Brazil’s Red Cross is receiving donations to help the victims of the tidal wave in Asia, according to the president of the organization in Brazil, Luiz Fernando Hernández.
He explained that the destruction of airport landing strips and transport costs are making it more difficult to send donations to the afflicted regions.
For this reason the Red Cross prefers that people deposit money in an account that has been maintained for many years solely for the purpose of humanitarian help.
“The donations are passed along to the International Red Cross Committee, which takes care of the purchase of medicines, food, and everything else that is necessary, close to where the tragedy occurred,” Hernández explained.
According to him, the destruction of airports delayed the departure of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) plane to Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday (30), carrying around 10 tons of food and 8 tons of medicines that the Brazilian government donated to the region.
Brazilian diplomat, Lys Amayo de Benedek D’Avola and her 10 year-old son, Jean Luca died in the tsunami. Lys had been in Thailand since last year, working as first secretary at the embassy. She was on holidays with her husband and two children on the island of Phi Phi.
On Sunday, Lys, her husband, and their son were on their way to the beach, when they were struck by the huge waves caused by the biggest earthquake in 40 years. Lys’s husband is hospitalized in the beach resort. Their daughter, Thais, who stayed in the hotel, suffered no injuries.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil