UN General Assembly
2005

We live in an age of unpredictable threats, against which there may be no airtight security measures. Tragedy could strike in the form of a deadly epidemic. It could be the handiwork of terrorists, like the attacks against New York City on 11 September 2001 or the Bali bombings of 2002. It could be a convulsion of nature, like the tsunami that demolished the Indonesian province of Aceh and nearby Indian Ocean Rim areas, or the storm tide that drowned New Orleans and much of Louisiana recently. On the tragedy of New Orleans, we extend our deepest condolences to the American people. We Indonesians know too well the enormous suffering that a natural catastrophe can bring. In Aceh alone, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 killed outright some 130,000 individuals. It destroyed 220,000 homes and displaced 572,000 individuals. Some 100,000 persons are still missing and presumed dead. The death toll would have been higher were it not for the quick and vigorous response of the international community and the United Nations. For that, the Indonesian people 29