gujurat, an earthquake that happened in India about three or four years ago, that raised $20 million. So this is three times as much.
O'BRIEN: We're getting word that the Thai government has turned down offers of financial aid and yet groups like yours, relief groups, are saying please don't give us items, give us money.
EAST: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Why would they turn down offers of financial aid?
EAST: I think that they're concerned about a repetition of some of the aid being given and they feel as though, you know, it might be a little bit uncoordinated. And so organizations like World Vision really help, you know, have a lot of expertise in relief situations. So what we do is we have emergency teams who are ready and prepared to send in that relief aid and we know exactly what people need.
O'BRIEN: It seems to be all based on infrastructure, and that, of course, is also the big problem, is that the infrastructure has been devastated. In the village that we went to, about a two and a half, three hour drive yesterday, about -- from here, where we are right now -- it seemed as if there were people who had nothing.
What do you do for folks like that? These are mostly Thai.
EAST: Sure. First of all, you've got to make sure that they've got food. I mean, the basics, food, shelter. And then once they've got those in place, then you can start to work toward longer-term goals of making sure that the community becomes stable and people have jobs again and, you know, people -- the children particularly have a place where they can be cared for. Many -- there are many orphans who have been... O'BRIEN: What do you do in those cases? I mean how are you taking care of and what's your long range plan to take care of those children who have lost everything?
EAST: Well, in many of these villages there are extended families. So we can usually find a place for that child within the larger family. And then we'll provide psycho-social support for those children.
O'BRIEN: Because the schools are gone, the stores are gone, everything is gone.
EAST: Exactly. Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Yesterday when we were taking a look at some of these villages that had been wiped away, we were talking about some of the villagers who are living in the mountains still because they're in shock -- they cannot come down -- or living in their houses that have been just completely, you know, not -- house is the wrong word. I mean, shells of a home.
EAST: Sure.
O'BRIEN: What do you do for someone like that, who's not coming to the relief center?
EAST: What we're doing at the moment is we have these assessment teams going out to try and find these people. And once you find them, you just spend some time talking with them because basically many of these people have lost everyone, you know, five, six, seven members of their family. So they're just in a daze. So if you can come alongside them, provide some support and then gradually bring them back into the area where the village was and provide support for them with food and hook them up with, you know, neighbors.
O'BRIEN: James East from World Vision Asia Pacific.
Thank you for your time this evening and also your time yesterday, as we did our tour around Thailand.
EAST: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I really appreciate it. It's been nice to spend some time with you.
Thank you.
EAST: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I want to tell you a little bit, Bill, about the Phi Phi Islands. We spent the day there today. Basically what they did today was to continue their recovery efforts, pulling bodies out of the rubble. They're using now the heavy equipment to take some of those big pieces of metal and debris that have fallen and shift them off of the rooftops. And as they do that, they are, unfortunately, are, in some cases, I would imagine, for some of the family members of the victims, fortunately bringing them some closure as they find bodies.
The big problem, though, it's been such a long time and decomposing in the hot sun, it is virtually impossible, we are told, to identify any of the remains. Fifty-eight bodies found there on that island alone yesterday. Many more, again, today, as well. And the scope of the disaster there just incredible.
I want to introduce you to Geoff Starr.
He is a man who is living in a bungalow on Phi Phi Island. And the devastation there, tell me a little bit about what happened. Your bungalow is on the side of the island so you were not specifically hit by the tsunami. You saw everything that was happening, though.
GEOFF STARR, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: It came through a channel, basically, in the island where I was. There's a reservoir in the middle of the island and my bungalow looks out into that and it's raised up by about five meters. And I heard a noise. I was in my bungalow.
O'BRIEN: What did it sound like?
STARR: It was a rumbling noise. I thought it was like a construction site or something.
O'BRIEN: What did you do?
STARR: I just opened my door. It was like what's going on, you know? It's louder and louder and louder. And then I saw the wave coming in, bang, bang, bang, taking everything away, flattening everything. Then it just calmed down completely when it hit the reservoir in front of me. And then there was people in the water. So I just chucked some trousers on and I just ran down and I went into the water and started helping people.
O'BRIEN: Was the water churning and flowing? And was that...
STARR: Not at all.
O'BRIEN: Was there debris in it?
STARR: Yes, there was debris. Yes, there was lots of debris in the water and people screaming and the problem is a lot of the Thai people can't swim.
O'BRIEN: Right.
STARR: So I took as many people as I possibly could, but they were jumping on top of me. But I've had some training in that, because I'm a diver. So I assisted them and I took them back in and got other people to help, as well.
