Social Implications
Of
Tsunami Relief: Reflections
By Medha Patkar
14 January, 2005
Countercurrents.org
More
than the earthquake, its the disastrous impact of tsunamis that
has shaken our country and the world. The death toll and the unprecedented
destruction in the coastal region have posed a challenge before the
human civilisation, which is both short term and long term. The vague
analysis and opaque reasoning of the disaster is much more confusing
than ever before, including that of the Orissa cyclone. The debates
can wait, but the immediate task of supporting the affected through
relief first and rehabilitation to follow, is an unavoidable endeavour
and that is already under way. The dear and indispensable, who
died are no more but we, the living who are left behind have to face
destitution which is deadly, said Mariamma in a camp at Nagaipattinam.
It was obvious that common people as well as peoples organisations
including small civil society groups to large labour unions would respond
to the historic call of the calamity, but the state too had to stand
up to the occasion and show its capacity and commitment. The blow was
such that no one would like to question anybody on either the honesty
or ability but rather join that large band of humans in the run for
survival. This indeed happened. People, not just in the office but on
the streets; not only in the churches, mosques or temples but also in
the struggles for just wages and employment, and children in the schools
threw in money, clothes, bed-sheets, even food. That was the test nothing
less than of humanity.
As in the case of every disaster in the past, within a few days since
the flow of material to the coast had begun, since the collection by
the newspapers to theatre-owners grew into crores, a shrill voice and
few doubts emerged about whether the poured money and material, not
just love and solidarity, had reached the needy. It was like each one,
a witness to the wave of charity, searching for the signs
of its impact, as people looked out for the one on the land and the
sea, once the tsunami waves receded.
When our team reached the Cuddalare district in the coastal village,
Killai, we didnt have any intention to investigate or monitor
anything. With a small fund of about one lakh rupees, we were more keen
to offer our services as a faithful band of volunteers, ready to do
anything as social activists, doctors, counsellors or community organisers.
Having worked in rescue to relief during the past disasters - Andhra
Pradesh cyclone, Marvi dam tragedy or Kutch earthquake in Gujarat, some
of us had an urge to use our experience in the post-disaster tasks whether
of distribution of material or motivating the people to start their
normal life. One more, though. Having struggled to seek the right to
just a fair rehabilitation of the displaced due to dams, mines, highways,
mega cities or urban beautification and tourism, we knew the ins and
outs of the packages and policies, the various option that did work
or did not, and the reasons behind it. Our experience in motivating,
even sensitising the bureaucracy and demanding a political will and
attention was suggestive of the enormous effort that would be needed
to work with the official machinery, but not without the affected people
themselves. The messages of what provisions were in plenty and hence
not required any more and what was still in the dearth, had reached
Mumbai before we started, more than a week after the disaster. We, therefore,
took with us, some bags and sacks full of bed-sheets no doubt, but much
more, our openness to fit into the situation, readiness to rough out
and work, work and work hard with whatever skills and all commitment.
Working with the people from the village that were no more, Chinnavaikal,
Pillamedu, Kannaninagar, and the other partially affected, MGR Nagar
and Killai in the Killai Panchayat we witnessed, on one hand, the pain
and agony that survived the first shock and shattering. The suffocation
felt by each one of the affected could simply burst into long narration
of story. Ammakanni an old Irula adivasi woman had lost Pandian, her
husband, with his name still in the missing list with little
hope to be found. Holding on a branch of a tree she could not even see
Pandian lost in the wave but could save a child flown away from his
parents. All scratches on her body as on many others, she as did everyone
around there at mid night still like to prove to us vividly
describing the event, that they went through it, unbelievable even to
themselves and go on miming and weeping till they were convinced we
could understand and empathise.
With no Tamil at our disposal, we used all our senses to console and
convince; touches, pats, holding their hands, to hugs. I had to keep
Vinesh, our Tamil speaking colleague, trained social worker, clinging
on to my back, to get every sentence, if not word, every point translated.
