U of T students, staff, and faculty came together last Monday in the Great Hall at Hart House in memory of the thousands who died in Southeast Asia on December 26 after a massive tsunami wracked shorelines surrounding the Indian Ocean. The memorial service at Hart House, along with similar events happening at U of T’s Mississauga and Scarborough campuses, was meant to offer troubled U of T community members solace and hope in the face of the tragedy.

The event was introduced by Interim President Frank Iacobucci, who began by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“‘Sorrow makes us all children again, destroys all differences of intellect; the wisest know nothing,'” Iacobucci said. “I commend the response of you and many others-ours is a caring community.

“Though we gather to remember the countless thousands of dead, wounded, and missing,” Iacobucci said, “we are obliged to aid those who survived as well.”

Iacobucci also thanked the group of Toronto schoolchildren who had opened the ceremony with Gamelan music, a traditional Indonesian musical ensemble. The Leslieville Public School Gamelan Ensemble opened the 11am ceremony and played again to close it at noon.

“Words alone cannot describe the poignancy of that music,” said Iacobucci.

Geoff Wichert, coordinator of the Campus Chaplains’ Assocation, addressed the assembled crowd, which filled almost all the seats.

“We come together today to grieve,” he said. “We come together to stand before a profound mystery-the mystery of human pain and suffering and death. You can’t control mysteries, but you can wonder at them, ponder them. I want to suggest that a greater awareness of our own fragility can teach us humility. First we can learn humility.”

Nurcahyo Basuki, an Indonesian-Canadian doctoral student in geology, called December 26, 2004 “a day that will be remembered as the most terrible in our history.”

“Hundreds of thousands have died and millions have lost their families, homes, lands, dreams,” said Basuki. “So many dreams, gone in a matter of seconds.”

“I would like to thank Canadians for their support.”

Yoshani De Silva, of the U of T Buddhist Students’ Association, encouraged people to do as much as possible for the stricken region.

“I’d like to thank people in Canada and the Canadian government, I’d like to thank U of T for showing support. Please give as much support as you can give.”