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Unknowing

Additional images I took two days before the earthquake and tsunami. I have good news and bad. Good: I just received word that two of my friends were on the island of Koh Phi Phi – the island the movie, “The Beach” was filmed on. This island was hit very hard by the tsunami (near Phuket). My friends were on a boat crossing to mainland ONE HOUR before the tsunami hit! They are extraordinarily lucky to be alive. Two otherRead more
9 Comments

Calm Before the Storm

I took these images only 2 days before the earthquake. No further words are needed. In case you didn’t see this, it was left as a comment on my previous post. This tragedy is not just ‘headlines’ for many people around the world. Hi Brandon. I�ve just received news that my sister�s husband�s family in Aceh have all perished. The number reached almost 30. The last group of bodies that were found is his uncle, aunt, their 2 year oldRead more
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Images from Aceh and Sumatra

I spent the day away from the television and its disturbing imagery. Tonight, witnessing the local news coverage from Indonesian stations has forever etched the horror into my memory. Once again, they are showing video and photographs that will never reach the major media networks. A few examples of what I’m seeing: Military men pulling bodies from the waist high water, and stacking them in trucks like bags of rice. Relief workers climbing trees to remove the bodies of thoseRead more
36 Comments

Local Television Coverage

Flipping through the various news stations, I came upon MetroTV – an Indonesian station. There is none of the edited footage being looped on BBC or CNN – they’re showing rooms full of children who’ve drowned, stacks of bodies being taken away in ambulances, mothers finding their infants dead. The hardest part is seeing the children – they are showing a dozen children lying in a row, all dead. I’m truly sorry if this image offends you, however, I doRead more
16 Comments

Earthquake and Devastation

I have friends visiting Sumatera and Phucket, Thailand. They were planning on diving off the coast of Phucket, and it’s been reported that 40 to 100 divers are missing or trapped. I have no way of contacting them and haven’t heard any word from anyone yet. There is an echo of September 11 in the surreal feeling of watching the events unfold on BBC and CNN. My home is only 2 miles from the coastline in North Jakarta – aRead more