O'BRIEN: Where did you put them? Because, of course, a lot of the problem was getting to a level that's high enough to be out of the way of the water. STARR: Absolutely. Yes. Well, where I live, there's a second level. There's like a second floor up there, as well. It's all wooden structures, but we weren't touched at all. So I was directing people to take people, the injured people up and we set up a temporary hospital there. And then people that knew what they were doing with the different kinds of injuries that people had, some people were torniquetting and then there were some people, you know, just -- if they could just talk to the person who was lying in the bed and holding their hand, keeping them conscious until we could them stretchered down to the helicopter.
O'BRIEN: How long did the whole thing take, the first wave and then the second wave that followed it? And of course there was the confusion because you really had two waves, one from one side of the island and the other from the other side of the island...
STARR: That's right. Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... and everybody kind of trapped in between.
STARR: Yes. And...
O'BRIEN: How much time do you think elapsed?
STARR: Well, I'm just talking from my personal experience and I can't go on anything. I just saw the one wave come in and then it flattened out where I was. For the time lapse, it was a couple of -- there was military jets that flew over within an hour, obviously assessing the situation, seeing where the wave was. Then within about, I'd say about three hours, then the helicopters started coming down. And then that's when we started moving people, because we knew where they were landing by the Kabana Hotel.
O'BRIEN: You saved a lot of folks with a lot of the other people out there who were lucky enough to be alive after that.
STARR: Yes.
O'BRIEN: So, thanks for coming in to talk to us about it.
We certainly appreciate it.
You seem a little shaken still. Are you?
STARR: Definitely. It's going to take a long time, yes.
Yes.
O'BRIEN: Jeff Starr, thank you.
I appreciate it.
STARR: Great.
O'BRIEN: And stories like that, I mean, stories of survival, of course, all good news. But the stories that were less successful in some ways even more prevalent -- Bill.
We'll have more of those, of course, for you throughout the evening, the morning where you are -- back to you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Soledad.
8:00 there in Thailand and thousands and thousands of stories that continue to unfold by the day.
Thanks, Soledad.
Talk to you again next hour here.
There is breaking news out of Iraq.
For the latest on that, Heidi Collins here with the headlines here -- good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
And good morning to you, everybody.
That's right, word of more violence in Baghdad, as a matter of fact. A suicide car bomb exploded about 45 minutes ago just west of the so-called green zone. No immediate word on casualties.
Earlier today, a suicide car bomb killed at least four people near the headquarters of Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. We'll keep our eye on things happening there in Baghdad.
Also, here in the United States, President Bush meeting with new law makers one day before a new session of Congress convenes. The president is back at the White House this morning, after spending the holidays at his Texas ranch. He's expected to meet with nine senators, 41 newly elected representatives. Aides say the theme for today's meeting will be coming together.
The first of President Bush's cabinet nominees faces a confirmation test. The hearing for Alberto Gonzales, the president's pick for attorney general, will begin later this week. Gonzales is expected to face questions on his role in setting policies for the treatment of prisoners in the war on terrorism.
After several high profile box office duds last year, Paramount Pictures is looking for a new chief. Paramount Studios, which released flops like "The Stepford Wives" last year, is in talks to name Brad Grey as its new head. Grey is known for his management company, which has clients like Adam Sandler, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. He would replace the retiring Sherry Lansing. That's going on there.
HEMMER: There's a hit in there somewhere, right?
COLLINS: Somewhere. Keep trying.
HEMMER: Oh, yes. Probably a couple. Listen, another foot of snow has fallen in California, the northern part of the state there. Dogsleds now a good option for getting around the high Sierras. In some parts, many roads impassable after nine feet of snow fell in only three days.
And I tell you what, Chad, when I heard five feet of snow had fallen there...
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes?
HEMMER: You thought that's a lot.
MYERS: Well, of course.
HEMMER: That's pretty much going to take care of the season.
MYERS: Yes.
HEMMER: Now they've almost doubled that.
MYERS: They have.
HEMMER: Good morning to you.
MYERS: Squaw Valley.
Good morning.
A hundred and sixty-five inches of snow on the top. And we're just in January. I mean, and there's another two storms in the pipeline, another one for, I want to call it maybe Friday, and another one for Wednesday of next week. Just one right after the other. There's more rain today than there is snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, just when you thought it was safe to eat a burger, there's another mad cow scare. We'll tell you about that in a moment.
HEMMER: Also, more on the tsunami disaster from Asia. Meet a man who dove into deadly waters to save the lives of children, as others had run away in desperation. We'll get to that in a moment.
COLLINS: And is rebuilding more important now than preventing disease? One nation's relief dilemma ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Canadian officials have confirmed that a dairy cow in the western province of Alberta does, in fact, have mad cow disease. The news comes just days after the United States said it would relax a ban on Canadian cattle imports.
My next guest is the author of "Mad Cow USA."
John Stauber joins me now from Madison, Wisconsin.
Thanks for being with us, sir.
JOHN STAUBER, AUTHOR, "MAD COW USA": Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
COLLINS: Let me quickly ask you, do you think that the United States actually should now rethink its policy given the latest news?
