Although Syracuse University students from areas hit by the recent tsunami escaped the most disastrous effects of the wave, indirect consequences might take their toll in months to come.

The Dec. 26 tsunami, which devastated many areas in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and Eastern Africa, did not just sweep away private homes and thousands of victims, it also devastated a significant portion of the area’s economic structure, said Sidney L. Greenblatt, assistant director for advising and counseling at the Lillian and Emanuel Slutzker Center for International Services.

Current relief programs concentrate their efforts on raising money for those directly affected by the catastrophe – those desperately needing food, water, shelter and medical assistance, but few groups focus on providing economic stability for the future, Greenblatt said.

Although no SU students from the affected areas have stated a need for financial assistance in order to keep studying at SU, the devastation could continue to hurt the economy during the upcoming recovery period. Students from the affected areas might still find themselves in need of aid, Greenblatt said.

‘The effects may not be felt for months or so,’ Greenblatt said.

International students cannot apply for financial aid from the U.S. government. During the Asian financial crisis of the late ’90s when many Asian banks closed down, international students could either get an off-campus job or lessen their course load, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The only grant currently available to students in need of aid is sponsored by the Freeman Foundation through the Institute of International Education. The grant only applies to undergraduate students from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand who can demonstrate that they have been directly affected by the tsunami.

‘The Freeman grant is distinctly limited,’ Greenblatt said.

The application deadline for the grant was Feb. 1, but no SU students applied.

The government has not officially established standards for who may apply for a tsunami-related grant yet, Greenblatt said.

‘The question is, who is setting the standards,’ Greenblatt said. ‘And will they be applied evenly across the board.’

Hadi Lazuardi, a graduate student from Indonesia studying information management, explained that most international students who attend SU can support themselves, but it is possible that some will be affected by the economic devastation at home.

Lazuardi said the Aceh province of Indonesia, one of the hardest hit regions, had struggled economically prior to the disaster, and the loss of economic infrastructure in Aceh would probably prove harmless to the Indonesian economy. Parts of Thailand and India, however, which rely heavily on tourism, lost many hotels and resorts and could potentially struggle to recover financially.

Syracuse for Sri Lanka is an on-campus relief effort that supports Sri Lankan schools in their recovery, said Cavinda T. Caldera, an organizer for Syracuse for Sri Lanka and a doctoral candidate from Sri Lanka mastering in information studies. Syracuse for Sri Lanka was started by Alex Thevaranjan, a professor in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. According to Caldera, nobody has started thinking about the future yet.

‘There’s a distinct possibility that things might get worse for Sri Lanka before they get better,’ Caldera said, citing the country’s small, tourism-based economy as a possible hurdle to recovery. ‘We’re hoping that reconstruction efforts will help the economy.’

According to Jerry M. Evensky, an associate professor of economics, financial hardship could vary significantly from region to region and from family to family. For example, if a family owns a fishing business, its finances could suffer due to loss of boats and fishermen and the blockage of ports as a result of the disaster, Evensky said.

Those affected will need aid long after relief organizations and fundraisers stop offering financial support and worldwide media coverage of the aftermath dies down, Evensky said.

‘For some it’s a continuum of disaster,’ Evensky said. ‘For us, it’s a newspaper disaster.’

Published on February 6, 2005 at 12:00 pm