Press Release

Grim work awaits local professor headed to Thailand
By Rebecca J. Ritzel
Intelligencer Journal

#23
Make an Emergency Plan

Published: Apr 08, 2005 10:44 AM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY , PA - Millersville University professor Hank Fischer requested a second-floor hotel room next week when he visits Phuket , Thailand , an area hit hard by the South Asia tsunami.

"That's not panic; that's rational," Fischer said of his room choice.

Remaining rational in the face of disaster has fueled not only Fischer's upcoming trip, but his life's work. As the director of MU's Center for Disaster Research and Education, he studies how people react to catastrophe.

Fischer leaves Thursday for Thailand , a nation that lost 5,400 lives when the tsunami hit Dec. 26. Fischer plans to study the sociological effects of burying all those bodies.

It's a macabre task, but the National Science Foundation decided the study should be done, and Fischer is the guy to do it.

In January, the foundation sent out a call to social scientists interested in researching the aftermath. Keith Crank, a grant distributor for the foundation, said he received 32 requests for funding. The foundation expedited its review process and awarded five grants at the beginning of March.

"We felt that there was research that could and should be done over there," Crank said. "We want to know how do people recover socially from disasters, rather than just rebuilding buildings and that sort of thing."

Fischer won a $68,000 grant. Crank was impressed by Fischer's proposal to collaborate with his contacts at the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center . He also was impressed by Fischer's research plan.

The MU professor will coordinate three teams of researchers, all people he's met at disaster conferences. They will study mass burial.

Nearly 183,000 people in 11 countries were killed and 129,000 remain missing following the massive Indonesian earthquake and subsequent tsunami that swept across South Asia.

Fischer invited a professor from Oklahoma State University to lead a team to India and a professor from North Dakota State University to lead a team to Sri Lanka.

In Thailand , Fischer will be joined by colleagues from Canada and Australia . Monika Buchanan, an MU senior who serves as his research assistant, leaves Monday for Thailand.

The teams will view the mass burial sites and interview tsunami survivors. Fischer wants to know at what point Thai authorities gave up traditional Buddhist burial practices and resorted to mass graves.

"Gradually, the normal social and religious customs were being set aside," Fischer said. "We're trying to find out how that decision-making process took place and whether that process tended to reduce or produce emotional stress."

Thai officials have faced political pressures from the Swedish government and the families of other tourist victims to unearth the bodies. Thousands of Swedes vacationed in Phang Nga province, the site of almost 80 percent of Thailand 's fatalities.

"What a horrifying situation," Fischer said. "They are working to get water and electricity restored. Look at the challenges they faced. And at the same time, they were dealing (with the bodies.)"

Ever since news coverage began flowing out of South Asia , Fischer has been caching photos of dead bodies. He's also been reading everything he can about Thai and Buddhist customs.

Buchanan, a senior industrial hygiene and public safety major, said her background as a trauma nurse should prepare her for what she'll see in Thailand .

"I am better prepared than most people," she said. "It's difficult to see lots of people in one grave."

Buchanan immigrated to the United States from Poland nine years ago. When her nursing license didn't transfer, she decided to pursue a second career in catastrophic research and planning.

"If I'm going to be conducting research, hopefully I would be able to make a difference for the future," Buchanan said.

Data, maps, photos, video and guides that Fischer and colleagues collect will be stored in a computerized database designed to last for 500 years. The initial trip could lead to future grants and expeditions.

The tsunami is the most extensive disaster Fischer has ever studied firsthand. He suspects the research could continue for years.

"It will be depressing," Fischer said. "It's sad. But it is a part of life. ... I don't mean to say I'm used to it, but the whole business is depressing."

What gives him hope is that one day, his research might save a few lives.

"The one thing we know is that disasters occur with great regularity," Fischer said.