New Year's Marked by Prayers, Solidarity
As 2005 made its way across the world, prayers more so than parties, marked New Year's in many countries as sorrow over the death and destruction from Sunday’s quake-tsunami disaster overshadowed.
As 2005 made its way across the world, prayers—more so than parties—marked New Year's in many countries as sorrow over the death and destruction from Sunday’s quake-tsunami disaster overshadowed. Meanwhile, in the stricken areas, people were too busy counting the dead—now at more than 135,000—providing relief survivors and combating the spread of disease to think about anything else. Many were still desperately searching for missing family and friends.
"[The tsunami] is on the back of everyone's minds," a British tourist told the Associated Press at a New Year’s Eve event in Sydney. "You could tell people were a little more reverent tonight; it was kept in people's thoughts."
According to AP, hundreds of thousands of Malaysians flocked to mosques, temples and churches Friday for special prayers. Government officials in the mostly Muslim country banned firework displays and canceled public concerts and celebrations as a sign of mourning for at least 66 Malaysians confirmed killed.
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In Indonesia, where more than 80,000 people died, most government agencies canceled fireworks displays and urged people to pray instead. In Thailand, tourists and bar owners on the hard-hit resort island of Phuket—where the famed beaches have been littered with bodies—could not imagine partying.
When asked what he would do on New Year's Eve, Cameroonian Herve Boyomo told AP, "Stay in the hotel and pray, that's all." Boyomo had gone from Beijing to look for his missing sister, Berthe Boyomo Ackermann.
A countdown party in downtown Bangkok, which was to have featured Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams was canceled. Officials urged people to attend religious services instead.
On China's mainland, China Central Television canceled its live New Year's Eve gala programming out of respect for the disaster victims.
Meanwhile, in Europe, celebrations were canceled from Istanbul to Rome to Cyprus and across the Nordic region. Hundreds of Europeans—mostly vacation-goers in the resorts of Thailand, Sri Lanka and India—were among the dead and hundreds more remain missing.
In Paris, small black strips of cloth were draped along the Champs-Elysees in a gesture of solidarity. In Germany and Sweden, flags on government buildings were flying at half-staff.
For those who went ahead with previously scheduled festivities, there were moments of silence and prayers in observation of this week's catastrophe. In Sydney, Australia, many of the estimated 1 million revelers marked a moment of silence for the victims around the Indian Ocean before midnight festivities. In addition, there were appeals for contributions to a massive relief effort.
