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CNN Live Today

Tsunami Recovery One Year Later; Erich Krauss Interview;

Aired December 26, 2005 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are right at the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's what's happening "Now in the News."
A search is underway in the Hackensack River in New Jersey for the body of a police officer who is presumed dead. His police vehicle plunged more than 40 feet off of an open draw bridge. The do the body of another officer with him has been recovered. Authorities say the officers were responding to a traffic call, last night. And it was so foggy, they didn't realize the bridge had been opened.

Vigils, memorials, and other tributes are being held today to mark one of the worst natural disasters in history. It was one year ago today that south Asia was a catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean. More than 200,000 people killed in a dozen countries. Indonesia's Aceh Province was the hardest hit.

Violence has climbed Iraqi lives today, including six Iraqi police officers and two soldiers. More that 50 other people where wounded. In one attack, a blast wounded the governor of the Diyala province when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy. One of his guards died in the attack.

Ukraine's president made an unannounced visit to Iraq, today. President Viktor Yushchenko visited Ukrainian troops and observed the hand over of the weapons and a ammunitions to the Iraqi military. His country's last 867 troops are pulling out of Iraq, they're all due home by Friday.

Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown in Austria have removed his name from a soccer stadium. The California governor had requested that after Austrian critics blasted him for refusing to block the execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams earlier this month. Capital punishment is illegal in Austria and many people consider it barbaric.

The tsunami, the world pledged $13 billion today's help victims rebuild. A year later, 1.5 million people still live in tents or some other form of temporarily shelter. Some context here for you, that is roughly the population of the greater Indianapolis area. CNN producer Alex Quade covered the disaster last December and she goes back to see what has changed and what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When we first met Nasir (ph), his life was hard, his family village gone, swept away by the tsunami. A year ago, while other children swam, 13-year-old Nasir scrubbed laundry. Just getting by was a daily struggle, with work and memories.

NASIR, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR (through translator): I ran to the mosque to save us. Then the mosque was hit by the wave and the water came in. I had my two sisters on my lap. They kept calling for my mother. More water came in, they couldn't breathe, and were limp. I didn't let go of their hands, I held them tight, then I couldn't breathe anymore, so I let go. Somebody saved me.

QUADE: Nasir thought he was orphaned and ended up here in a refugee tent, cooking.

NASIR (through translator): I want to buy vegetables, but have no money.

QUADE: Cleaning.

NASIR (through translator): All I do every day is wash the dishes.

QUADE: Feeling guilty.

NASIR (through translator): Last time I saw my father, "take care of your sisters," he said, then he left. Half an hour later, the water came.

QUADE: Days later, Nasir's life changed again. The mother he thought dead showed up at his tent.

NASIR (through translator): Before I found my mother, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep at night. Every day for a week I went searching for my mother.

QUADE: She helped him wash for prayers, but was too depressed to do much else.

NASIR (through translator): I am responsible for my mother now. She can't work. She thinks about my sisters. When the tsunami came, my mother almost surrendered, she wanted to die with her children.

QUADE: So, Nasir works even harder to care for them both.

NASIR (through translator): The difficult part is thinking about my dead family and what our future will be.

QUADE: One year later at a new camp, an hour away in the hills, I find 13-year-old Nasir, still living in a tent.

NASIR (through translator): We are given a bag of rice three times a month. You put the food in here, so no-flies get in.

QUADE: He, his mother and 1,500 other tsunami victims share this camp with cows, goats, cats.

NASIR (through translator): After 12:00 a.m. there are 20 dogs that bark all night, it's difficult to sleep.

QUADE: It's noisy. There's no privacy.

NASIR (through translator): We bathe and wash clothes in the communal toilet area.

QUADE (on camera): The last time we talked you are doing so many things for your mom. Are you still doing so much?

NASIR (through translator): I did all of that stuff at the first camp because I had had no other family, but now my mother does more things.

QUADE (voice-over): But she is still too depressed to work.

NASIR (through translator): My mother cannot survive without me. I worry when I leave her alone to go to school. I asked, "Should I quit school to work?" And she said, "No, you must go to school. It's hard to find money just to survive."

QUADE: He wants to get a job picking coconuts.

NASIR (through translator): I need a good job. So if my mother is sick, there's money to go to the hospital. I hate to see her suffer.

QUADE: Nasir, too, suffers and prays at the mosque five times a day to help deal with his pain.

NASIR (through translator): I really miss my father and my little sisters, because no one can replace them. I've had the same dream more then 10 times when I wake up, I wonder if it's going to happen again or not. Last night, I dreamed the tsunami was happening here, at the new camp.

QUADE: Only one thing brings him joy in this refugee life.

NASIR (through translator): This is my monkey named "Joy." I got "Joy" from the tsunami.

QUADE: His best friend at camp.

(on camera): Has having a pet monkey made it easier to live in the camp?

NASIR (through translator): Yes, I'm very happy to play with "Joy."

QUADE: But his future beyond this camp weighs on him.

