Monday, February 21, 2005

Community

Tsunami losses remain fresh for R.I. exec

By Patricia Resende

The beach was her friend that sunny Sunday morning when Lina Lee and her family decided to spend the day at the Pasir Panjang, a hidden Malaysian beach in the Balik Pulau area that only the locals knew about.

But that day soon turned dark and the ocean became her enemy.

The family had plans to visit the Botanical Gardens in Penang, Malaysia, but instead decided that beautiful morning to have a picnic by the sea.

Her sons Ziyue Ooi, 6, and Zixuan Ooi, 10, planned to collect seashells and starfish with their three cousins, all close in age. And Lee would spend time with her husband, mother-in-law and the rest of her husband's family.

Within 20 minutes, a monstrous wave moving at 100 miles per hour came crashing down, separating the family members in seconds.

"When my brother-in-law woke up (from being knocked out from the first wave) he couldn't find my sister," said Lina's brother William Lee, president and CEO, co-founder and director of eMembrane in Providence, R.I. The company makes a technology platform for manufacturing nano-scale filters and devices.

Lee is a native of Malaysia, the second generation of his family to live in that island nation. His grandparents immigrated to Malaysia from China, and Lee came to the United States 19 years ago, the only member of his family to do so.

Lee last week shared his family's story with Mass High Tech.

Aftermath

After searching for any sign of his eight other family members, Lee's brother-in-law, Keanguan Ooi, found Lina.

"After the first wave he found my sister and performed CPR on her," Lee explained, keeping his composure as his eyes filled with tears. "He first found my sister about five miles away. Then the second wave came and pulled her away from him and pulled her out to the ocean."

On that day after Christmas, William Lee was in Rhode Island reading the news online. Headlines on several sites said that a tsunami had hit Southeast Asia, killing hundreds.

"I didn't think there was any problem at all," Lee recalled.

The tsunami had reportedly hit Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia.

"After I saw the news I called," he said. "I kept calling my family and no one answered. It was strange."

Lee, 39, called his younger sister, Anna, who lived near his parents in Malaysia.

"I called her cell phone and she broke the news to me."

His parents were at the hospital. His youngest sister Lina, 36, was gone.

Tragic toll

Lina's son Ziyue was missing. Lina's mother-in-law, two nephews, and niece were also missing.

Lina's body was found soon after the tsunami hit. Her mother-in-law's body was found three days later, and her niece's body has also since been found.

Still missing are William Lee's nephew, Ziyue and Lina's two nephews.

"The most difficult part, not just for me but for my whole family, is that we can't find the children," Lee said shakily. "And now the hope is less and less because they are probably buried under the sea."

The Malaysian Chinese Association donated funds to the Oois and visited with Keanguan (who was injured) and his son Zixuan just days after the tragedy, according to the MCA.

After speaking to his very distraught father, Lee packed his bags and headed to Malaysia to comfort his family and to bury his sister and the rest of her family.

"It's the first time that I heard my father cry - he just couldn't hold himself together," Lee said. "They are very, very shaky."

Coping

Lee's older nephew, Zixuan, now left without a mother and brother, still shares details of his own tragic experience.

"He held on to his (younger) cousin (after the first wave hit) with one hand and with the other hand he held onto a branch," Lee said. "After the second wave hit, he had to let go of his hand to save his own life.

"He just keeps saying, 'Sorry'."

Amid the devastation, Lee finds some comfort in sharing photos of his sisters and parents growing up and telling stories about his little sister and her son.

Lee said Lina, a kindergarten teacher, was a very kind person who loved children. She loved singing and modeling in her high school years, was their father's favorite, he said, and was the "naughtiest" of them all.

Ziyue loved Pokémon and often wore clothing and hats featuring the characters.

In April, Lee visited Malaysia and spent time with his siblings' children.

Moving forward has been difficult, but Lee copes the best he can.

"The way I am treating it is I'm trying not to think about it," he said." I keep myself busy and I'll let time heal everything. Of course, when you have free time you can't help but to think about it."

"You just have to accept it as it is."

Patricia Resende is a freelance writer based in Bristol, R.I.