– It is with great shock, deep sorrow and almost with a feeling that “this cannot be possible”, that we are witnessing the Tsunami tragedy, said Secretary General Nora Sveaass of the International Society of Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) about the horrific tragedy in South Asia. (30-DEC-04) 

Read the statement below

ISHHR Statement – the Tsunami tragedy
Dear friends and colleagues,

It is with great shock, deep sorrow and almost with a feeling that “this cannot be possible”, that we are witnessing the Tsunami tragedy. The number of people who have died, who have been severly injured and are carrying great losses, is growing every single day and we know that we have far from seen any final overview over this devastating event.
Right now securing life and avoiding more injury and health threats have had the highest priority, but after this comes the long and difficult process of understanding what has happened, lives that must be lived with serious losses and communities that must be built up again. This long process of reconstruction will also include important and necessary psychosocial care and interventions.
Many of you will probably be active in this work, doing what you can to ease the pain and losses, and providing assistance to those who have been struck by building and supporting all available resources, in the individual, in the families and in the communities.
Our hope is that this help can be organized as effectfully as possible and reach out to all those who will need it, with the hope that it may reduce some of the worst long term effects.
In this work we must also look into the many experiences that already exist regarding disaster work, and we will therefore remind you of the information brought together on the Health and Human Rights Info
Descriptions, manuals and ways of interventions are to be found here. We hope that this may of use in this work, and we will encourage our members both to look at it and inform others of this resource.
It is a moment of great sorrow in so many countries, affecting so many people. ISHHR is organizing its 7 th Conference in India in January 2005.
And as we know, India is one of the many affected areas. We know that a lot of the attention of health workers and others will be on all the work that has to be done in relation to victims of the disaster. Despite this, our organizing committee is working and dedicating their time to the conference. We are very grateful for this. During the conference the disaster will be a theme for our professional discussions as well our solidarity and emotional reactions.
We must hope that all the peoples in the world will go together in a giant ffort to help and provide assistance. In honour and rememberance of all those whose lives have been lost or deeply affected by this natural disaster.

Nora Sveaass
Secretary General
ISHHR
http://www.ishhr.org

Health and Human Rights Info
http://www.hhri.org