Spare a thought

As you go about your post-Christmas business today, spare a thought for the more than 200,000 victims of the Asian Tsunami, which occurred a year ago today. And take a moment out of your day too to think about the many hundreds of thousands of survivors, many of whom are still without permanent homes or adequate facilities. Throughout the day today, survivors and the families of victims from around the world are taking part in memorial services in numerous different locations. It cannot be easy.

To all the survivors, to those who lost loved ones in the worst natural disaster in living memory, and to the many thousands of volunteers and aid workers who gave and are giving their time and energy to help the affected regions get back on their feet, my thoughts are with you today.

Tsunami