| Published on 29-09-2006 In National |
| Viewed 1482 times |
| TSUNAMI - THE HUMAN STORY |
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Written by
C. V. Sankar IAS |
“Harbour Waves”; the Japanese word for these deadly waves was unknown to us at all on that fateful morning after Christmas in the year 2004. The waves came without warning and were huge and menacing as they neared the coastline of Tamilnadu, the southernmost State on the mainland of India. Tamil literature and folklore mention about such waves swallowing the bustling towns ages ago; but no one in living memory could recognise the waves that day. The district of Nagapattinam is known for its famous Hindu temples, Muslim shrines and the Christian pilgrimage centre, Velankanni all on the coast. The combined force of these powers was not enough to protect the lives of more than 6000 people who died that day, most of them women and children. Tears well up in my eyes when I walk near some of the villages where a small hut-like structure with the picture of a small girl and a lamp lit in front is the only reminder of a bright spark of life extinguished so suddenly. The response to this tragedy was unprecedented; hundreds and thousands of volunteers and organizations came rushing-with only a very vague idea about the people and the place. Their responses in terms of food and clothing were sometimes met with scorn and disdain but their gestures were appreciated. They set up camps, distributed food, medicines, toys and what not. Cash was doled out in crisp 500 rupee notes and a few wrote out cheques for unbelievable amounts. Unlike other disasters where the local administration was considered to be the only organization that was responsible for taking care of the people in distress, here was a situation when relief trucks had to be stopped on the highway and asked to report to the District Collector’s[1] office for the purpose of coordinating the flow of materials. The non-governmental organisations quickly formed coordination centres and with the use of computers could assign these materials to the needy villages. The Government took control of the situation much faster here than in any of the tsunami-hit countries and initiated the setting up of relief camps, organised for burial of the dead, disinfected vast areas, immunised thousands of children and went about building temporary shelters. It laid the groundwork for the public private partnership model for the reconstruction programme. It innovated in despatching experienced officers to man groups of villages, gave administrative and financial powers to the local officers and announced a slew of packages to touch every section of the affected population-be it the fishers, the labourers, fish vendors, petty businessmen, students, farmers, orphaned children or traumatised people. International and UN agencies organised targeted interventions in the health, water supply, sanitation, education, livelihood and trauma care sectors. The focus was on simple, workable solutions and immediate succour. Were the resources wasted? Yes and no! Some over-enthusiastic people believed all that was told and distributed unsuitable materials and implements including boats, polypropylene tents etc but these were again sporadic and should not dilute the spirit of the gestures. Some items ended up in the second-hand market rather quickly and this again brought to light the contentious issue of a reliable data base for canalising relief in emergencies especially in countries like India with sizable poor populations.The fishing industry took the brunt of the disaster and livelihoods froze for almost five months.[2] The boats and nets were replaced quickly but fear of the sea kept the men away longer. The women sustained on subsistence allowances and meagre cash wages. The children were back to school pretty fast and special exams helped many clear the hurdle of passing out of school and for better lives. The Government decided to make no change in adoption rules for the orphaned children and opened special homes to enable people to decide in peace. A thoughtful scheme of fixed deposits for such children was initiated to provide a strong financial base for them. The farmers felt neglected with all the attention on the fishers but specific schemes were launched for them too. The marginalised poor families along the coast including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes[3] felt discrimination in the distribution of relief as they were not on the coast and were also poorer than the fishers. The administration went the extra mile to offset perceived shortfalls and Cuddalore district showed the best example of new, better built houses in the place of ramshackle houses for such families. Anecdotal evidence suggests that each coastal family had a net increase of Rs 35000 to Rs 50000 in the asset profile of an average family in the coastal areas of Tamilnadu due to the interventions of all the above players.
The tsunami focussed attention on the need to protect the environment better than any campaign and people were willing to move to safer locations and spend money on creating shelter-belt buffers. An entire village in Kanchipuram district shifted to a safer location abandoning in some cases houses worth several lakhs of rupees. Organic farming came to the fore thanks to the efforts of NGO’s especially in Nagapattinam district. The flooding of many of these areas in the winter months of 2005 made people realise the value of natural water courses and the need to protect water bodies.The most popular slogan was “BUILD BACK BETTER”. The venerable Prime Minister of India was the first off the block on this with a call to use tsunami as an opportunity to create better facilities and better livelihoods. In a large measure, this was becoming possible due to the huge financial resources made available; the houses being the most striking example. Each was having a core area of about 30 m2 and was to have disaster resistant features. The habitats were to have protected water supply, access and internal roads, electricity and sanitation facilities. Rural areas not yet fully used to toilets were to have sewerage treatment plants. Though criticised in some quarters as having urban ideas forced on the rural, coastal people without fuller assimilation of their traditional lifestyles, the administration had to strike a compromise while providing houses faster without diluting quality. Provision of insurance cover for the houses, better auction halls, restoration of cyclone shelters, construction of better quality steel boats, a large number of renovated schools and child care centres[4], a subsidised Universal Health Insurance Scheme, a scholarship scheme to all the school-going children and a community based veterinary workers’ scheme were some other examples of answers to this call for building back better. Will all the above translate into better lives? The years to come will only reveal whether all the effort that has gone into rebuilding lives has indeed changed the lives for better. The tsunami took away thousands of lives; yet ironically, it has helped focus the community’s attention on the lives of men and women to whom danger is a way of life. It has changed many lives for ever and brought hope to thousands of poor families. It has created good models of public-private partnership and mutual trust. It has exposed many families to different cultures and responses. Some of the potent risks never surfaced; trafficking, HIV-AIDS, suicidal tendencies etc were nowhere near what was expected. The only aspect one is not sure is whether we are better prepared for facing similar disasters. We do expect the warning system to be in place but the pressures of increasing populations and limited resources will force families to seek cheaper but riskier locations and livelihoods. The need of the hour is to forgive the past but to never forget it!
[1] The District Collector is the chief administrator of the sub-State geographical unit, a legacy of the British rule of India. [2] An unintended benefit was the rapid rise of fish populations due to near-absent fishing activity. [3] The lower castes in the water-tight oppressive caste system peculiar to India. [4] Two organisations alone repaired/rebuilt hundreds of schools and child care centres. The child care centres were almost as big as community centres and would be very useful in emergencies. |
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