It was like slow prompting in a low voice with a care not to disturb
the flow of conversation. A mother having lost three children to the
dragon sea in front of her eyes; a child Sneha, left without her two
brothers and mother; or Kalidas clinging to his only brother orphaned
by losing both the parents were just a few of those we saw and heard.
But more, we met and felt with our heavy hearts, and humility of humans
not helpless but powerless before the natures fury. Our analysis
of coastal destruction, degradation, the states offences and societys
apathy was nowhere in the picture, when we stood at the burial ground
with tens of children underneath, and candles burning out.
Living through this, we could see the truck after a tempo or a van coming
in and throwing packets or plastic pots, blankets or stoves out. Free
distribution of brand new materials in this commercialised world was
a deviation no doubt, but also a sign of human purity that still exist.
Women in groups would stand pouring on to the streets around the three
statues of Gandhi, Kamraj and Rajiv Gandhi made by a local sculptor
(trying hand to make it resemble the original faces), and wait till
noon and again after lunch, till sunset, collecting the material it
distributed in a queue but also catching, if thrown at them.
The distribution and material gain, why even the occupying task of waiting
and receiving has its own counselling effect, but only till the grief
erupted and the irreparable loss blasted from within. Amidst the hectic
activity, mobility of vehicles and an unprecedented number of visitors
to the village, the vacuum felt was disturbing. Everything would shiver
and everyone shudders when the loud voices of the day would drown into
the mass morning in the night, loud yet ruptured and deep, cold yet
gripping.
The community of fisher people spent the 16th night after death on the
bank of the river or at the seashore, lit the lamps at the dawn and
realised that a chapter in the life was closed forever. Not everyone,
every child, a widow or an aged was reached out to. Our counsellor,
Geetha Balkrishnan from Nirmala Niketan, College of Social Work, reached
out to hundreds of women, individuals or in groups, but the need was
enormous. Busy in distributing materials, NGOs or medical missionaries
too mostly had no one with the required skill to be invested into this
task. Children to be involved in activities and play to get them back
to life, to ventilate and relate, remains to be done.
While carrying out our role in the community getting together
arious clans and all the villages in the Panchayat and around to interact
and reflect on the situation, to check the records of the dead, missing
and surviving families, to opine and decide on the next move and the
right path, the relief phase and the role of various actors as also
their own, we learnt a lot. There is no doubt that large amount of material
has reached the nook and corner, hamlets and villages in Tamilnadu.
The most and the worst affected fisher people, have received a unique
support of the world and are full of gratitude for the same. All creeds,
classes and categories of people - corporate sector as well as NGOs,
individual philanthropists as well as well-organised political organisations
have moved in. But almost all have chosen not to really involve the
community or even its leadership social and political - in planning
or even distributing the relief. With an anxiety to see that the things
reach the needy beneficiary directly and avoid the intermediaries, they
all were dealing with the people, an individuals and families. Most
followed the lists of affected families provided by the officials, read
out and delivered to whosoever came forward. All and one, would leave
the village and go back to either tahsils or district headquarters,
to a town nearby, for night halt. Rather since each covered many villages,
and had limited manpower, also because most had not till then definitely
chosen the geographical area, certain of the affected village communities
or urban localities to work with, and their lack of experience in community
level processes, that they spent little time in each village, mostly
what was required for distribution and related tasks. Some did invest
time and energy in systematising the work, through surveys, which too
were carried out by the activists and volunteers mostly without the
locals.
Couldnt each of these tasks, even in the relief phase, be carried
out involving and in the process, building or strengthening the local
leadership? Would the spree of activity - of recording, distributing,
assessing the impact and need, linking with the government agency and
co-ordinating the non-governmental groups, serve to provide the locals
- youth, women, elders, also the children, an opportunity to regain
confidence through meaningful contribution to life? A vast potential,
we felt, was lost by the good Samaritan's approach even when, the families
and communities appeared ready and capable, but feeling obliged and
awkward to come forward, but for receiving.
