Chef to rock stars helps tsunami victims in Asia

Private chef to rock bands like Pearl Jam, U2 and the Rolling Stones, Bruce French saw the destruction of the December 2004 South Asian earthquake and tsunami and decided to take action.

Ten days after the devastating flood, French — who spoke about his experiences at a lecture Tuesday in Murray-Dodge — flew to Sri Lanka. Along with three other independent volunteers, he coordinated relief efforts in Peraliya, a village where about 2,000 people died.

Peraliya was virtually destroyed by the tsunami wave of Dec. 26, 2004. An express train from Colombo was passing through the village when it was swept off its tracks by the water. More than 500 people died in the village and another 1,468 passengers on the train were killed.

The event was first of two Pace Center-sponsored discussions with French; the second is a lunch today. Pace Center director Kiki Jamieson said that French's experiences on the ground in Sri Lanka after the tsunami reminded her of the devastation in the gulf region after Katrina. "So many Americans wondered why aid was so slow to come and why government was slow to respond," she wrote in an email. "Bruce showed how important the action of individuals, working together, can be."

French compared his first impression of Peraliya to "a scene from a horror movie." The villagers lacked basic medical aid, as well as food and water provisions. "Our instinct told us the first thing we had to do was find food," he said.

Armed with a tent, water purification goods, protein powder and power bars, French made his way into the village without any special training, just a strong desire to help villagers who had lost everything. "People were dying in real time," he said. "They needed compassion. They needed eye-to-eye, skin-to-skin help."

Over the next few months, French organized efforts to rebuild regional schools and medical centers. He also procured funds to construct self-sustaining projects, like brick factories and bread bakeries. He donated 1,500 coconut trees, using them for fruit and oil, as well as water retention and rope.

French stayed in the village for five months before money ran out and he had to return to work.

"The thing I got out of this experience is that, as individuals, we have more tools at our disposal than we realize," French said. "Coming out of Princeton, you all have contacts and resources that make you more powerful than you realize."