Petra Nemcova and the Tsunami

[keesani]

They did notify them of the possibility but with the remote regions and different islands how would you get the word out to everyone. There was a 2 hour time period between the time of the earthquake and the first killer wave, some people were saved but it was not possiible to reach everyone.

It doesn't matter now anyway, the Indonesian government said they wouldn't have released the information.

The human race are hopeless.

 

[mikeijames]

there are so many tragic stories about this entire situation. in a sick and twisted way i'm happy that someone like petra nemcova experienced because she is enough of a celebrity to put a face on the suffering that hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing (i'm not just talking about those who've died but those who've been injured or lost someone they love)...

it will literally take years for these places to recover from this.

 

[prixi]

It's horrible..so many people died and definitely more to come..I can't imagine what I'd do if I lost loved ones through this.

 

[roppal222]

Petra Nemcova caught up in Tsunami

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/more/12/28/nemcova.tsunami/

 

[Kimkhuu]

Oh god, poor girl

My heart goes out to all the other victims. It is so unfair to have to go through all this sh*t.

 

[roppal222]

As sad as I think it is what has happened to Petra, I really couldn't agree with metal on metal's sentiments any more if I tried. I'm sure Petra will give exclusive interviews at some point and I doubt her career is over. Out of the 60, 000 people reported dead, the vast majority are little children, babies... that's what the focus should be on.

I also heard on the news how Western tourists are actually taking the majority of the aid relief being sent over. I think the best way we can help the natives of all the islands is by letting them benefit from the aid relief. Western countries are sending over empty flights to pick up the tourists and bring them back home where they will recieve the best medical care. The natives have been left with even more little than they had in the first place.

One of my friends came back yesterday and said the natives pretty much sacrificed themselves to help the distraught tourists. They put their safety second. It's remarkable and very sad.

 

[Kimkhuu]

77 000 died, so far.

 

[eternitygoddess]

As sad as I think it is what has happened to Petra, I really couldn't agree with metal on metal's sentiments any more if I tried. I'm sure Petra will give exclusive interviews at some point and I doubt her career is over. Out of the 60, 000 people reported dead, the vast majority are little children, babies... that's what the focus should be on.

You people seem to hold some sort of grudge against models. They're just normal people working a job, even though the job pays $$$. The bottom line that no human should've experienced th horror, model or not.

 

[Stylephox]

^ I agree. Model or not, she's human. Which is exactly what I find so infuriating about all the news about her. She's no better than anyone else affected by this tragedy, so why the hell is so much attention placed on HER? It's terrible that she lost her boyfriend, and was stuck on a tree for 8 something hours. But she's ALIVE. THOUSANDS of other people are dead for goodness sakes, and thousands of others have lost everything they have: family members and all their possessions. It's going to take years for them to get their lives back in order, and can you imagine what the poor children are going through?

I think it's just bloody stupid to make such a big fuss about her.

 

[Kimkhuu]

I think it's just bloody stupid to make such a big fuss about her.

Ok, we're not making a big fuss about Petra, we're just saying it's sad what she went through, just like the 76 999 other victims.

 

[model_mom]

and now it's 114,000 and climbing. Please help if you can.

 

[ChinaLove]

I think it's sad that some of you people are weighing this tragedy on a scale. Maybe the 116,000 who died is of far greater concern than the serious injuries that Petra incurred. But does Petra's struggle outweigh the story of some local who actually survived the tsunami unscathed? It's not her fault that some media outlets decided to focus a little bit of attention on her. That's their job. She's a public figure, with fans, and her fans deserve to know what happened to her. I would rather have a mulititude of reports on her, than none at all. It seems like she's being demonized and belittled because she's a model who makes money, and has the luxury of flying back home. And suddenly, that makes her less important. Yes, this tragedy is incomprehensible, but a human life is a human life, period. Let's not forget that there are thousands of westerners who were also killed and are still missing. I would hate for some of you to think that their lives are somehow less worthy or subordinate to the poorer locals. That's a very humanitarian way to view things, but just place yourself in her position just for a moment, and maybe some of you wouldn't be so quick to brush her off so easily.

 

[eternitygoddess]

She's no better than anyone else affected by this tragedy, so why the hell is so much attention placed on HER?

Because she's famous. Her story gets much more coverage than a normal person's story.

 

[eternitygoddess]

P.S.: Usually, people don't really get a sense of how bad the disaster is, even with that gigantic number. Having someone we know that was affected by it makes it hit closer to home. Well in my opinion anyway.