NASIR (through translator): When I was five years old, my father told me, when you grow up, you must be a policeman, so that's what I hope to do someday.

QUADE: Until then, Nasir will get through this chapter in his life with a little "Joy."

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: Alex Quade joins us now from New York City. Alex, a few questions for you after watching your report. First of all, what a difference a year makes, Nasir has grown about a foot.

QUADE: Yes, he has. It was surprising to see just how much he had grown and I think his voice changed, as well.

KAGAN: Yes, a young man. How did you find him? That couldn't have been easy to track him down a year later.

QUADE: It really was a needle in a haystack situation. We went to the first refugee camp, and at that location there's about 4,500 tsunami victims that still live there. And we went back to the area where his tent was at that time and the people there said, "Well, we think he may have gone to another camp that's about an hour away up in the hills."

And the only reason they remembered him, they said, "Oh, that's right, you were here before." So we went up to this other camp, we drove up into the hills and just hoped that we might find him. We asked around and we found Nasir, and there he was and his mother.

KAGAN: And do they have hope of finding more permanent housing any time soon?

QUADE: There really -- it's very much a daily struggle. They don't know if they will get permanent housing. There are a lot of land issues and disputes going on. There's property titles that have been lost when the wave came through, so there's a lot of struggle and a lot of just trying to figure out what they are going to do. And as you saw, only about five percent of the people in these camps have managed to find jobs. And that's something that weighs on Nasir's mind as well.

KAGAN: You know, we talked about the depression that his mother faces and that he has to deal with, too, completely understandable when you see what they've gone through. Any kind of mental health resources for these people?

QUADE: Well, when the tsunami first happened, there were so many aid groups that poured in and the volunteers that came in to try to offer counseling. And as the months went by and the other disasters that happened around the world, the Pakistan earthquake, the various hurricanes we had here, a lot of the aid groups left. And they're starting to come back again. And -- but what they have said at the camps, that is depression is a major problem and these people are very traumatized a year later about the deaths of their families. You saw Nasir, he still has nightmares about his dead father and about his little sisters. So, they really don't get the counseling that they would like to get on a daily basis. And the hope is that they will get some more as time goes along.

KAGAN: Alex Quade, you travel to some very faraway places to bring us good stories and we appreciate it. Alex, thank you.

QUADE: Thank you. KAGAN: And tonight on CNN, Paula Zahn focuses her hour on the tsunami. Where life stands a year after the disaster. Tune in 8:00 Eastern for "Paula Zahn Now."

So as you know, the tsunami devastated lives across Asia. Ahead, the story of four families from Thailand and how their lives have changed in the year since the tsunami hit.

But first, a look at CNN's online coverage of the tsunami anniversary, let's check in with Veronica de la Cruz on the Dot Com Desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN DOT COM DESK: A year ago today the largest earthquake in 40 years hit Southeast Asia, the resulting tsunami claimed at least 179,000 lives. Tens of thousands of people were never found. On this day of remembrance, logon to cnn.com/tsunami and see how far along the rebuilding process has come.

Almost $7 billion has been pledged to relief efforts by governments, the U.N. and private donors. A year later, much of that has not been spent. But private groups say they've held back part of the money for long-term construction. This photo gallery chronicles of arduous road to recovery. Read behind the scene stories followed by our reporters on location and personal accounts from people, businesses, and volunteers in the area.

Also, newly installed tsunami alert systems give countries in the region three to 14 hours notice before a tsunami wave comes ashore. For more, check out our special at cnn.com/tsunami. For the Dot Com Desk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We are taking stock of a tragedy today. The day after Christmas marks the anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. On what had been a beautiful, typical day in south Asia, a series of giant waves washed out of the Indian Ocean from Thailand to Sri Lanka. The tsunami killed more than 200,000 people and profoundly changed daily life for countless others.

The story that fateful day and how four Thai families have coped since then. It's told in the book "Wave of Destruction." Author Erich Krauss joins us now, by phone, from Fresno, California.

ERICH KRAUSS, AUTHOR: Hello, how you doing?

KAGAN: I'm doing OK. How did you pick four families from the millions who were affected?

KRAUSS: Well, when I arrived there about 12 days after the tsunami, I was in northern Thailand when the tsunami hit. When I reached the devastated coastal regions, I didn't really know where to begin. A lot of the relief efforts where folks on a tour (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and so I just kind of went wandering and found the village of Nahm Kim (ph) and in the first days after the tsunami it was pretty much abandoned. No one was going there, no relief efforts were there. So that's where I started and I ended up staying there for about 11 months.

KAGAN: And these families that you profile, they had suffered and made it through tough times before the tsunami.

KRAUSS: Correct, correct. A lot of them of were -- you know, they came to Nahm Kim as a last effort to, you know, last effort to raise families and whatnot. Some of them were fighting king corporations that were trying to steal their land. So none of them had it easy prior the tsunami, and of course things just got whole lot worse after.