STAUBER: I hope the United States rethinks its policy. But the biggest problem we have is that we still haven't done here in the United States what we need to do to stop the spread of mad cow disease. We're still, for instance, feeding cattle blood to calves and we know blood can spread mad cow disease. So we should be just as worried about our failures in the United States as the problems in Canada.
COLLINS: Just so we understand, why is that necessary, to feed the cattle the blood?
STAUBER: Well, it's absolutely not necessary. It's dangerous. It should be stopped. It's not done in other countries where they have mad cow disease. But here in the United States the animal feed and livestock industry's lobby is so powerful that the United States government has failed to ban the feeding of cattle blood to cattle. And so we're still weaning calves on milk replacer that contains cattle blood. It's just a cheap protein but it's not necessary to do, it's dangerous to do.
COLLINS: So it sounds to me like you're saying that there are obviously problems here in the United States, as well as Canada.
STAUBER: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Where does the, you know, where does it begin, I guess I should say?
STAUBER: Well, you know, the funny thing about this deadly dementia disease is we know what to do about it. We have to stop feeding all slaughterhouses waste to livestock. We haven't done that. And we have to extensively test people and animals for this type of disease. This is what solved the problem in the European nations and Japan. We're just not doing it here. We're spinning this issue rather than solving it.
COLLINS: All right, well, John Stauber, we certainly appreciate your time this morning.
We'll continue to watch this one.
The author of "Mad Cow USA."
Thanks, sir.
STAUBER: Thank you. HEMMER: Seventeen minutes past the hour now.
The death toll in the Asian tsunami catastrophe now at more than 156,000.
We want to check in now with Sri Lanka, where the death toll there now tops 46,000. Major concerns there heading off disease and also housing the 900,000 people now left homeless.
Jeffrey Lunstead is U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka.
He's my guest now live in Colombo, the capital there, off the southeastern coast of India.
It's our understanding, sir, that 15 Americans perished as a result of this storm a week ago, yet over the weekend also Secretary of State Colin Powell indicating that thousands of Americans are still missing. He wasn't indicating that these people have perished, but perhaps they have not turned up.
Can you give us an indication now, throughout the region, as best you can, about the American casualty number?
JEFFREY LUNSTEAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SRI LANKA: Well, I can speak about the Americans in Sri Lanka, not through the region. We have seven confirmed dead Americans in Sri Lanka. We've located about 500 Americans who are reported to be here. We've had inquiries about a thousand others. We're trying to trace those down. In some cases we don't even know if they were in the country or if they were in the beach region. They may have left. We're working very hard. We have a phone bank which we're using to call people to see.
We've sent teams out to different areas in the country, quite remote areas. We are finding people, Americans who are there who survived and have not come back to Colombo and have not left the country. It's an ongoing effort. We're whittling the numbers down as we go.
HEMMER: I want to talk a little more about that aid, Mr. Ambassador.
The "New York Times" indicates that the U.S. aid going to Sri Lanka will be used for reconstruction projects rather than emergency food and shelter.
If that's the case, if that's true, why is that decision being made at this point?
LUNSTEAD: Well, actually it's both. We've spent about $2.5 million on emergency issues to provide water, jerry cans so people can get water, plastic sheeting for shelters. And the country is beginning to move out of that emergency issue, although there's still a crucial need for clean drinking water and we're working on sanitizing wells so that people can get clean drinking water.
But we're moving out of that phase now and we're moving into a reconstruction phase. We've allocated $12 million for that initially. We're starting to let contracts for that. We're going to do cash for work projects where we will take people, put them to work, which will have a dual benefit, one, they'll do things like clean rubble, repair schools and they'll get cash, which will put cash back into the local economy.
HEMMER: We talked a little bit more about...
LUNSTEAD: We call this livelihood restoration.
HEMMER: I'm sorry...
LUNSTEAD: We're also looking at...
HEMMER: I apologize. There's a delay in the satellite here.
LUNSTEAD: Sure.
HEMMER: But when it comes to distributing the aid and the money, can you do that at this point? Or is the infrastructure so torn apart that it's becoming more difficult even to distribute that?
LUNSTEAD: No. It's possible to do it. In fact, the situation is improving. And there are, in terms of using the money, we have a number of partners who have been here for quite some time, well known international organizations. We use them. They have set up on the ground. They're ready to go to work. They're working already.
HEMMER: I also understand torrential rains in the area have not helped matters.
How is the weather now and how is that affecting you if the flash flooding continues?
LUNSTEAD: The weather has improved now. The rains were Friday and Saturday. It stopped raining now and so that situation is improving. People are able to get through again.
HEMMER: Well, my very best to you.
If you need one thing at this point, what would you tell our viewers is the most pressing concern at this time?