The result was, overlapping and duplication as always. One family would
get third store and with no more pieces in the tempo, the truck with
volunteers coming from Karnataka or Uttar Pradesh would turn back leaving
out a group having received no store. But more, underwears, tooth powder,
and such material, we were told, wasrarely thought of. No one felt confident
to suggest this. One must admit, however, that lot many needs were fulfilled.
Those in the relief camps put up in large temples or wedding halls had
no place to pile up things. The camps, mostly managed by the Tamilnadu
Government, had the material supply from non-governmental donors. An
integrated approach was in a way commendable and there was no complaint
on the services therein although the situation in Nagapattanam again
left much to be desired. Hundreds of women, sitting idle, remembering
the demised brethren, felt helpless that their services were never sought
in cooking and they had to eat and feed the children with tasteless
food.
Since we didn't have things to distribute, we could enquire and investigate.
No one asked for more relief. Everyone wanted a house - even if temporary,
a boat and net, the only livelihood for thousands of the affected
Why not, if people did not want to just beg or mourn. The tenacity was
appreciable. But the lag and lapses were obvious. Government official
teams with a young cadre of IAS officials coming from Rajasthan, U.P
many
northern states were no doubt contemplating and trying to allocate.
They were mostly dependent on NGOs - giant and big mainly. Welcoming
everyone, the policy was to motivate and make NGOs pick up the share.
A large meeting at the collectorate had a packed agenda. Each giving
village names and numbers. How many houses would each build? One could
see that the lists prepared were somewhat open and changing. The agency
representative may get more funds from a new source and number would
grow or vice versa. What surprised us was that, there was not much discussion
on why did a NGO select a particular village. Not donating anyone, it
was difficult to ignore the hush-hush voice about who, with what socio-cultural
religious background was serving whom. Moreover, there wasn't till then
any discussion on the housing design or the capacity of the organisations
to build within what time, with what approach - participatory or otherwise.
Our architect, Sudhir from Chennai was disturbed. With years of experience
in post-disaster and other rural housing schemes, he and his colleagues
knew the great potential of local material and housing with local skills,
local labour, local criteria and suitable, acceptable design, as not
just employment generating but a satisfying endeavour, especially when
both shelter and the shattered human was to be rebuild and reconstructed.
Some designs were prepared and well-written notes brought over by NGOs
were shown and seen but there was only a general consensus about houses
to be fireproof. Why not waterproof and not earthquake proof? No house
in the megalopolis may stand all the tests, we felt. Why such unrealistic
criteria when the rural India lives in thatched roof houses, which was
the choice for temporary shelter, of Killai villagers too. So why not
listen to Gunasekhara, the leader of Chinnavaikal, "Let them give
me 5000 and I will build my own house within 2 days." But the Tamilnadu
Government has passed a GR, promptly offering Rs. 5000. Toilet could
be included, we felt, but only after seeking community's acceptance
since they were used to only the open shores. Who would carry out the
process? The meeting, a frequent exercise, between NGOs and officials,
had became a decision-making forum but with no community leaders or
representatives. They came in when activists - seniors, juniors, with
experience, expertise and commitment all in service of the communities,
had left the meeting hall. Why this division - we failed to understand.
Even questioned. One thing was clear. Most of the villages didn't know
who had adopted or sponsored them, their shelter,
their rehabilitation. This saddened us the most.
