The media coverage of the Phuket Tsunami - was it fair?

The effect of the Phuket Tsunami was devastating but I would argue misleading media coverage has had more of a negative long-term effect than the event itself.

I expect you like me can remember where you were when you heard the chilling news of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

It was Boxing Day 26 December 2004. My family and I were staying with relatives. At the time I was the Managing Director of a small, tour operator specialising in holidays to Asia. I was the Duty Officer on call in the event of an Emergency.

At around 10.00 hrs GMT I received a telephone call from a client asking whether he should still proceed to Malaysia. In a somewhat bewildered state I asked why he shouldn’t: he referred me to the TV news. I stood shocked as the events unfolded. I have been ‘on call’ through events like the bombing at Colombo Airport in the 80s, the forest fires in Borneo in 1987, the Bali bombing on 12 October 2002: I knew what I had to do. Within 30 minutes, my family, our luggage and the dogs were bundled into the car and we were off on the 90-minute drive home.

As my wife drove, I made calls (what did we do before the cell phone?) to colleagues around the region getting a picture of the situation and attempting to understand how the Phuket Tsunami might be affecting our clients. I also contacted members of our Team and some called me.

By lunchtime I was in the office with members of the Team and we were compiling lists and making calls to clients. By the end of the day we had assessed how the Phuket Tsunami had affected our clients and contacted everyone bar a family of 4 in Khao Lak in Thailand.

The following days were taken up dealing with clients’ amended travel arrangements and trying to make contact with the missing family. Thankfully, a few days later I managed to make contact with them by text (again, what would we do without it!). It transpired they had been out on an overnight diving trip. The skipper had taken shelter and, when they returned to Khao Lak the following day, they discovered that their hotel room had been washed away, together with all their belongings. Boy, had they been lucky.

By now I knew that, in Thailand, Khao Lak and Phi Phi island had been the worse affected and yet here we were seeing on our TV screens tracts of land flattened by the tsunami as reporters delivered their reports from Phuket in front of derelict buildings.

In reality the tracts of land were in Aceh, Indonesia, and the derelict buildings were derelict before the tsunami. But, in the mind of the viewer, these images were being linked with Phuket.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting this was deliberate nor am I trying to diminish the effect the Phuket Tsunami had on the island because there was regrettably still much loss of life. Yet of the whole of the west coast of Phuket the two main areas affected were the front row of buildings at Patong and Kamala Bay. I am suggesting then that the effect was not as widespread as the news reports were implying.

The fact is the infrastructure of Phuket was able to sustain the large media presence and hence this was the obvious place from which to report.

Unfortunately though there was then a negative association with Phuket which continued for many months afterward.

I took the family to Phuket in May 2005 to demonstrate support for the island. It was low season so I was not surprised to find it quiet but there were even less tourists around than normal. People were trying to eek out a living as best they could. However, if any visitor had arrived oblivious to what had occurred here they would not realise there had been anything untoward. Yes, some of the shops at Patong were still boarded up but the majority of the town was as brash as ever. There really was little evidence of the tragic event.

The prevailing image of the island in the wake of the Phuket Tsunami was unfair and unjustified. We should never forget those who perished throughout the region but we must also think of those left behind, many of whom have no choice but to remain and re-build their lives. If you have the opportunity I recommend you visit the island, discover why it is a fantastic holiday destination and support the local community.

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