JEDDAH/RIYADH, 29 December 2004 — As the death toll in 11 countries hit by tsunamis mounted, their diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia appealed to the community members to contribute toward the relief measures.

Embassies of the affected countries said they would forward the donations to the concerned authorities back home. “We’re appealing for cash because the remitting of money is easier and quick,” Indian Consul General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed told Arab News.

The Indian missions in Riyadh and Jeddah have set up special cells to receive donations. “Official receipts will be issued to donations received in cash or checks, Consul General Ausaf Sayeed and Anantha Krishna, the first secretary (information) at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said. Donations in kind will not be accepted, they said.

Control rooms have been set up in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, and in different state capitals, as also in the Indian diplomatic missions located in the countries hit by the tsunamis.

Members of the Indian community can contribute to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, PMO, South Block, New Delhi-110011.

The officer coordinating the effort at the Consulate General of India, Jeddah, is C.V.R. Murthy, vice consul (administration), Tel.: 6528418, 0507309419 (Mobile), Fax: 6533964, e-mail [email protected]

The Sri Lankan Embassy and the consulate in association with their expat societies have launched a national disaster relief fund to assist the Sri Lankan victims of the disaster. The embassy has called a meeting with the Sri Lankan Expatriates’ Society in Riyadh at 8.30 p.m. today.

“In addition to the thousands who died in the calamity another one million have been rendered homeless. Eleven districts have been affected and more than 50 percent of the coastal areas have been devastated,” the island’s Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar told Arab News.

“This is an opportunity for the community to help and assist their compatriots in distress back home,” he said and set a target of SR100,000 for the community to contribute, which will be forwarded through the Foreign Ministry in Colombo for relief work in the affected areas.

The immediate needs for the Sri Lankan victims include tents, blankets, linen etc., food (pre-cooked or ready to eat meal packs) like dry rations (wheat, flour, pulses, rice), drugs like paracetemol, antibiotics, medical dressings, disposable syringes, intravenous infusions (saline and dextrose) and portable generators.

The Sri Lankan Consul General A.M.J. Sadiq said cash donations for the victims could be handed over to his consulate with official acknowledgements.

Sadiq said donors were requested to deposit their cash contributions up to SR100 in the donation box placed at the consulate. Those contributing more could contact the reception counter and obtain an official receipt.

Donors, who are unable to visit the consulate, may send their checks or bank drafts in favor of the Disaster Relief Fund, Consulate General of Sri Lanka, Jeddah, (Account No. 021-033865-001) and either post the check/draft to the consulate, or deposit the same at the Saudi British Bank in the Kingdom and fax a copy of the deposit slip to the consulate.

Indonesia has declared a three-day nationwide mourning and urged its nationals to provide moral and material support to the disaster victims.

The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah will coordinate with the Jakarta-based Department of Foreign Affairs, which has set up a special working group “Pokja Deplu Bagi Penanganan Bencana Alam” to coordinate international relief assistance and aids forwarded to the disaster areas, especially in the two badly affected provinces.

The special working group will serve as a unit, which will work in tandem with the National Coordinating Agency for Natural Disaster and Refugees Relief (Bakornas PBP), which has been appointed as the main coordinating agency at the national level.

Arif Suyoko, first secretary at the Indonesian Embassy, said the mission would accept donations in cash or kind in aid of the victims.

While appealing to his countrymen in the Kingdom, Suyoko added that besides cash donations, medicines and clothes would also be accepted from the community.