With all genuinity and respect, concern and commitment, we could see
some NGOs working day in and day out. There was a unity but not in their
approach, skills and methods. Obviously. There was no possibility of
government testing the NGOs - intervening or issuing a format to be
filled in but a dialogue, checks and balances no doubt was needed. While
the bureaucracy itself was trying to act differently, we could see both
- a DFO all ready to sit among people, try and discuss all issues, non-forest,
non-official ones and act with flexibility unlike of any forest official
as also a BDO and his team, holding a meeting to check the lists of
affected families, calling each clans leaders (this task couldn't be
done without them) but in a jeep with door closed, for hours. we also
found a doctors team, cut-out __ for a different, specialised work obviously,
trying to grapple with a community meeting that they were compelled
to hold. They wanted to build houses for the Irulas but only 40. That
was their number. Now, the particular community has 173 houses, all
Kachcha, needing repair or reconstruction even of the same type. Thirty
-three families had lost to the Tsunami, not houses but boats and nets.
The doctors had decided and conveyed to the government, they would only
build pakka houses within whatever, the shortest, time. The meeting
to convey this and make the community select and give them a list of
40 was held. Sitting on the chairs, they were discussing with people,
standing in front of them for at least half-an-hour. We could see the
great difficulty with which the leaders were trying to find a random,
objective criterion to select the forty favoured. One in every ten houses
in a row or something like that. It was no one's fault, may be. But
after having those adivasis- Irulas - included on to the record, conflict
of exclusion started by even the fish workers with a long rooted social
conflict through their own organisation and leadership of the Surpam
Drula Toziyali Sangh (Snake Catcher Irula's Organisation). We felt,
this was an unfortunate and avoidable follow up. It indicated great
problems in rehabilitation that had begun. 0
The pace and promptness sensed at the collectorate with a pro- people
team of officials, was not seen reflected at the grand level. Land was
the main factor. Land for housing selected by the Government , almost
finalised, was rejected by fisher people even in a village, considered
to be favoured by the officials. We were surprised to hear Meenwar (Fish
workers) Panchayat leader, Swamy ventilating his anger and then giving
us a written protest letter addressed to the Collector. People were
not ready to go away from the sea, their mother feeder, come tsunami
or whatever may. They didn't want the same land of the dead and destroyed
but another one, nearby. The Collector had sensed and responded but
the problem emerged in one community after another because the process
of identification and selection, also finalisation and purchase was
parallely progressing through the community who were sitting, discussing,
anticipating on their own as well as the government and NGOs. Private
land, where government land was not either available, acceptable, identified
by people, had to be accepted after a few days of wasteful exercise
by the government to push the Porambuke - Government waste land as the
only option. Who would purchase it? The answer from an official shocked
the people of Killai: NGOs or the affected people. If the affected families
could purchase land, why not rice, clothes and stores? Why give relief?
The officials accepted but left it to NGOs finally. The Government was
committing to 50% of temporary houses but nothing else. Why not? Where
are hundreds if not thousands of crores and dollars to spent? NGOs not
only movements have to keep pushing to get involved in statutory process.
Here they were the first to be offer a chance. Perhaps, they were the
only one to depend on.
We were surprised to find NGOs came forward - one after another mobilising
more funds from wherever. State within the State? The displaced people
from the Narmada Valley too may have to leave the callous government
and approach _some big NGO: should they, we thought! The question remained,
if land is purchased not by the government, who would own when resettlement
site is established - 'the resettled families or the NGOs?'
In the Nagapattanam district collectorate, a band of highly committed
and concerned officials led by an alert and active lady official, Shantasheela
Nair, was discussing this issue after hearing us at 10.30 in the night.
Wide-awake and engrossed in planning for the next day and more, one
of them quipped: "We can't leave any possibility of some NGO, even
if are among hundreds, to sell out a part of the land to some other
company or project". The land, we asserted, must be handed over
with due legal rights, to the affected families and that too, through
government. After all State can be held accountable and must be responsible.
But in Nagapattinam the officials were unaware, till we told them of
the possible purchased private lands in the _adjacent __ district. Not
necessarily due to lack of co-ordination but a sign of decentralised
and flexible approach in planning in Tamilnadu has been one of the major
reasons for its prompt service and unexpected reach. We had all appreciation.
