Sunday, February 20, 2005
Sea Gypsies
Got back from Phuket, Thailand last night. You probably saw on CNN et. al. about the visit of the former Presidents to stress the need for ongoing disaster relief.
Have a few stories to tell. Here's the first:
There are a group of non-ethnic Thai people called the Sea Gypsies who have along the coast for centuries. They have a folk tale that says when the water suddenly recedes they must quickly escape inland. That is exactly what happened on the mornng of December 26, and they all fled to safety except for one handicapped man whom they could not get out quickly enough.
On the other hand, many other local villagers took the receding water as a blessing...they saw the thousands of fish flapping in the sand and ran to scoop them up...only to be overwhelemd by the tsunami.
More later...
Have a few stories to tell. Here's the first:
There are a group of non-ethnic Thai people called the Sea Gypsies who have along the coast for centuries. They have a folk tale that says when the water suddenly recedes they must quickly escape inland. That is exactly what happened on the mornng of December 26, and they all fled to safety except for one handicapped man whom they could not get out quickly enough.
On the other hand, many other local villagers took the receding water as a blessing...they saw the thousands of fish flapping in the sand and ran to scoop them up...only to be overwhelemd by the tsunami.
More later...
