Waves of Destruction

Around 40 of us left to Nagapattinam, on New Year’s Eve on a trip that was to take us right to the place of destruction. We reached our destination, which was the relief operations centre of a particular organization, at close to 1:00 pm, Jan 1 2005. After a quick lunch and a couple of briefings on the situation we left to the site which had been affected the most. Without any doubt the extent of the damage that meets the eye is alarming. There were boats of all sizes strewn around all over the place like dismantled toys. There is the stench of death all over the place because of dead bodies concealed under the rubble of what was once a busy town. The survivors, now tired of weeping over the loss, stare into the emptiness without any hope. What was even more disappointing was, other than an active district collector, there was the conspicuous absence of any other government official at the site of the catastrophe. In the government’s favour, I am sure that the government feels crippled with extent of relief required stretching from Tiruvalur to Nagapattinam, around 400 km of Tamil Nadu’s coastal belt. With a sense of helplessness we left to return back to the operations centre, where the rest of the evening was spent unloading the relief supplies we had brought along with us.
The next day, 2 Jan 2005, we split ourselves into various groups, and spent the whole of it in medical camps, government hospitals and villages. Binod, Leo and I were part of a group that was doing a survey at a village called Seruthur, close to the holy site of Vailankanni. Seruthur is a fishing hamlet, with a population of approximately 4000 people comprising of around a 100 families. The loss of lives was around 300, the loss of property was close to 10 crore (excluding the damage done to the residences). The village had a total of 600 boats, each costing roughly around a lakh; not a single one of them remains fit to sail again. We had a chance to directly meet affected families, figure out their immediate as well as long tem requirements, and get an approximate amount of personal loss. The whole scene is extremely depressing to say the very least, children have been orphaned, parents have lost some or all of their children, women have been widowed, men have lost their means of livelihood. After spending the whole of the day at Seruthur, we returned back to Nagapattinam and after bidding our goodbyes to the relief workers we left behind, we were homebound by nightfall.
One of the most unfortunate things about this disaster is the number of children who have lost their lives. Unofficial figures state that close to half of the recovered bodies were those of minors, a couple of which we had the opportunity to see ourselves. The sea rushed in with such speed that let alone children, even adults didn’t have time to react. The large scale devastation was caused not by the waters alone, the speeding waters acted as carriers of destruction bringing along with them boats weighing in ranges of a tonne to many. The resulting momentum that was built up by this combination of sea and wood was so huge, that it smashed everything that was in its path. We have had the chance to view the catastrophe first hand and as is known Indonesia and Sri Lanka are affected even worse, the extent of the damage is inconceivable.
Help is pouring in, but it may not be enough and whatever is available may not be utilized effectively. These are finally our own people, we share a country with them, we share an identity with them. And they need us. Please spread the word around, try and do your bit. And let me warn you, please do not donate blindly. Sadly there are quite a few unscrupulous people trying to make a fast buck out of this calamity. Also, sometimes, merely good intentions aren’t enough to do good. Money is being wasted in relief items that are no longer required. People out there want to return to their means of livelihood, want to start their daily lives again, they need utensils, stoves, boats. Please make donations to organizations that allow you to track your contribution. Or better, gather a few like minded people; figure out what you think would be possible for you to donate. Procure the items and ship them to relief organizations.
The only thing that these people are left with is a faith in miracles, a faith in the extraordinary, and a faith in Providence. That is belief. Reality is the rest of this country needs to make it happen.

Suneel