One of our young team members had this to say: "We wish Narmada
was flowing through Tamilnadu and we could get such active and sensitive
officials to rehabilitate them. After all, thousands and thousands of
families were reached out to within days, the civil society at large
too rushed out to the hamlets and shares, the Centre reaching the periphery
and the peripheralised, we thought. The millions, displaced in a planned
manner, with a justified cause 'development' and not 'disaster', who
are not rehabilitated with a shelter and livelihoods, even after years
and when the project is completed and the builders, planner, executors
are gone, have much to be envied!
But all was not well - not for all. There was a huge difference between
the fish workers, even if belonging to backward castes and classes mostly
and the dalits or Irullas, the destitute and dejected over generations,
even if living on fishing and nothing else. The Irullas, DFO agreed
were not just the fisher people, they were the real workers on the boats
or in the mangroves. The mangrove protectors were left out of the list
and brought in later. But the dalits had to fight, here too. The forum
of Dalit organisations, thanks to the young active cadre with them,
had to establish not merely through the press and publicity but a systematic
survey that many dalit bastis were simply not in the list. Again, the
response of the media was fine but also of the official team, which
was working to fill in all gaps, was found to be immediately accepting
and revising the list. There came the lists of other categories of labourers
too, with no owned property (but for their own toil and skill), unorganised
yet the most contributive.. Who all? They were the labour force on the
boats but also the dalit women wearing beautiful bamboo baskets for
carrying fish.
Krishnamma of Gram Swarajya Movement, rooted into the area had identified
them and listed with Geetha-akka, senior activist committed to the justice
to the unorganised, we came across the construction workers domestic
workers, agricultural labourers who too had no earning since Tsunami.
Mr. Radhakrishnan, Kumbakonam (a school burnt to ashes) fame collector,
now in Nagai District, was prompt to admit, "We realise,"
he said, "that those who have lost their sources of livelihood
and their employment affected, need to be included and we expect our
list to go up from 66000 families to 1.5 lakh families. Give us the
list and we will consider these villages. I will send my men and you
can assist." What a difference, we felt. Our experience in Narmada
was of an inch-by-inch fight to get a few thousand families included
over 20 years and continues even today.
Not everything was perfect, performing and paying in that state either.
There are equally troubling spots in the history of the developmental
struggles by the dalits and marginal farmers of Tamilnadu too. We remembered
the incidence during Desh Bachao - Desh Banao campaign - tour of ours.
In Tillaivizhagam village of Tiruvarur District, we faced along with
hundreds of women and men organised by Krishnamma - Jagannathanji, the
Sarvodayi strugglers, for opposing the modern aquaculture farms, Those
owned by rich investors, politicians to the corporates. Those had a
life of 7 to 10 years but had polluted life-long and generations old
aquifers as also land by salinising due to the sea-water taken in. Tsunami
too was sea-ingress. Did it benefit these farms? It didn't. The land
under prawn farms too was destroyed due to extra-salination with the
wave partly breaching the embankments around a farm. But the same bunds
had caused water locking and water logging even after the wave receded.
We were shocked to see flooding with North East monsoon waters in October
that couldn't end due to the same, farm bunds. Paddy farmers lie destitute
with no relief and no rehabilitation. I couldn't but remember Biharis,
the poorest, with 5 lakh houses and 23 lakh hectors of land destroyed
with floods. We met hundreds and hundreds of farmers who had lost their
land and the landless, their wage employment, to the farms, inhuman,
illegal but licensed. Again to our surprise, the Tamilnadu officials
even amidst Tsunami, discussed this issue with us and unhesitatingly
admitted that the impacts were severe and that they would withdraw the
cases filed against the agitators.
