What difference does a mourning day make?
Tomorrow has been declared a national day to remember the tsunami victims. Thornton McCamish reports on the trend towards public grieving. Tomorrow afternoon, to mark the national day of mourning, people all along the Surf Coast will gather at Cozy Corner on Torquay’s front beach, climb onto their boards and paddle out beyond the break. They will form what surfers call a Ring of Remembrance, holding hands, talking, and splashing the water to create a feeling of harmony. “It’s a way of expressing emotion and the process of mourning,” says John Foss, a surfer at Torquay for 30 years. “When you’re out there it’s like the ocean becomes a church.” John Howard has urged Australians to “find time on Sunday, January 16 to mourn the tragic loss of so many” in the Asian tsunami disaster. Flags will fly at half mast on Commonwealth buildings and overseas missions. Australians are encouraged to observe a minute’s silence at 11.59am, and to wear a piece of wattle as a tribute to the dead. It is onl
