01-06-2005, 12:53 AM
Swiss unite in grief for tsunami victims
swissinfo January 5, 2005 9:04 PM
<img src='http://www.swissinfo.org/xobix_media/images/tsr/2005/actu20050105_5449829_0.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
President Samuel Schmid at the memorial service on Wednesday (Keystone)
President Samuel Schmid has urged the Swiss to triumph over adversity during a day of national mourning for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster.
His appeal at a memorial service in Bern on Wednesday came as donations for the tragedy reached record levels.
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Speaking at the multi-faith service in Bern's cathedral, Schmid said the Swiss people shared the grief of all those who had lost loved ones.
He offered his condolences to the families of the missing and the dead, and urged them not to give up hope.
Let us not be overwhelmed by grief, let us turn towards life, he said.
But the Swiss president acknowledged that the loss would be harder to bear for those whose relatives would never be found.
More than 1,200 people, including tsunami survivors and victims families, attended the service.
Children lit candles in the cathedral 11 symbolising the tsunami-hit nations and five representing the home continents of all the victims.
Death toll
So far 23 Swiss have been confirmed dead and 500 are still unaccounted for.
On Tuesday Schmid told the nation that the final death toll would run to several hundred.
We won't give up. We will continue searching. We haven't lost hope, said Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey at an emotional news conference in Bern on Wednesday.
At midday church bells rang out across the country to mark a Europe-wide silence for the dead. Flags hung at half-mast on federal buildings in the capital.
Swiss television broadcast special programmes on Wednesday night for Swiss Solidarity, which works with local organisations in disaster-hit areas.
By late evening the fundraising arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation had collected a record SFr90 million ($77 million).
Aid effort
The Swiss government has pledged SFr27 million in aid and has sent 24 forensic specialists to Thailand to help identify victims of the tsunami.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has sent relief teams to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives.
Up to 150,000 people are estimated to have died in the disaster. Indonesia is the worst affected country with around 95,000 deaths, followed by Sri Lanka with at least 30,000 dead.
Around 10,000 tourists, mostly Europeans, lost their lives in the tidal waves.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that donations for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami were arriving faster than they could be recorded, pushing the amount pledged toward $4 billion.
We are recording pledges of between three and four billion dollars which shows that indeed the world is coming together in a manner we have never ever seen before, said Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief coordinator.
swissinfo January 5, 2005 9:04 PM
<img src='http://www.swissinfo.org/xobix_media/images/tsr/2005/actu20050105_5449829_0.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
President Samuel Schmid at the memorial service on Wednesday (Keystone)
President Samuel Schmid has urged the Swiss to triumph over adversity during a day of national mourning for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster.
His appeal at a memorial service in Bern on Wednesday came as donations for the tragedy reached record levels.
RELATED ITEMS
Firms pledge aid to quake victims
"It's like a nuclear bomb has gone off"
Several hundred Swiss dead in tidal waves
Speaking at the multi-faith service in Bern's cathedral, Schmid said the Swiss people shared the grief of all those who had lost loved ones.
He offered his condolences to the families of the missing and the dead, and urged them not to give up hope.
Let us not be overwhelmed by grief, let us turn towards life, he said.
But the Swiss president acknowledged that the loss would be harder to bear for those whose relatives would never be found.
More than 1,200 people, including tsunami survivors and victims families, attended the service.
Children lit candles in the cathedral 11 symbolising the tsunami-hit nations and five representing the home continents of all the victims.
Death toll
So far 23 Swiss have been confirmed dead and 500 are still unaccounted for.
On Tuesday Schmid told the nation that the final death toll would run to several hundred.
We won't give up. We will continue searching. We haven't lost hope, said Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey at an emotional news conference in Bern on Wednesday.
At midday church bells rang out across the country to mark a Europe-wide silence for the dead. Flags hung at half-mast on federal buildings in the capital.
Swiss television broadcast special programmes on Wednesday night for Swiss Solidarity, which works with local organisations in disaster-hit areas.
By late evening the fundraising arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation had collected a record SFr90 million ($77 million).
Aid effort
The Swiss government has pledged SFr27 million in aid and has sent 24 forensic specialists to Thailand to help identify victims of the tsunami.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has sent relief teams to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives.
Up to 150,000 people are estimated to have died in the disaster. Indonesia is the worst affected country with around 95,000 deaths, followed by Sri Lanka with at least 30,000 dead.
Around 10,000 tourists, mostly Europeans, lost their lives in the tidal waves.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that donations for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami were arriving faster than they could be recorded, pushing the amount pledged toward $4 billion.
We are recording pledges of between three and four billion dollars which shows that indeed the world is coming together in a manner we have never ever seen before, said Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief coordinator.