Asians and European struck by the dramatic and destructive force of nature on December 26 were united again in adversity and grief but also in the grim reaction of rescue, salvaging, care and reconstruction.

Several days after the earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra and tidal waves that struck in a radius of thousands of kilometres away, close to 300,000 persons were killed, millions were made homeless and untold damage was estimated in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar and as far away as the east cost of Africa. The most devastated areas appeared to be the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh, Sri Lanka and its own war-torn Jaffna peninsula, the Thai tourist coast and the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Quickly the American, Australian and other military forces in the region were able to be the first to respond for search and rescue missions and to deliver supplies either to the stricken areas or regional centres. Subsequently the entire international relief and humanitarian community was also mobilised as soon as the scope of the tragedy was gradually revealed over the next few days to be one of the worst natural disasters in history. Some significant regional cities in Aceh were shown by aerial photographs to have been virtually razed by the force of the waves and the world became a constant witness to other scenes of devastation and grief.

It was also estimated that children could be the most victimised, comprising perhaps one-third of the fatalities and also suffering as orphans of adults lost.

In the aftermath of years of other waves of economic, health and other disasters which have also targeted many of the regions and less directly the rest of the world that also regards Asia as a partner, the earthquake and tsunami seemed like an additional apocalyptic curse.

The reactions came in succession of rescue, care, and assistance in the form of equipment, supplies, skills, services and their delivery systems as well as funds. The latter in the form of billions from Governments and individuals were easier to measure in numbers.

But another common affliction was revealed to be the inability of systems in both Asia and Europe deal effectively with the concerns and needs of the population.

Governments, institutions, leaders, services, media and their personnel displayed a mixture of devotion, courage, sympathy and initiative, but also unfortunately initial apathy, incompetence and arrogance that was the subject of concern.

In Europe and especially northern Europe where there existed a tradition of social and community concern, leaders, ministers and services were the focus of public anger for initially ignoring the impact and consequences on their ordinary populations, many of who were directly concerned. Some leaders were seen attending the theatre, surfacing a week after the disaster from their own vacations and leisure with lame declarations and gestures of public generosity.

Adding to the mixture and confusion was the often complacent and complicitous nature of the information and communications services who frequently regarded it as their primary mission to obscure the depth of the disaster and wittingly and unwittingly shelter their leaders and institutions.

Press in some countries of the affected region concentrated not on information and data that would have communicated with families, friends, colleagues; neighbours seeking news of victims or rescued. That was left to individuals, while their role was to accentuate the positive news of bravery, luck, rescue, generosity and grief often at the expense of an accurate portrayal of the scope of the efforts needed to overcome this tragedy.

In the Maldives declarations suggested that development could be “set back by 20 years” and the statements could apply to other areas, especially the traumatised regions of Aceh and Jaffna and other parts of Sri Lanka that were already struggling to overcome decades of bloody conflict. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, after visiting some of the affected areas and before an international conference on the disaster in Jakarta, also indicated it could take some 10 years of reconstruction.

The broader region was also seen as possibly being already weakened by the successive waves of communicable diseases, such as SARS, Bird Flu and AIDS in recent years. These had already complicated and burdened development as well as undermined external travel and trade links.

The economic, social, personal and even political upheavals possible as loomed uppermost as world leaders and humanitarian experts met in Jakarta on January 6 to try to coordinate and plan future operations. They were faced by both short-term and long-term challenges ranging from tens of thousands of orphaned children, up to 50% of schools destroyed in these areas and the thousands of destroyed or damaged fishing boats that would hamper a resumption of economic livelihood in fishing communities. The burden of something like 800,000 homeless and displaced persons in Sri Lanka and half a million displaced and homeless persons in Indonesia may also be a constant problem for a long period. Submerged and rotting paddy fields, the source of sustenance and income, may be destroyed for generations. In Sri Lanka, for example, it was estimated that some 30,000 boats of all types, some 75% of the national total, were damaged. The country employed some 250,000 fishermen before the catastrophe and was estimated to have lost 250 houses, 600 kilometres of roads and 200 kilometres of railway. Poultry, goats and other livestock were also victims as much as humans whose loss will also weigh heavily.