 

[sugarpea]

^ I agree. Model or not, she's human. Which is exactly what I find so infuriating about all the news about her. She's no better than anyone else affected by this tragedy, so why the hell is so much attention placed on HER? It's terrible that she lost her boyfriend, and was stuck on a tree for 8 something hours. But she's ALIVE. THOUSANDS of other people are dead for goodness sakes, and thousands of others have lost everything they have: family members and all their possessions. It's going to take years for them to get their lives back in order, and can you imagine what the poor children are going through?

I think it's just bloody stupid to make such a big fuss about her.

where are you getting your news? i dont think there has been excessive focus on petra at all...i think her story has been a sidenote if anything...the only times i have seen petra's story be a main story has been on entertainment news shows which is appropriate in those instances

 

[sugarpea]

And suddenly, that makes her less important. Yes, this tragedy is incomprehensible, but a human life is a human life, period. Let's not forget that there are thousands of westerners who were also killed and are still missing. I would hate for some of you to think that their lives are somehow less worthy or subordinate to the poorer locals. That's a very humanitarian way to view things, but just place yourself in her position just for a moment, and maybe some of you wouldn't be so quick to brush her off so easily.

i agree that it is impossible for us to weigh the relative suffering of the tsunami victims...that said, i think one of the reasons people feel more sympathy, i guess, for locals is that they are likely to have less money than, say, petra....they are going to have to LIVE in thailand, sri lanka, and indonesia and attempt to rebuild their lives with very little money while at the same time grieve for their loved ones...its a slightly different story for most westerners who had the money to vacation there and can ultimately leave if they are still alive...that said, a human life is a human life and a death is objectively tragic

 

[oanadobre]

I feel so helpless... I wish I could do more than donate money for all those people... Nature can be so cruel sometimes...

 

[teegan]

Oh yes, poor girl won't be able to model swimsuits again. I was appalled to see this story as the front page on today's New York Daily News. There is an indigenous population numbering tens of thousands in Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka that have lost their lives, their homes, and their loved ones. Everything. Gone. Forever. I'm sorry but I don't think the biggest sob story in all of this is the poor supermodel who won't be able to model next season. What about the children who lost both parents or the grandmothers that watched as their entire families were quite literally wiped out? They'll be getting the majority of my sympathy, not some stupid model who is alive and well and will return to her $$$$ SoHo apartment next week.

word

 

[model_mom]

[size=-1]Petra Nemcova [/size]Injured New York supermodel Petra Nemcova is too badly hurt to leave her Thai hospital bed - and is overwhelmed knowing she survived a tsunami that killed tens of thousands.

"She knows she got a second chance, and she wants to make the most of it," family friend Roman Hajabac told the Daily News from her hospital room last night.

The battered beauty spent much of yesterday sedated on morphine, which eased the pain of a shattered pelvis, other broken bones and internal injuries.

At the same time, Nemcova's sister Olga, 23, and manager Leigh Crystal circled the globe so they could comfort her at her bedside as she worries about her missing boyfriend, Simon Atlee.

"She's unable to undergo any transportation whatsoever," Hajabac said. "We have doctors coming from Bangkok. We have the best doctors we can get."

Nemcova, 25, and Atlee, 33, were vacationing on the secluded beaches of Khao Lak when the tsunami ripped through it Sunday, making it one of Thailand's most devastated areas, with hundreds of tourists dead or missing.

Nemcova planned the trip as a surprise for her fashion photographer boyfriend, but the wall of water ripped apart their beachfront bungalow and swallowed Atlee without a trace.

She survived by gripping a palm tree for eight hours until she was rescued. If she was strong enough to do that, Hajabac said, she's strong enough to make a full recovery.

"She's tough. She'll make it," he said. "Tell everybody she'll be okay."

Olga Nemcova and Crystal were scheduled to reach Nemcova's side early this morning, when they can judge for themselves if she is ready to be moved and where she should go.

Faith Kates, owner of the Next modeling agency, is prepared to fly Nemcova on a medical evacuation plane - to Bangkok, to the model's family in her native Czech Republic or even to a hospital in New York.

"I want someone that knows Petra to see her," Kates said. "I have planes on standby so that if she's ready to go, she'll be out of there in four hours. We're not quite sure yet when we can move her."

In an exclusive interview with the Daily News the day after the calamity, Nemcova described a horrifying scene as bodies floated past her, children drowned around her and she willed herself to grip a palm tree until she could be rescued.

"I don't know that anyone can process this. This is something that is a life-altering experience," Kates said yesterday. "I don't know that Petra's ever going to be able to put what she saw into words." Meanwhile, Kates' and Nemcova's friends are spreading Atlee's photographs and description through the hospitals and makeshift shelters of Khao Lak. "We know that he was with Petra, but there's still no further information on him," said Jill Keen, a British consular officer

 

[liberty33r1b]

thanks for posting