Consul General of India in New York Pramathesh Rath speaks at the event

The New York Tamil Sangam organized a condolence meeting in remembrance of tsunami disaster victims at the Hindu Temple Auditorium in Flushing, Queens, on Jan. 2.

The event began with prayer songs, speeches by organizers and special guests, and appeals for relief funds. Kanchana Poola, president of the sangam told News India-Times that the organization had collected $10,900 by the end of the event for relief efforts.

Sympathizers write checks for the tsunami relief fund raised by the N.Y. Tamil Sangam at a solemn event on Jan. 2. (Photos: Gloria Suhasini)

“We expect to collect more but we don’t want to waste [even] a penny. We will not give it to any organization that has overheads to pay for. We hope to get help of volunteers to do this work,” Poola said.

About 100 sympathizers were present at the solemn event, attended by Consul General of India in New York Pramathesh Rath and Federation of Indian American Organizations’ President Radha Krishnan.

“This is worse than World Trade Center tragedy which happened in our backyard... this happened in our homeland,” Poola said. She broke into tears when recalling the graphic images she watched on television on the deaths and damages caused by tsunami waves.

The Tamil Sangam plans to adopt a village in Tamil Nadu, while offering monetary help to victims in other countries in the region as well.

Consul General Pramathesh Rath said, “We have to respond as a species. There is a great outpour of support from the international community.” He also offered official statistics on disaster toll and noted that “very few” foreigners died in India.