LUNSTEAD: Well, the immediate concern is sanitation, provision of clean drinking water and facilities for people. That's today. I think in a week or so we'll be out of that. And then the need will be for reconstruction. And we have, as you may know, we have our U.S. military coming in here. We have a U.S. Navy ship expected to arrive on Thursday with Marines, with heavy lift helicopters, with construction equipment. And that will help clear the rubble, restore the roads and bridges. That will allow people to resume their livelihoods, which is the next most important thing after their emergency needs are met.
HEMMER: My very best to you.
An enormous job in front of you and all the people living there in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Jeffrey Lunstead, the U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka, thank you.
LUNSTEAD: I'm not hearing anything anymore.
HEMMER: I can hear you just fine.
I want to say thank you to you and my best to you, as well, Mr. Ambassador.
Remember, as this story continues to unfold check out our Web site at cnn.com for the latest information on what's happening in Asia. There are many first hand recounts from survivors and information, too, on relief efforts so that you can help, as well. They're online for you right now.
America opens its heart and its wallet. But is $350 million still not enough? Kamber and May in a moment join us on that topic, when we continue, right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Here's Jack and the Question of the Day -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
What to do with suspected terrorists the United States doesn't want to release or turn over to the courts. There's a story in the "Washington Post" that there are plans for indefinitely holding these people, perhaps for life. One idea under discussion, a new $25 million, 200-bed prison for suspected terrorists who are unlikely to ever go to court because of a lack of evidence. No public hearings in Congress have been held on CIA detention practices and Senate leaders are criticizing the indefinite detentions as unconstitutional.
The question is this, how should the United States handle terror suspects that it's unwilling to release or turn over to the courts?
John in Illinois: "I support all plans for continued lockup of these individuals."
Reg in Thunder Bay, Ontario: "No problem, Jack. Just find the liberal judges who want to release them and move them into their basements."
Paul in Hellertown, Pennsylvania: "Dear Jack, indeterminate sentencing, perhaps for life, represents just one practice we are supposedly fighting against in so-called repressive regimes. Apparently due process of law applies to us, but only when it's convenient."
And this, which is worth paying attention to. Rex writes from Toronto: "Winston Churchill said the power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law and to deny him the judgment of his peers is in the highest degree odious and the foundation of all totalitarian government, whether Nazi or communist. Be afraid, Jack. Be very afraid."
COLLINS: We'll read more e-mails as they come in today.
Thank you, Jack.
Well, it turns out that the biggest tsunami relief workers are elephants. Eleven elephants are towing heavy objects and clearing debris in hard hit Sumatra. Another half dozen elephants, the same ones that starred in the movie "Alexander," are at work in Thailand. They can go where a lot of heavy equipment cannot. They stop to eat now and then, but otherwise get quite a bit of work done, as you see here.
HEMMER: That they do.
COLLINS: Wow!
HEMMER: Washed out roads and bridges one reason relief is slow to getting to tsunami victims. How about politics? Will politics end up costing lives, as well?
A live report back to Sri Lanka on that angle in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: You can get the latest news every morning in your e- mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING quick news at cnn.com/am.
In a moment, when everyone else ran away, he dove in. Dr. Sanjay Gupta meets a hero who risked his life to save children caught in the tsunami, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Live in New York City, 8:30 here on a Monday morning.
And good morning to you.
Nice to have you along with us today on this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
Soledad, my partner, is in Thailand today, one of the countries hard hit by the tsunami. We'll check in with Soledad a bit later this hour.
Also in a moment here, $2 billion in relief assistance pledged. How much of it is getting to the people who need it the most? A firsthand look at what happens in an aid distribution center this morning.
Also, Sanjay is overseas. In a moment, he'll tell us about a village in Sri Lanka hit hard by the waves, but now trying to get back to normal. Amid all the devastation, one sign life is returning a bit to normal. They say someone's been water skiing out there. So we'll get to Sanjay, who's overseas this morning.
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Aired January 3, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: By land and air and sea, a massive relief effort in the aftermath of the tsunami. Will help arrive, though, in time to save the survivors?
The U.S. now saying beef imports from Canadian will resume even after another case of mad cow disease is discover there.
And buried down deep -- a winter storm that just keeps on coming on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you guys in New York.
It's 8:00 p.m. here in Phuket in Thailand.
As you can see over my shoulder, very dark here.
I want to show you some pictures of some of the work that's been going on here. A couple of hour's drive north of here is where some of the very worst damage in Phuket has been seen. Entire villages really just wiped away by the force of the tsunami that just ripped through, obviously, many, many people. Thousands killed in the region. But even more than that, the lives of those who have survived completely uprooted.
Coming up in just a little bit, we're going to talk to a man who's made it his mission to try to help some of those folks. That's just ahead -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, thanks, reporting live in Phuket.
We'll get back to you in a few moments here.
