Residents moved by tsunami tragedy look to do some good
12/30/04
By ANNA DAVISON
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Some people have called Arosha Samarasena's office in tears.
Others just want the facts: How can they help the millions
of people left homeless, injured and ill after the catastrophic
earthquake and tsunamis that pummeled Southeast Asia on
Sunday?
Mr. Samarasena, who owns a silkscreen business on Haley
Street in Santa Barbara, has stopped work and turned his
warehouse into a collection center for medical supplies,
food and clothes.
He fielded about 200 phone calls Wednesday and took donations
from dozens of people moved by tales of tragedy and of survival
amid the devastation of crushed villages, splintered boats
and fractured families.
The catastrophe has claimed tens of thousands of lives
across a swath of countries. One of the hardest hit is Sri
Lanka, where most of Mr. Samarasena's family lives.
His relatives in the capital, Colombo, are OK, but others
on the coast "are gone," Mr. Samarasena said, "swept away."
"We're trying to help our people," he said, but donations
may go to "anybody, any country. If I find a Thai temple
and they need clothes, here's clothes."
Most of the people who have stopped by the warehouse do
not have friends or family in the devastated areas, Mr.
Samarasena said. "They're just random people" desperate
to help after one of the biggest natural disasters in living
memory.
One of Mr. Samarasena's pleas for donations went to Santa
Barbara architect Vadim Hsu, and it spurred his family into
action.
"My kids went in and emptied the stuff out of their closets,"
Mr. Hsu said. "Then I did the same thing with my closet."
He filled bags with castoff clothes and excess supplies
from the family's medicine cabinet and added a box heavy
with a year's accumulation of loose change.
Each year, the Hsus give the money to a nonprofit group.
This year, it is headed for Asia in a container marked with
the words "Given with love."
"My kids put their Christmas money in it, which was really
touching," Mr. Hsu added.
He returned later in the day with an old cot he had uncovered
in the garage and an armful of shirts and jackets he figured
would do more good in Asia than the back of his closet.
"We've had a lot of families come with their kids," said
James Sargent of Santa Barbara, who has done business with
Mr. Samarasena and called him offering help as soon as he
heard of the tragedy. "They gave up a lot of their toys
and Christmas gifts they didn't want."
When Mr. Sargent dropped off his contributions, he sized
up the mounting piles of donations and said he would stay
to help sort and pack them.
He said he will be back today and Friday, just as long
as people keep donating, because the suffering in Asia "isn't
going to go away any time soon."
Mr. Samarasena began collecting on Tuesday. By day's end
Wednesday, his warehouse was stuffed with dozens of boxes,
and volunteers were sorting through fresh piles. They taped
matching shoes together, folded sheets, sifted through boxes
of bandages and wondered whether a video on monster trucks
really would help the relief effort.
Cash has come in, too. A collection jar perched on a desk
has swallowed checks and change and a wad of $100 bills.
Mr. Samarasena has not had time to count it yet.
While many people emptied their pockets and closets to
gather donations, others called Mr. Samarasena, pens poised
for advice.
"After we tell them what we need, they go shopping," Mr.
Sargent said.
"We went to Smart & Final and bought big cans of food,"
said Cori Deans of Santa Barbara. She also brought in clothes
and money and stayed on Wednesday afternoon to help sort
donations.
The supplies will be trucked to Pasadena, consolidated
with others, then flown to Asia. Mr. Samarasena is working
with several relief agencies and has organized family and
friends in Sri Lanka to help get the donations where they're
needed.
"Whatever it takes, even if it's out of my pocket, I'll
get it there," he said.
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