Joe lost his 'joyful' son in the 2004 tsunami. Then he fought for victims

Friday, 27 December 2024 07:18

Joe, his wife Evanna and their 16-year-old son Paul were on holiday in Phuket, Thailand 20 years ago when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami struck, killing 227,898 people.

Exclusive: Two decades have marched by since Joe Giardina lost his 'joyful' and 'loving' son Paul but his memory burns brighter than ever.

Joe, his wife Evanna and their 16-year-old son Paul were on holiday in Phuket, Thailand when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami struck, killing 227,898 people.

Paul was one of them. He was swept away in the wave while Joe, who tried to save his son, survived a near-drowning in an incredible stroke of luck.

Paul with mum Evanna in Phuket the night before the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami

Joe, who lives in Melbourne with his wife Evanna, told 9news.com.au the past 20 years have been tough but he knows Paul managed to fit a lifetime of love in his short time on earth.

"Every parent's nightmare is to lose a child, mine was even worse in the sense that I wasn't able to hold onto him... I lost him," Joe said.

"I felt that I'd let him down. But I also knew there was nothing I could have done, it was outside of my control."

The Giardinas were having breakfast at their hotel in Phuket when the tsunami came.

The force of the water dragged Joe into a stairwell on the third floor of the hotel, while Paul was ripped away from his father.

While Joe avoided drowning and survived with some broken bones, Paul's body was found three days later.

For a long time, this haunted Joe.

Paul, who lost his life aged 16 during the Boxing Day Tsunami

Now 20 years after the tsunami, he said time has healed a lot of those wounds.

"We also have to acknowledge that it's not just us. There's 26 Australians in total, so 25 other Australians that lost their lives, and 230,000 worldwide," he said.

This is why Joe wanted to have a permanent tribute to those who died in the disaster.

He was pivotal in lobbying the Australian government to create a memorial in 2015 in Canberra, which remembers Paul among thousands of others.

Every parent's nightmare is to lose a child, mine was even worse in the sense that I wasn't able to hold onto him... I lost him.

Joe also visited Canberra in November to mark the milestone this Boxing Day.

"It was part of the healing process, not just for me but all the Australian families," Joe said.

"It's difficult to believe that it's been 20 years, it feels like maybe 10 or 12 years, it's still really vivid."

Joe has visited Thailand again too and reclaimed his memories of the beautiful South-East Asian country after the nightmare he endured.

He's also had a long time to think about the word 'survivor' and what it means to have lived, while his son didn't.

"It's a word of joy, because I survived a near-death experience," Joe added.

"I have come to terms with the challenges that life presents, it's reality.

"I don't feel anger, it's the journey. We would obviously prefer not to have taken this journey, but it's the reality of life."

Joe Giardina with wife Evanna and son Paul

The years may have flown by but Paul will forever be 16.

Little things spark memories of Paul all the time and Joe loves it when the universe offers him a little reminder of his son.

"He would have been 16, there's sadness in the fact we never got to see that side of Paul," Joe said.

"Paul was just love. In photos of Paul, there's always a smile or cheeky grin on his face. That was Paul, the Paul we knew, we loved and continue to love, we were blessed.

"It was 16 short years, 16 amazing years."