The latest, though, that we have on the story this morning, there are now at least 156,000 people reported dead and still tens of thousands of others still missing.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush leaving yesterday, arriving in Thailand later today. Also on their tour list is Indonesia and possibly Sri Lanka after that.
Helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln flying supplies to remote parts of Indonesia. Twelve hundred Marines helping to distribute aid in Sri Lanka. The U.N. says about $2 billion in aid has been pledged internationally and $350 million of that has come so far from the U.S., $500 million from the country of Japan.
With that as a backdrop, we want to get back to Soledad now with more now in Phuket, Thailand -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, let's talk a little bit more, in fact, about that money.
I wanted to introduce you to a guy named James East.
He is the World Vision Asia Pacific communications director and we have spent a lot of time together over the last couple of days.
First, thanks for talking to us.
Give me a sense of how much money you've been able to raise.
JAMES EAST, WORLD VISION ASIA: Well, so far, what we've done internationally has raised about $60 million, which is, you know, an amazing figure. When we raised money for Gujurat, an earthquake that happened in India about three or four years ago, that raised $20 million. So this is three times as much.
O'BRIEN: We're getting word that the Thai government has turned down offers of financial aid and yet groups like yours, relief groups, are saying please don't give us items, give us money.
EAST: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Why would they turn down offers of financial aid?
EAST: I think that they're concerned about a repetition of some of the aid being given and they feel as though, you know, it might be a little bit uncoordinated. And so organizations like World Vision really help, you know, have a lot of expertise in relief situations. So what we do is we have emergency teams who are ready and prepared to send in that relief aid and we know exactly what people need.
O'BRIEN: It seems to be all based on infrastructure, and that, of course, is also the big problem, is that the infrastructure has been devastated. In the village that we went to, about a two and a half, three hour drive yesterday, about -- from here, where we are right now -- it seemed as if there were people who had nothing.
What do you do for folks like that? These are mostly Thai.
EAST: Sure. First of all, you've got to make sure that they've got food. I mean, the basics, food, shelter. And then once they've got those in place, then you can start to work toward longer-term goals of making sure that the community becomes stable and people have jobs again and, you know, people -- the children particularly have a place where they can be cared for. Many -- there are many orphans who have been... O'BRIEN: What do you do in those cases? I mean how are you taking care of and what's your long range plan to take care of those children who have lost everything?
EAST: Well, in many of these villages there are extended families. So we can usually find a place for that child within the larger family. And then we'll provide psycho-social support for those children.
O'BRIEN: Because the schools are gone, the stores are gone, everything is gone.
EAST: Exactly. Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Yesterday when we were taking a look at some of these villages that had been wiped away, we were talking about some of the villagers who are living in the mountains still because they're in shock -- they cannot come down -- or living in their houses that have been just completely, you know, not -- house is the wrong word. I mean, shells of a home.
EAST: Sure.
O'BRIEN: What do you do for someone like that, who's not coming to the relief center?
EAST: What we're doing at the moment is we have these assessment teams going out to try and find these people. And once you find them, you just spend some time talking with them because basically many of these people have lost everyone, you know, five, six, seven members of their family. So they're just in a daze. So if you can come alongside them, provide some support and then gradually bring them back into the area where the village was and provide support for them with food and hook them up with, you know, neighbors.
O'BRIEN: James East from World Vision Asia Pacific.
Thank you for your time this evening and also your time yesterday, as we did our tour around Thailand.
EAST: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I really appreciate it. It's been nice to spend some time with you.
Thank you.
EAST: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I want to tell you a little bit, Bill, about the Phi Phi Islands. We spent the day there today. Basically what they did today was to continue their recovery efforts, pulling bodies out of the rubble. They're using now the heavy equipment to take some of those big pieces of metal and debris that have fallen and shift them off of the rooftops. And as they do that, they are, unfortunately, are, in some cases, I would imagine, for some of the family members of the victims, fortunately bringing them some closure as they find bodies.
The big problem, though, it's been such a long time and decomposing in the hot sun, it is virtually impossible, we are told, to identify any of the remains. Fifty-eight bodies found there on that island alone yesterday. Many more, again, today, as well. And the scope of the disaster there just incredible.
I want to introduce you to Geoff Starr.
He is a man who is living in a bungalow on Phi Phi Island. And the devastation there, tell me a little bit about what happened. Your bungalow is on the side of the island so you were not specifically hit by the tsunami. You saw everything that was happening, though.
GEOFF STARR, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: It came through a channel, basically, in the island where I was. There's a reservoir in the middle of the island and my bungalow looks out into that and it's raised up by about five meters. And I heard a noise. I was in my bungalow.
O'BRIEN: What did it sound like?
STARR: It was a rumbling noise. I thought it was like a construction site or something.
O'BRIEN: What did you do?
