THE family of an Australian boy with Down syndrome who is missing on Thailand's resort island of Phuket today criticised the Australian government for failing to do enough to help search for him. Vincent Parisi, the uncle of 16-year-old Paul Giardina of Melbourne, said members of his family flew to the island to hunt for the teenager after he became separated from his parents when a tidal wave hit yesterday. But the government had little contact with the family, he said. "The Australian government, I feel, has not done enough, not reacted quickly enough,'' Mr Parisi told Sky News.
| The earthquake and tidal wave were yesterday. There are 11,000 people dead, and the casualty list is climbing. Of course the gummint should drop everything and search for one person. |
''(It has) certainly not done enough to try to find my nephew over there and help possibly other Australians that are missing or need further help by the Australian government. We feel very much let down. We need the Australian government to go in there and find Paul. I just want Paul found. I want a thousand people sweeping the beaches to find Paul.
``We seem to be able to send navy ships and plane loads of people to find foreigners off our shores, if they tip over or fall out of their boat and things like that.'' Mr Parisi said Paul's intellectual disability would hamper his ability to communicate. ``Paul is a lovely, caring boy, but he'll be very confused, very much confused with what's happening over there at the moment, and being separated from mum and dad. Paul is a strong young chap, but in these circumstance I just don't know how he would react. It would be very difficult for Paul to communicate, things like his name and he's Australian and all those things that people need to know. It's an added problem that we have in trying to find Paul.'' Paul's parents, Mr and Mrs Giardina, last saw their son in the water after waves flooded the restaurant where they were eating breakfast.
| So get your waders on, Mr. Howard... |
``The water just came over. (The restaurant) just filled up,'' Mrs Giardina told the ABC. She said furniture was knocked around and she saw a car floating by her. ''... I couldn't get to my son because I had furniture, the tables and chairs, from outside had gone in between us. My husband Joe ... was calling me and they just went.'' Mr Giardina said the water hit with enormous speed and he was pinned again a wall. ``I was under water. I tried to get out. I couldn't do it,'' he said. ``They say they found me on the fourth floor. I have no idea how I got up there.'' Foreign Minister Alexander Downer today said Australia would make an initial contribution of $10 million to help relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in the northern Indian Ocean. |