REQUEST TO THE THAI MINISTRY OF INTERIOR

Ministry of Interior, Thailand

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation

3/12 U-Thong Nok Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300

Tel/Fax : 662-243 5279

foreign_dpm@yahoo.com

www.disaster.go.th/html/english

“DDPM is a government department. It was established in October 2003.

The duties of DDPM are:

(1) Formulate policy, guideline and set up criteria for disaster management

(2) Study, analyze, research and develop the prevention, warning and disaster mitigation systems

(3) Develop information technology system for disaster prevention, warning and mitigation

(4) Mobilize people's participation in establishing disaster prevention and mitigation

(5) Create people's awareness and preparedness in disaster prevention and mitigation

(6) Arranging the training and exercise in disaster prevention and mitigation, rehabilitation devastated area and in assisting the victims as stated by law

(7) Promote, support and carry out disaster prevention and mitigation activities, provide assistance to the victims and rehabilitate devastated areas

(8) Direct and coordinate the operation of assisting the victims and rehabilitate the areas devastated by large-scale or high magnitude disaster

(9) Coordinate the assistance with the organizations both internal and international in disaster prevention mitigation and rehabilitation

(10) Perform any other functions stated in by the laws as the Department's tasks or as assigned by Ministry of Interior or the Cabinet”

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Official Thai Tsunami Information Center

nopadol@csiphuket.com

http://www.csiphuket.com/

“Thailand is one of the countries affected by the Tsunami natural disaster on 26 December 2004. In order to provide up to the minute, precise information both private and public sectors have collaboratively established the “Official Thai Tsunami Information Centre”, at which to consolidate information from all related units. The data network system has also been set up to provide victims’ relatives and other organizations with fast and accurate information. It is also the information centre for personal belongings of the victims that can be used in identification.”

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Dec. 8, 2007

Re: Thai tsunami disaster documentation

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the tsunami of 2004, the Thai government invited interested 498 persons from 23 countries to attend official remembrance ceremonies. Their expenses were fully refunded. These persons were close relatives of the deceased. All of them were contacted per e-mail. The whole event was so well organized that the Thai authorities have to be commended for it.

We are an international tsunami victims’ association and we wish to set up a worldwide community of survivors and close ones that stays permanently in touch with each other. For this purpose we need names and addresses wherever they can be found.

We would very much appreciate if the Thai authorities could put these data and others (like photos of the tsunami disaster, pictures of the victims for identification, etc.) at our disposal.

We are working to assemble a comprehensive documentation of the disaster and would welcome any assistance that we could get from your country. Please, make an extra effort to transcribe correctly the victims’ names from Thai into Latin script.

Yours faithfully,

Jerzy Chojnowski

Chairman-GTVRG e.V.

www.gtvrg.de

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Our request remained still unanswered without any result or reaction so far.