STARR: I just opened my door. It was like what's going on, you know? It's louder and louder and louder. And then I saw the wave coming in, bang, bang, bang, taking everything away, flattening everything. Then it just calmed down completely when it hit the reservoir in front of me. And then there was people in the water. So I just chucked some trousers on and I just ran down and I went into the water and started helping people.
O'BRIEN: Was the water churning and flowing? And was that...
STARR: Not at all.
O'BRIEN: Was there debris in it?
STARR: Yes, there was debris. Yes, there was lots of debris in the water and people screaming and the problem is a lot of the Thai people can't swim.
O'BRIEN: Right.
STARR: So I took as many people as I possibly could, but they were jumping on top of me. But I've had some training in that, because I'm a diver. So I assisted them and I took them back in and got other people to help, as well.
O'BRIEN: Where did you put them? Because, of course, a lot of the problem was getting to a level that's high enough to be out of the way of the water. STARR: Absolutely. Yes. Well, where I live, there's a second level. There's like a second floor up there, as well. It's all wooden structures, but we weren't touched at all. So I was directing people to take people, the injured people up and we set up a temporary hospital there. And then people that knew what they were doing with the different kinds of injuries that people had, some people were torniquetting and then there were some people, you know, just -- if they could just talk to the person who was lying in the bed and holding their hand, keeping them conscious until we could them stretchered down to the helicopter.
O'BRIEN: How long did the whole thing take, the first wave and then the second wave that followed it? And of course there was the confusion because you really had two waves, one from one side of the island and the other from the other side of the island...
STARR: That's right. Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... and everybody kind of trapped in between.
STARR: Yes. And...
O'BRIEN: How much time do you think elapsed?
STARR: Well, I'm just talking from my personal experience and I can't go on anything. I just saw the one wave come in and then it flattened out where I was. For the time lapse, it was a couple of -- there was military jets that flew over within an hour, obviously assessing the situation, seeing where the wave was. Then within about, I'd say about three hours, then the helicopters started coming down. And then that's when we started moving people, because we knew where they were landing by the Kabana Hotel.
O'BRIEN: You saved a lot of folks with a lot of the other people out there who were lucky enough to be alive after that.
STARR: Yes.
O'BRIEN: So, thanks for coming in to talk to us about it.
We certainly appreciate it.
You seem a little shaken still. Are you?
STARR: Definitely. It's going to take a long time, yes.
Yes.
O'BRIEN: Jeff Starr, thank you.
I appreciate it.
STARR: Great.
O'BRIEN: And stories like that, I mean, stories of survival, of course, all good news. But the stories that were less successful in some ways even more prevalent -- Bill.
We'll have more of those, of course, for you throughout the evening, the morning where you are -- back to you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Soledad.
8:00 there in Thailand and thousands and thousands of stories that continue to unfold by the day.
Thanks, Soledad.
Talk to you again next hour here.
There is breaking news out of Iraq.
For the latest on that, Heidi Collins here with the headlines here -- good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
And good morning to you, everybody.
That's right, word of more violence in Baghdad, as a matter of fact. A suicide car bomb exploded about 45 minutes ago just west of the so-called green zone. No immediate word on casualties.
Earlier today, a suicide car bomb killed at least four people near the headquarters of Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. We'll keep our eye on things happening there in Baghdad.
Also, here in the United States, President Bush meeting with new law makers one day before a new session of Congress convenes. The president is back at the White House this morning, after spending the holidays at his Texas ranch. He's expected to meet with nine senators, 41 newly elected representatives. Aides say the theme for today's meeting will be coming together.
The first of President Bush's cabinet nominees faces a confirmation test. The hearing for Alberto Gonzales, the president's pick for attorney general, will begin later this week. Gonzales is expected to face questions on his role in setting policies for the treatment of prisoners in the war on terrorism.
After several high profile box office duds last year, Paramount Pictures is looking for a new chief. Paramount Studios, which released flops like "The Stepford Wives" last year, is in talks to name Brad Grey as its new head. Grey is known for his management company, which has clients like Adam Sandler, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. He would replace the retiring Sherry Lansing. That's going on there.
HEMMER: There's a hit in there somewhere, right?
COLLINS: Somewhere. Keep trying.
HEMMER: Oh, yes. Probably a couple. Listen, another foot of snow has fallen in California, the northern part of the state there. Dogsleds now a good option for getting around the high Sierras. In some parts, many roads impassable after nine feet of snow fell in only three days.
And I tell you what, Chad, when I heard five feet of snow had fallen there...
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes?
HEMMER: You thought that's a lot.
MYERS: Well, of course.
HEMMER: That's pretty much going to take care of the season.
MYERS: Yes.
HEMMER: Now they've almost doubled that.
MYERS: They have.
HEMMER: Good morning to you.
MYERS: Squaw Valley.
Good morning.
