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An Epitaph For The Living

By Anitha.S

26 September, 2012
Countercurrents.org

A month and a half ago, the bold people of Idintakarai condoled the death of democracy by hoisting black flags and carrying the body amidst loud crying and melancholoic drum beats. This was on August 15,2012, the 66th anniversary of Indian Independence. Today after a month, the situation in the village has changed- changed so much that one could hardly recognize the intensity of pain and trauma. It looks like a life time has passed for the children, youth and women since September 9th, 2012. With their faces burnt by out dated tear gas shells which were thrown on to their bodies like grenades, women and children are terrorized by the memory of it all. Yet they have rallied together with innovative programs to stay alert and also to awaken the conscience of humanity.

The memory of the carnage was erased a bit as women and children stood in the waters of their beloved Bay of Bengal on September 13, 2012. But then their tears were saltier after they lost dear Sahayam who was caught unawares by the low- flying aircraft of the Coast Guard. The washing and purification of the Church of the revered Lourde Matha in the middle of Idintakarai was a moving scene where as much tears as sea water the women and girls carried flowed on the floors of the century old building. The people of Koottapulli village nearby immersed themselves in sand for a whole day in protest against the Government’s apathy. The blocking of Tuticorin port with as many fishing vessels as possible also marked a new phase in the struggle. The children and women all along the shores of villages like Chinnavila, Kadiyapattinam and Pillaithoppu. In northern Kerala coast near Neelsehwaram, Naithal, a group working for conservation of sea turtles came together with 600 children who took an oath to protect the sea and life with support to the Koodankulam struggle.

Today as I write this, Melrit returns my call lamenting from Idintakarai. Missing her three friends- Xavieramma, Sundari and Selvi away in a jail, she narrates the events of the day.

“ We went to the Kallara( cemetery) behind the school which holds the graves of all our forefathers. In a solemn occasion, we dug graves and 4 of our sons buried themselves slowly in the soil.I could not control myself – the whole scene was so moving and painful. How much can I cry? How much have I cried over the past 2 weeks? I am afraid I will have no tears left”

The children who came holding the pictures of Narayana swamy and Sonia Gandhi asked if they have no ears and eyes.
‘ Can the women- Sonia and Jayalalitha not see our pain and anguish? Can they not hear our voices asking for justice and right to live? Where and how do we reach them?” cried little Shiji who is so full of laughter otherwise.

The women and children of Tsunami Rehabilitation colony refuse to go back there. The memory of the brutalities like the memory of pain lingers deep. However inconvenient and crowded the Church courtyard is they feel safe and secure with all their villagers. However hard it is to walk in the morning back to their homes to wash and bathe, they are back by 10 am in the morning to be together. They share their pain and anxieties, listen to some who come to express solidarity, eat from the common kitchen and rest here.The play and tender croonings of the babies for whom many have tied cloth cradles bring smiles to the troubled faces of the mothers and grand mothers. It is an astounding picture of hand-holding and coping that one witnesses here in Idintakarai.

Noone speaks of compensation or rehabilitation here. All say in one voice as if echoing what the sad and tired Isabella told :

“ We will not move.We will survive and can stand straight to answer our children that we fought for justice, for this toxic inhuman nuclear plant to be shut down, for democracy, truth and justice to reinstated in our country” .

On 25th September 2012 after talking to Melrit and hearing Satish.K’s narratives from Idintakarai.- Anitha.S




 

 


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