Private donations also came from diverse sources, ranging from China’s People’s Liberation Army and its emerging computer giant Lenovo, to other international business firms and individuals and charities. Some European firms also found themselves directly affected, such as for example the French cement producer Lafarge which had plants in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia and may have lost some 350 workers in Indonesia and the French hotel chain ACCOR which had hotels in numerous of the hardest-hit Thai islands and may have also lost some 50 workers on Khao Lak. Throughout Europe and elsewhere large firms donated funds, equipment, transport or supplies ranging from drugs to water. In some cases and countries, impressive sums were collected and Medecins Sans Frontiers which deals only in emergency services halted its collection drive because it felt it had reached its limits in capacity to use the funds collected effectively in the specific countries affected.

But much of the attention was focused on the pledges for financial assistance made by countries and international institutions in the aftermath and the preparation and at the international conference held in Jakarta on January 6 on the subject. Individual governments seemed to be engaged in a drive to increase their pledges and remain in the lead of the biggest donors to the rescue and reconstruction efforts, with the US, Japan, Australia, the EU and others augmenting their original pledge. By the time the Jakarta conference concluded, some $2-3 billion had come from these official sources. A considerable amount had also been announced by charitable organisations, international institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and EU as well as individual international corporations operating in the region or otherwise connected. The conference also agreed in principle to establish an early warning system for the region.

At the Jakarta conference, the EU delegation composed of EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, announced that the EU institutions were allocating €450 million, including €100 million in urgent humanitarian assistance and the rest in medium reconstruction aid. This amount would supplement the approximately €1 billion in other EU aid and the €1 billion in loans set aside by the European Investment Bank for the countries affected. The earliest EU emergency funds were channelled through such organisations as the World Food Programme, World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Red Cross.

The Jakarta meeting was also be followed up by a special meeting in Brussels of EU Development and Aid Ministers and Foreign Ministers and some Health Ministers to address specific needs and strategies in the coming period. The purpose of the latter gathering was more to coordinate relief work and to develop strategies for the future, including the proposed establishment of an EU civil emergency corps. At the emergency meeting in Brussels, ministers considered proposals for possible debt relief for countries in the region as well as creating a rapid response team to deal with future humanitarian catastrophes. The main aim of the meeting, according to the EU presidency, was to coordinate ideas ahead of a UN-hosted donors' conference in Geneva the following week.

In addition, some of the EU deployed various forms of military assets to the disaster area to lend assistance sometimes in the form of transport or logistical support or medical assistance. In addition to the large American and smaller Australian, Japanese and Chinese military presence already in the region or nearby, other countries such as France, the UK and Germany dispatched military units to the area. France sent units such as the helicopter carrier Jeanne d'arc and a frigate to assist the Aceh province on Sumatra, first by using its helicopters to ferry rescue personnel and then sent additional Puma transport helicopters by aircraft to nearby Medan to airlift personnel and supplies. Other transport aircraft including a Iluchin, C-160 were also sent to the region. Another frigate and its component of helicopters were sent to the Maldives, Airbus A-310 and C-135 flew to Sri Lanka and an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft to Thailand to help seek victims.

And a large number of international and European NGOs were also heavily involved either in the region or in their respective countries raising funds through various means, organising for volunteers or supplies or handling other forms of assistance. Longer-term economic impact was also difficult to quantify, with the travel and tourist industries considered to be possibly jeopardised by the loss of infrastructure or demand for their services. Macroeconomic consequences were also more the subject of conjecture rather than firm estimates, but some concern was expressed internationally about the wider economic consequences and the possible diversion of financial aid to the afflicted region to the loss of other poor recipients in Africa or elsewhere, or of eventual "donor fatigue" on this wider situation.

It was generally agreed that over 12 days after the earthquake and tidal wave the attention was shifting somewhat from the original search and rescue operations to more intermediate and long-term priorities such as housing, health and infrastructure, although both would have to continue in parallel.