Rotarians
offer support in wake of Mumbai tragedy
A
participant in a candle light vigil in New Delhi, India, 2 December
places a candle to express solidarity with the victims of the
Mumbai terror attacks.
Rotary
leaders and Indian Rotarians are expressing sadness and offering
support for survivors following last week's terrorist attacks
in Mumbai, India, that killed more than 170 people.
More than 300 Mumbai
Rotarians joined tens of thousands of city residents on 3 December
in a peace march to mourn the dead and protest the violence. Participants
gathered in the streets surrounding the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower
hotel, one of several locations stormed by armed gunmen on 26
November. In a show of unity and peace, Rotarians carried Rotary
flags and banners.
"It is a terrible
situation. But Rotary is ready to help those who have suffered,"
says Past RI President Rajendra Saboo. "Rotary will be most
needed when the painful happening recedes in the memory."
Rotarians and their
families stood in long lines to donate blood. Saboo also said
Mumbai clubs are in contact with hospitals, offering support and
comfort to victims.
"This is a time
when those who have suffered the most may find themselves lonely
and in need," says Saboo, a resident of the Union Territory
of Chandigarh. "Rotary will not only be there to heal the
immediate wounds but to care for them long term."
Calling the attacks
in Mumbai "a catastrophe," RI President Dung Kurn Lee
says the recovery process will take many months and that Rotary
will provide support for victims and their families. "Rotary
is the organization that helps people make the transition from
day-to-day survival to a return to a normal life," says Lee.
Local clubs are also
struggling with the senseless violence. "It is very tragic
that so many innocent people were killed or injured," says
Prabha Mathur, past president of the Rotary Club of Bombay Airport
in Mumbai. "We are all trying to find peaceful ways of addressing
the situation."
RI Director Ashok
Mahajan says now is the time to spread Rotary's message of peace.
"I'm deeply
saddened by what happened. People here are extremely angry,"
says Mahajan, a Mumbai resident. "But I don't want to see
the situation worsen. It's time for Rotary to unite and help achieve
world peace."
Mahajan expresses
gratitude for the many condolences he's received from Rotarians
worldwide, and says he especially appreciates the e-mails and
phone calls from Pakistani Rotarians. "Clubs in Pakistan
showed great concern about our health and well-being," Mahajan
says.
The Rotary Club of
Bombay has been left without a home, owing to the extensive fire
damage at the Taj Mahal hotel. Since its founding in 1929, the
club has met in the hotel's ballroom. "There was so much
Rotary history in that room, and I have fond memories of attending
meetings there," says Saboo, who is working with club leaders
to find a temporary meeting place. "Our hearts go out to
the members. I'm hopeful . . . they'll be back at the Taj soon."
Source: Rotary International
Security personnel
stand alert outside the newly reopened Taj Hotel.
December 22, 2008
Reporting from Mumbai, India Peter Spiegel - The Taj
Mahal and Oberoi resume business less than a month after the terrorist
attacks, though entire wings of both remain shuttered.
With a mix of solemn prayers and Bollywood glitter, India's financial
capital on Sunday took its most symbolic step yet toward a return
to normalcy when both of the five-star hotels assaulted by terrorists
last month reopened their doors to guests.
With senior government
officials in attendance, hotel executives portrayed the quick
repair of their facilities as a sign that the city too would quickly
rebound. Gunmen attacked the hotels and other sites in Mumbai
on Nov. 26, fighting off security forces for nearly three days.
The violence left more than 170 people dead.
"I believe that the opening of this hotel will send a message
that we can come alive again in a record period of time,"
said Ratan Tata, the high-profile chairman of the group that owns
the stately Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, whose famous red
dome surrounded by flames has become the iconic image of the attacks.
"We can be hurt, but we cannot be knocked down."
Nerves remained raw,
however, particularly among hotel employees, and remnants of the
attacks were hard to ignore. The Taj was only accepting guests
at its 1970s-era Taj Tower. As Tata spoke, he faced the boarded-up
windows of the still-shuttered Victorian Palace wing, including
the hotel restaurant where some of the most brutal fighting of
the siege took place. The
palace wing is months from reopening, and it could take more than
a year to completely repair, executives said.
The Taj marked the
occasion with a grand party in its tower featuring Bollywood stars
and other local celebrities, several of whom took to the podium
to offer their own heartfelt homage to those who died in the attacks.
Rahul Bose, a prominent
Indian film actor, implored his fellow Mumbaikars not to forget
the victims who died in other locations, particularly the working-class
commuters gunned down in the ornate train terminal.
Executives at the
other hotel to reopen, the Oberoi, took a more subdued approach,
holding an emotional afternoon service featuring religious leaders
from eight denominations. Dozens of Oberoi employees jammed the
hotel lobby's grand stairways, many with their hands pressed together
in the traditional Hindu mudra, as the clergymen -- including
a black-turbaned Sikh, a Buddhist monk and a Muslim cleric --
offered prayers for the dead and expressed hope that peace would
return to the city.
Like the Taj, only
one of the two hotel buildings in the Oberoi complex was open
to the public; the other suffered more extensive damage and is
unlikely to reopen for two to three months.
Source: AP news
Sydney Rotarian killed in
Mumbai attacks
3 December 2008 - Sydney
Rotarian Doug Markell was among those killed in the terrorist attacks
in Mumbai, India. Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of Sydney Rotarians
in Sydney, Australia, are mourning the tragic loss of Doug Markell,
71, who was among more than 170 people killed in the terrorist attacks
in and around Mumbai, India, on 26 November.
Markell, who was a member
of the Rotary Club of Sydney, New South Wales, was vacationing in
India with his wife, Alison, when attackers laid siege to the Taj
Mahal hotel where they were staying. Markell was fatally shot by
gunmen as he attempted to escape the hotel with his wife, who was
injured by the gunfire. She is reported to be recovering at the
Australian Embassy in Mumbai.
In a solemn and emotional
meeting on 2 December, Patricia Harrison, president of the Sydney
club, read condolences from other Rotarians and a letter from his
family to grief-stricken club members.
"We're deeply hurt
and shocked that such a wonderful man was taken from us in such
a dreadful way," Harrison says. "Doug was such a kind
and generous man. He always had a smile on his face. We are going
to miss him greatly."
Markell, a Rotarian
since 1983, was the managing director and owner of Zions Systems,
an office supply company. A merchant banker and successful businessman,
he was nearing retirement.
He was also a committed
community activist and served as councilor for Woollahra, an eastern
suburb of Sydney from 1991 to 1995. His service included a year
as deputy mayor.
Harrison said Markell
will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to helping others.
"He was the epitome of Service Above Self," says Harrison.
"There aren't enough people like him around." Harrison
said the Sydney club will initiate an ongoing project named in Markell's
honor.
The club has received
many e-mails from Rotarians worldwide expressing their condolences.
"Doug was the man who ensured that my engagement with members
was efficient and consistent," says Chris Joscelyne, a past
president of the club, in an e-mail to club members. "He was
a dedicated Rotarian who worked behind the scenes to ensure the
success of community service projects, never seeking any kind of
acknowledgment from his peers, while making practical and generous
contributions of his time and money."
Manjit S. Sawhney, a
past district governor from New Delhi, says Markell was "a
hallmark of a true Rotarian." "Our
heart goes out to all the families who have lost their near and
dear ones," Sawhney says in an e-mail to the club. "We,
from the Rotary Club of Delhi South Metropolitan and District 3010,
are with you in this hour of grief."
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