With all this, the feeling that if there is a political will and social
awakening which no doubt, comes more with a shock and a shake death
and sudden devastation than with destitution with displacement, disasters
too are taken care of. The latter being slow poisoning to kill the communities
and dismantle cultures, it doesn't give a blow. Not only large NGOs
with funds but activists with a socio-political understanding of communities
and able to link the State with people, their priorities and popular
processes, mobilising civil society support, too can play a role. The
failure of the State in managing the Coastal Regulation Zone, involving
the fish-workers in protecting the coastal land, fish as well as mangrove,
casuarinas, the green cover, restricting the tourism, sand-mining, or
prawn farming (expect one based on traditional technology) from degrading
the coastal resources and depriving the fishing communities, protecting
the unorganised labourers in fishing, forestry and all the sectors with
proper recording, recognising, with labour laws and benefits is obvious.
Yet if the crisis is an opportunity, as the Chinese proverb goes, it
can be compensated, even if partly. Let the dalit landless labourers
be rehabilitated with at least one hectare of land. Let not the non-
violent or violent struggles on the temple land issues be branded as
a conspiracy of a handful of antagonists but the land be taken over,
here and now. Discussing this, there was a response from the dalit rights
activists but also a district Panchayat leader, known to have been fighting
as a trustee of Kanchipuram Mutt. The kattanayakas, members of a primitive
tribe, deprived of relief, and rehabilitation, till then, working as
landless labourers, on boats or streets, were working to demand land
and the non-dalit Panchayat leader expressed willingness to support
the same. We couldn't be naïve to believe everything would be smooth.
Yet new alliance may emerge
will those be taken ahead skilfully
into the rehabilitation phase and the end results sought? Much depends
on the people's organisations which will have to bring in new perspective,
carry out and demonstrate community based processes and strategies;
take firm position and work with dalits and adivasis, mobilise women
to identify the needs, not the market opportunities but livelihoods;
offer alliance with government and also non government agencies ready
to invest in material and human resources both, but also not be afraid
to question the wrong policies, callous execution or lack of participation
and coordination. This is what is in demand from Tsunami affected, not
clothes and blankets, not food and stores, houses and economic opportunities
with sources will follow. The task is to carry out process-social, environmental,
economic planning. It's political but above all, human.
II
Although after Tamilnadu, I had to reach Kerala. The fish-workers of
Kerala Matsya Tozhiyali Sangham, the National; Federation of Fishworkers,
Thomas Kocherry, Peter and many women activists with others belonging
to the left tradition of struggle and various fronts including of youths,
workers have been raising battles which we have had supported, reaching
out to the coastal communities. Not just to express solidarity, I wanted
to know about the situation there. With much less a death toll and smaller
scale of impact, compared to Tamilnadu, we expected more progress. I
have always felt fascinated with the youth activism in Kerala, ideologically
clear, socially conscience, aware about environmental or human rights
issues, could link and weave these into a vision. The politics, tension
to rifts among the political fronts and other people's organisations
was not absent but where is it? So did we anticipated a faster and clearer
policy to plans, democratic process and secular perspective applied
even by the Congress Government in power with its counterpart at the
helm of the affairs in Delhi to support. Frankly, we thought and we
even had heard that relief in Kerala is much more organised and coordinated.
The burial grounds in the Allappad panchayat of Kollam District had
150 lives cremated. The first ever condolence meeting couldn't bring
out the tragedy in toto. The children had died not roasted in the school
as in Kumbhakanam but disappeared leaving their teacher in a vacuum
and his grief without words.. One could feel the vibrations not just
huts but the pakka houses with life's wealth - furniture, TV, basic
to luxuries, the silvery scales on the fish and fisheries, collected
by the toiling and trailing fish-workers were lost. Only the coconut
and the peepal stood as if in the witness boxes in a silent, vacant
court, no pleadings, questioning, not even a judgement. I remembered
all my poems on the sea as also the struggles to save the coast and
the coastal people, all in vein. No one was in a mood to talk to the
media as in other situations.
