The call centre, known as the Casualty Bureau Appeal Centre, that the FCO established to take calls from concerned relatives or friends, has taken flak as many have found that they were unable to get through to the operators.
But Sri Lankan national Ivan Corea, chief executive of the Dream Harvest Group, in Stratford, east London, said he had called repeatedly on Sunday without success.
“We have been trying to contact relatives in Sri Lanka, all lines are engaged,” he said.
Kevin Tunbridge, of Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, said he has had no contact with his son Luke, 20, or his son’s girlfriend Laura Blackman, 20, who are a coastal resort in south Thailand.
“I have tried to contact the Foreign Office and the Bangkok Embassy all day, but all I have reached is a recorded BT message. All we want is some information,” he said.
There is no doubt that FCO civil servants have been working in an emergency situation to provide those who do succeed in contacting them with the necessary information. However, accusations of understaffing and inadequate capacity have been levelled against the Foreign Office by the Conservative MP for Aldershot, Gerald Howarth, who has received complaints from his constituents.
The FCO has replied to criticisms by stating that they have had to field an unprecedented number of telephone calls including inappropriate inquiries concerning flights and travel advice. The unfriendly structure of their website may have contributed to this state of affairs.
Commander Ronald McPherson, who is in charge of the Hendon operation, said the volume of calls was among the highest levels they had experienced for a mass casualty incident, including September 11.
He said: “Since we opened, the lines have permanently been at capacity.”
Mr McPherson said staff were taking calls from people from anywhere in the world concerned about relatives or loved ones who were UK nationals.
A Foreign Office spokesman also stressed the system had been taking an unprecedented volume of calls, and said consular staff in Thailand were working through the night to answer inquiries.
Although this is an unprecedented situation, emergency call centres are supposed to deal with emergencies and it is noteworthy that McPherson stated that the Appeal Centre was “at capacity” rather than promising to “increase capacity”. Does this mean Buggins turn for those who have to wait on the line until they obtain an operator?
It is the FCO’s role to deal with situations such as this catastrophe. They have dropped the ball.
As hard as it is for the family and friends of the missing to take, the problem really is that the Thai and Sri Lankan governments have much more important things to do right now than make sure people outside the region know if their loved ones are okay. I would put phone service to the outside world on the list of things to fix at about tenth, following such things as (not necessarily in order) water, food, shelter, burials of the dead, rescue of the living, rebuilding roads, and establishing order.
It’s agonizing to wonder, but patience is in order. Some heartless need makes me want to say, “If they’re dead, they’ll still be dead tomorrow. And if they’re alive, they probably are busy helping out or trying to get home.”
As for a government call center being insufficiently prepared, “unsurprising” is right. But I bet if they had the now-needed hundreds of employees sitting around on their thumbs for months and years, waiting for such an emergency, this site would have been among the many that would have complained about waste, inefficiency, and socialist jobs programs. Limited government has its occasional drawbacks.
Eh, would it be tasteless to say “time to outsource the call-centers to asia”…
Actually, call centers in Asia would be better able to collect and distribute information regarding this incident. But yes, it is tasteless make that suggestion.
As for a government call center being insufficiently prepared, “unsurprising” is right. But I bet if they had the now-needed hundreds of employees sitting around on their thumbs for months and years, waiting for such an emergency, this site would have been among the many that would have complained about waste, inefficiency, and socialist jobs programs. Limited government has its occasional drawbacks.
Well there’s the rub isn’t it. They staff just enough to be under the radar, grow fat during the calm, peaceful times, and when shit hits the fan, they’re ‘understaffed’. It merely seems to prove the point the government, by and large is useless. It is unnecessary most of the time, and when it may be of use, they get overwhelmed.
I happen to agree with Jon. In the past, we didn’t have the amount of information at our fingertips that we have today, and it has spoiled us. Water, food and shelter are far more important during this chaos than printing casualty lists and setting out press releases. The information will come, but it may take a day or two, and frankly, the wherabouts of those who actually live and pay tax in the countries that are affected will be easier to ascertain than that of the tourists.
Dear Mr Bush
Perhaps you have been taking a very well deserved rest over the Christmas period; there is something of major importance to your country which I would like to draw to your attention to.
Faced with the greatest human disaster the world has ever known, the richest and most powerful nation on earth has offered to donate the princely sum of $35 million (initially announced as $15M but that was too embarrassing) to the relief effort. Under your administration, the United States has spent many times more than this, on many individual days on cruise missiles or other armaments which are designed to further world security and democracy.
My question is very simply this. Have none of your advisors indicated to you, that the way to quickly change the hearts and minds of millions in favour of the US, would be to immediately announce a massive (start with a figure of $1 billion and work up) injection of US aid? I am sure that you will appreciate that anti American feeling would be mitigated far more effectively by providing water, food and shelter than life destroying high explosives.
This is (hopefully) a once in a lifetime opportunity for the US to take the lead and to establish itself as an undeniable force for good. Alternatively you can continue to pay lip service to aid, and develop a breeding ground for terrorism which this time will cover a whole continent.
This is the defining moment of all US Presidencies.
Yours sincerely
Just to put it in perspective Cancergiggles…France is giving 100,000 Euros. I congratulate your efforts to spend American tax-payers money. Hopefully Bush will resist the temptation to follow your lead. Do you honestly think any amount of money donated to this tragedy will change any minds that hate Bush/America round the world?
BTW: some Greenpeace moron has gone and blamed the US for this earthquake. It seems not signing Kyoto caused this tragedy. Silly me, I thought it was all about tectonic plates moving around, so much for a year of Geology classes.
Cancergiggles, what you have outlined in your letter amounts to extortion. You have just said to the United States “Pay up, or bad things will happen.” Can we all please try to put into perspective that yes, the US and other major countries are coughing up a large amount of taxpayer money to help clean up this devastating mess, but that the taxpayers themselves are giving a huge amount, too? People from all walks of life, all financial demographics, all ages – are giving staggaring sums of cash out of their own pockets. I would like you to come right out and say to someone *rich* that has just donated thousands of dollars or pounds that wasn’t already earmarked for something else is cheap and ought to be ashamed of themselves.
I donated what I could today – $50. How much did you give out of your own pocket, Cancergiggles?