Yariv Rozen

I arrived in Muang-Mai, a small fishing village on the Thai island of Kukau , five weeks after it was devastated by the tsunami. I was immediately captivated by the charm of the people who hadn't lost their ability to smile. I have been there ever since, helping to rebuild and raising funds — with significant support from Chabad.

I am a thirty-one year old ex-paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces. Following my military service I toured the Far East and spent three years in Japan , but visited Thailand frequently, where I became very fond of the people. For me Thailand was all about gorgeous beaches, fresh pineapple juice, and reflexology.

Ultimately I ended up in the US . It was there that I learned about the tsunami and made it my priority to go back to Thailand . I was horrified by what I saw — nothing resembled the beautiful country I had known previously. It was utter devastation.

I researched to find out where the damage had been greatest so that I could volunteer there for several weeks. Only the Thai military was allowed to search the village of Kao Lak, but as an Israel Defense Forces veteran I was welcome to participate — all the Thai officers had studied Israel 's tactics of the Six Days War.

The stink of death was in the air everywhere. We would poke the rubble with long bamboo poles to feel for soft matter that would indicate the presence of a corpse. To this day there are still some 1,000 missing persons from Kao-Lak.

Although I had planned on volunteering only for two weeks, I couldn't bring myself to leave. I worked with children who had lost their parents, approaching my friends and Chabad to help with clothing, toys, mattresses and toothbrushes.

I ultimately continued on to the tiny and very remote fishing village of Muang-Mai which is almost unreachable by land. Muang-Mai was totally destroyed. The people had lived in huts on the water and were left with nothing. All told, the entire village is comprised of seventeen families totaling eighty people. They managed to flee to high ground as the tsunami waves approached, and remained in the mountains for a month.

When we arrived, they asked if we had water for them to drink; they lacked everything, even drinking water. After supplying the villagers with food and water, I contacted the Chabad House with a request for refrigerators for the families. Nahshon from Chabad immediately confirmed my request and donated eight refrigerators. It made a huge impact on the villagers.

Ever since, my work in the camp has been to assist the survivors with their day-to-day needs. With the help of Chabad and their funding from the Joint Distribution Committee, I was able to build a roof extension to protect the houses from flooding during the rainy season and enable the women to have a proper kitchen. Chabad also supported me in installing a water gutter to collect the rainwater for general use. To this day it remains the primary water supply system in the village.

Yariv Rozen was an Israeli paratrooper and is currently volunteering full-time to help rebuild the remote fishing village of Muang-Mai

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