March 2005

Beam: March 2005

Beam is getting on with her life after her father’s tragic death in December. Our March video finds her reflecting on how the Tsunami has affected her schoolmates.

"There are eight Tsunami orphans in my school," she says. "One of my classmates was killed by the Tsunami because he went to help his father to paint."

Some efforts are being made to ease the trauma of tsunami-affected children in Beam’s school community.

"When you’re an orphan, there’ll be a lot of people coming to see you and giving a lot of things," says Beam, sounding rather mature for her eight years. She points to a tag: "This one -- I got it when I went on a flying trip. The staff took very good care of me. I ate many kinds of food."

The reference is to a free domestic flight organised by a Thai airline for children affected by the tsunami.

Beam’s mother, Tha, says that people still keep coming to the school to meet the children -- Beam must go there to receive various handouts. She doesn’t seem very comfortable with this arrangement.

"They always ask Beam to go," she says. "Beam must go to school every day, even though it is the summer holidays."

For now, she is taking Beam to a clinic for a compulsory medical check-up for orphans.

Tha is taking care of Beam and a younger son all by herself. When the chain comes off in Beam’s bicycle, Tha has to fix it herself – there is no husband around anymore.

Tha is remarkably resilient and resourceful. She has started a chicken coop, so that her children can have fresh eggs everyday.

"I bring rice leftovers from Beam’s school to feed the chickens," she says. "When I go to work at the chicken coop, I usually bring Beam and Boom along. Beam helps me by taking care of her little brother, Boom. She also helps me to fix things."

Despite all these efforts, Tha still lives with uncertainties about their future.

"Our lives are still not in place," she says. "Everything is still uncertain. I don’t know what to hope for."