A hundred and sixty-five inches of snow on the top. And we're just in January. I mean, and there's another two storms in the pipeline, another one for, I want to call it maybe Friday, and another one for Wednesday of next week. Just one right after the other. There's more rain today than there is snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, just when you thought it was safe to eat a burger, there's another mad cow scare. We'll tell you about that in a moment.
HEMMER: Also, more on the tsunami disaster from Asia. Meet a man who dove into deadly waters to save the lives of children, as others had run away in desperation. We'll get to that in a moment.
COLLINS: And is rebuilding more important now than preventing disease? One nation's relief dilemma ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Canadian officials have confirmed that a dairy cow in the western province of Alberta does, in fact, have mad cow disease. The news comes just days after the United States said it would relax a ban on Canadian cattle imports.
My next guest is the author of "Mad Cow USA."
John Stauber joins me now from Madison, Wisconsin.
Thanks for being with us, sir.
JOHN STAUBER, AUTHOR, "MAD COW USA": Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
COLLINS: Let me quickly ask you, do you think that the United States actually should now rethink its policy given the latest news?
STAUBER: I hope the United States rethinks its policy. But the biggest problem we have is that we still haven't done here in the United States what we need to do to stop the spread of mad cow disease. We're still, for instance, feeding cattle blood to calves and we know blood can spread mad cow disease. So we should be just as worried about our failures in the United States as the problems in Canada.
COLLINS: Just so we understand, why is that necessary, to feed the cattle the blood?
STAUBER: Well, it's absolutely not necessary. It's dangerous. It should be stopped. It's not done in other countries where they have mad cow disease. But here in the United States the animal feed and livestock industry's lobby is so powerful that the United States government has failed to ban the feeding of cattle blood to cattle. And so we're still weaning calves on milk replacer that contains cattle blood. It's just a cheap protein but it's not necessary to do, it's dangerous to do.
COLLINS: So it sounds to me like you're saying that there are obviously problems here in the United States, as well as Canada.
STAUBER: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Where does the, you know, where does it begin, I guess I should say?
STAUBER: Well, you know, the funny thing about this deadly dementia disease is we know what to do about it. We have to stop feeding all slaughterhouses waste to livestock. We haven't done that. And we have to extensively test people and animals for this type of disease. This is what solved the problem in the European nations and Japan. We're just not doing it here. We're spinning this issue rather than solving it.
COLLINS: All right, well, John Stauber, we certainly appreciate your time this morning.
We'll continue to watch this one.
The author of "Mad Cow USA."
Thanks, sir.
STAUBER: Thank you. HEMMER: Seventeen minutes past the hour now.
The death toll in the Asian tsunami catastrophe now at more than 156,000.
We want to check in now with Sri Lanka, where the death toll there now tops 46,000. Major concerns there heading off disease and also housing the 900,000 people now left homeless.
Jeffrey Lunstead is U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka.
He's my guest now live in Colombo, the capital there, off the southeastern coast of India.
It's our understanding, sir, that 15 Americans perished as a result of this storm a week ago, yet over the weekend also Secretary of State Colin Powell indicating that thousands of Americans are still missing. He wasn't indicating that these people have perished, but perhaps they have not turned up.
Can you give us an indication now, throughout the region, as best you can, about the American casualty number?
JEFFREY LUNSTEAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SRI LANKA: Well, I can speak about the Americans in Sri Lanka, not through the region. We have seven confirmed dead Americans in Sri Lanka. We've located about 500 Americans who are reported to be here. We've had inquiries about a thousand others. We're trying to trace those down. In some cases we don't even know if they were in the country or if they were in the beach region. They may have left. We're working very hard. We have a phone bank which we're using to call people to see.
We've sent teams out to different areas in the country, quite remote areas. We are finding people, Americans who are there who survived and have not come back to Colombo and have not left the country. It's an ongoing effort. We're whittling the numbers down as we go.
HEMMER: I want to talk a little more about that aid, Mr. Ambassador.
The "New York Times" indicates that the U.S. aid going to Sri Lanka will be used for reconstruction projects rather than emergency food and shelter.
If that's the case, if that's true, why is that decision being made at this point?
LUNSTEAD: Well, actually it's both. We've spent about $2.5 million on emergency issues to provide water, jerry cans so people can get water, plastic sheeting for shelters. And the country is beginning to move out of that emergency issue, although there's still a crucial need for clean drinking water and we're working on sanitizing wells so that people can get clean drinking water.
But we're moving out of that phase now and we're moving into a reconstruction phase. We've allocated $12 million for that initially. We're starting to let contracts for that. We're going to do cash for work projects where we will take people, put them to work, which will have a dual benefit, one, they'll do things like clean rubble, repair schools and they'll get cash, which will put cash back into the local economy.
HEMMER: We talked a little bit more about...
LUNSTEAD: We call this livelihood restoration.
HEMMER: I'm sorry...