KAGAN: And was there a common theme or trait that ran through these families and how they've dealt with their tragedies over the last year?

KRAUSS: No, each is totally different. Dang (ph), one of the women I focus on in "Wave of Destruction," organized a community to fight a corporation trying to take their land. So, she's just trying to get back home, trying to get her house rebuilt. Wemon (ph), he lost eight members of the family. His struggle is just to cope with, you know, the tremendous loss and he's done that partially by trying to help other people. Right now there's 50 elderly people in Nahm Kim which lost their entire families.

And in Thai culture, elderly rely on their families to support them in old age, so they're in the temporary housing camps. They have enough rice to eat, but a lot of times they don't have meat, vegetables, they have no real reason to go on living. So, he's trying to raise money and create programs to get them back on their feet.

KAGAN: And you mentioned the Thai culture. How do you think it plays into how these people are facing life now?

KRAUSS: It's a struggle every day. You know, Wemon brought psychological doctors into Nahm Kim to try to help them mentally, because that's the biggest challenge they're facing. A lot of the people I've talk to feel that those that lost their lives on the day of the tsunami were in effect, the lucky ones. So, it's just a -- it's an uphill battle.

I think, you know, the community's slowly starting to rebuild. People are slowly starting to move back into Nahm Kim. So, I think once they get the atmosphere that everyone can go about their daily life again, I think people can start moving forward.

KAGAN: It's clear that you have a love of the Thai people and of this culture. When you go to write this book a year later, do you have any fears that the world is already forgetting about the struggles that they face?

KRAUSS: For sure, for sure. I see that, you know, a lot of the temporarily housing camps are closing down. You know, obviously, their economy is still struggling. People, they don't have jobs and the donations are starting to fade away. And so a lot of the people that I've talked to are really worried about what they're going to do in the future.

So they're just clinging to the temporarily housing camps right now, afraid to moving back into the villages for fear of losing the donations that they're already getting. So there's a real reluctance to step forward -- step away from the camps and try to rebuild their lives.

KAGAN: Well, there are plenty of good stories in your book and plenty stories ahead. The book is called "Wave of Destruction." Erich Krauss, thank you for your time.

KRAUSS: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: And look forward to seeing more of your book. Thank you.

And now to other stories making news overseas this morning, in St. Petersburg, Russia, dozens were sickened today after inhaling a mystery gas that was released in a home goods store. A spokesman for the emergency ministry says 66 of the 78 people who sought medical attention were sent to the hospital. Their conditions were not considered life threatening. Officials say suspicious canisters with timers attached were found in two other outlets of the store chain.

Investigators are searching for the cause of a deadly fire in China. The official Chinese news agency says 26 people died when a fire broke out at a bar, late yesterday. The news agency says the bar in a city near Hong Kong was operating illegally inside of a restaurant. One official says the bar owner has been detained for questioning.

An express train in Japan was apparently blown from the tracks during a winter storm. Four passengers were killed, the rail company says the train was running behind schedule when it crashed late yesterday. The citizen is raising questions about the speed of the train during winter storm warnings. The company president has apologized for the accident and he has promised a full investigation.

We're going to check on weather here in the U.S., coming up next and then the case of the missing "Nun Bun". Do you see the nun? Do you see her face in the picture? Well, what really happened to this holy roll. We'll tell you, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This just in to CNN, A fire in Indianapolis. We're told that this is a restaurant commercial supply building and that they were closed for the holidays. We don't think anyone's inside but it looks like with this fire and the flames and firefighters on the scene trying to put it out, looks like this restaurant supply business has been gutted. Apparently nobody hurt, so that is a -- at least some news there out of Indianapolis.

Let's bring in Chad Myers. Chad, one more word about the popcorn peanut things that come in the packaging.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Chad, we'll put you on the spot here a little bit. The "Nun Bun", have you seen it, the sweet roll that looks like a nun? You're standing it in front of it.

MYERS. Oh!

Look at...

KAGAN: Eww.

Can you see it? It's hard to make out at first? But can you see the nose and the mouth? It's supposed to look like Mother Teresa.

MYERS: Yes, OK, I get it. Looking to the left.

KAGAN: Yes, help our viewers at home there.

MYERS: My left.

KAGAN: Can you point out...

MYERS: Oh, eyes, nose, mouth.

KAGAN: And then like a shrewd. Yes, OK. Got it. Thank you.

MYERS: Sure.

KAGAN: Putting you on the spot there. Well anyhow, this was -- it does appear to have the likeness of Mother Teresa, proven worthy of a theft from a national Tennessee coffee shop. It's known as the "Nun Bun, gained worldwide attention back in 1996 after it was featured on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and a couple sitcoms, as well.

The owner was selling T-shirts and bun-related gifts until Mother Teresa herself asked the store to stop that. But get this, the bun disappeared during a break-in on Christmas Day. So, if you see the bun running around, please return it to the coffee shop.

And that's going to be our final note here, I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next, stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY" with Jim Clancy and Zain Verjee. They are coming up after a quick break.

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