LUNSTEAD: We're also looking at...
HEMMER: I apologize. There's a delay in the satellite here.
LUNSTEAD: Sure.
HEMMER: But when it comes to distributing the aid and the money, can you do that at this point? Or is the infrastructure so torn apart that it's becoming more difficult even to distribute that?
LUNSTEAD: No. It's possible to do it. In fact, the situation is improving. And there are, in terms of using the money, we have a number of partners who have been here for quite some time, well known international organizations. We use them. They have set up on the ground. They're ready to go to work. They're working already.
HEMMER: I also understand torrential rains in the area have not helped matters.
How is the weather now and how is that affecting you if the flash flooding continues?
LUNSTEAD: The weather has improved now. The rains were Friday and Saturday. It stopped raining now and so that situation is improving. People are able to get through again.
HEMMER: Well, my very best to you.
If you need one thing at this point, what would you tell our viewers is the most pressing concern at this time?
LUNSTEAD: Well, the immediate concern is sanitation, provision of clean drinking water and facilities for people. That's today. I think in a week or so we'll be out of that. And then the need will be for reconstruction. And we have, as you may know, we have our U.S. military coming in here. We have a U.S. Navy ship expected to arrive on Thursday with Marines, with heavy lift helicopters, with construction equipment. And that will help clear the rubble, restore the roads and bridges. That will allow people to resume their livelihoods, which is the next most important thing after their emergency needs are met.
HEMMER: My very best to you.
An enormous job in front of you and all the people living there in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Jeffrey Lunstead, the U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka, thank you.
LUNSTEAD: I'm not hearing anything anymore.
HEMMER: I can hear you just fine.
I want to say thank you to you and my best to you, as well, Mr. Ambassador.
Remember, as this story continues to unfold check out our Web site at cnn.com for the latest information on what's happening in Asia. There are many first hand recounts from survivors and information, too, on relief efforts so that you can help, as well. They're online for you right now.
America opens its heart and its wallet. But is $350 million still not enough? Kamber and May in a moment join us on that topic, when we continue, right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Here's Jack and the Question of the Day -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
What to do with suspected terrorists the United States doesn't want to release or turn over to the courts. There's a story in the "Washington Post" that there are plans for indefinitely holding these people, perhaps for life. One idea under discussion, a new $25 million, 200-bed prison for suspected terrorists who are unlikely to ever go to court because of a lack of evidence. No public hearings in Congress have been held on CIA detention practices and Senate leaders are criticizing the indefinite detentions as unconstitutional.
The question is this, how should the United States handle terror suspects that it's unwilling to release or turn over to the courts?
John in Illinois: "I support all plans for continued lockup of these individuals."
Reg in Thunder Bay, Ontario: "No problem, Jack. Just find the liberal judges who want to release them and move them into their basements."
Paul in Hellertown, Pennsylvania: "Dear Jack, indeterminate sentencing, perhaps for life, represents just one practice we are supposedly fighting against in so-called repressive regimes. Apparently due process of law applies to us, but only when it's convenient."
And this, which is worth paying attention to. Rex writes from Toronto: "Winston Churchill said the power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law and to deny him the judgment of his peers is in the highest degree odious and the foundation of all totalitarian government, whether Nazi or communist. Be afraid, Jack. Be very afraid."
COLLINS: We'll read more e-mails as they come in today.
Thank you, Jack.
Well, it turns out that the biggest tsunami relief workers are elephants. Eleven elephants are towing heavy objects and clearing debris in hard hit Sumatra. Another half dozen elephants, the same ones that starred in the movie "Alexander," are at work in Thailand. They can go where a lot of heavy equipment cannot. They stop to eat now and then, but otherwise get quite a bit of work done, as you see here.
HEMMER: That they do.
COLLINS: Wow!
HEMMER: Washed out roads and bridges one reason relief is slow to getting to tsunami victims. How about politics? Will politics end up costing lives, as well?
A live report back to Sri Lanka on that angle in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: You can get the latest news every morning in your e- mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING quick news at cnn.com/am.
In a moment, when everyone else ran away, he dove in. Dr. Sanjay Gupta meets a hero who risked his life to save children caught in the tsunami, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Live in New York City, 8:30 here on a Monday morning.
And good morning to you.
Nice to have you along with us today on this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
Soledad, my partner, is in Thailand today, one of the countries hard hit by the tsunami. We'll check in with Soledad a bit later this hour.
Also in a moment here, $2 billion in relief assistance pledged. How much of it is getting to the people who need it the most? A firsthand look at what happens in an aid distribution center this morning.
Also, Sanjay is overseas. In a moment, he'll tell us about a village in Sri Lanka hit hard by the waves, but now trying to get back to normal. Amid all the devastation, one sign life is returning a bit to normal. They say someone's been water skiing out there. So we'll get to Sanjay, who's overseas this morning.
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