We were moved. The surroundings were not ignorable though. Mata Amritanadamais
Mutt, call it a place, was the only most modern and postmodern structure
that stood just behind, a few furlongs away. It was saved but not the
houses they had built specially for the fishing community. As we moved
on the 17 km long single road, we saw the houses collapsed like a bungalow
of playing cards. Almost all were pink Matajis colour.
But those now are seen to have a colour of politics, of corruption,
of neglect, even cheating. A bad construction was a result, now exposed.
No one questions her on this, I was told and hence her 100 crores rupees
worth offer for relief and rehabilitation of the tsunami affected is
under serious consideration. There is some discussion and issues raised
in the press but no political body has. Mataji and RSS workers are now
working together, with a much advantageous position than of the student
volunteers, cultural troupe members, worker's union leaders and small
groups of environmental activists who too have worked to rescue the
dead bodies, to collect and distribute some material and are engaged
in removing the debris, dredging with their won hands. AIYF volunteers
with Modan Das and Vinodan took me to the camps.
Allapad was a village but a Keralite village with pakka houses, all
amenities, roads, schools and hospitals. Affected people were put in
a school - with no problem of water or food. Clean they looked, as I
know Keralites bathe, once, even twice. How so ever poor and deprived,
they are clean and tidy. So was Saji, a strong fisherman, left with
nothing. He used to ride the sea but this time, sea didn't just ride
but took away his house, his earnings. What have you got now? Clothes,
mats, pots
I could recollect the list of relief material in Tamilnadu.
He had got almost nothing. One mat, one bed sheet, a package with a
few small children's clothes, one mug, one toothbrush and one . For
a family of five, and we checked and checked again. Person after person,
only one woman could speak Hindi since she had worked in Mumbai just
as we met Ambagam in Tamilnadu who was a Reliance worker, proud and
knowledgeable of the world. Through her, we could talk to many people.
The answer was the same. The camp was managed and controlled by the
Government. Aren't there NGOs here? Haven't the Jains, Christians, Hindus
- the missionaries brining in truck-loads of material to the camps?
No government vans delivering things at the hands of the officials and
their guests? My question was answered only after a long enquiry
queries posed to the people in one camp after another, their possessions
checked and confirmed. Mr. Nissar, the camp-in-charge contacted on phone,
reached the place probably hearing my tone and sensing the mood. Finally,
the Collector was asked to explain during a long convention - partly
inquisitive, partly confronting. No one was convinced of the difference
in Tamilnadu and Kerala situation that I was trying to describe. My
shock and indignation. My frustration with the Congress Government.
My repentance for not coming to Kerala before.
Saji had only one shirt, on his body and in his belongings. Malayamma
had one old cloth to wear while bathing and one saree to manage otherwise.
She had a wardrobe full of clothes before, had one mat not enough for
children to sleep and one bedsheet, to cover them but not her. Nissar
was a bit apologetic and shared his store room locked with a few mats
and a few vessels inside, with some grains and potatoes - onions spread
on the floor. Room was almost empty. I couldn't believe. That's all?
I had seen even DYFI office in Tamilnadu stocked with things. Was here
any other place? Did the material not reach Kerala or was not allowed
to reach? The Collector an Andhraite, wasn't apologetic but a bit irritated
with questions and justifying everything. "We will give them whatever
we have, when the houses are ready." But what and when? Why not
even basic things they had, now?
The government had asked all individuals groups and organisations, the
donors, to hand over the material to them and stocked it. "If you
don't believe, you can come to our godam in Kollam and take photographs
or shoot." I was upset but behaved. I convinced him of the motive
- genuine shock felt, described the situation in Tamilnadu. I must have
appeared favouring NGOs and facilitating their entry. I was not. I was
just shocked to see the difference and the deprivation. "My people
are not poor. The affected fisher people here were better off. They
had own houses, boats, and every thing. So they need only good, pakka
houses." He finally said, he is to open the tenders for temporary
houses on the 22nd and building those would take a month. People were
convinced that it would take more. But his design, simple and appropriate
for temporary shelter, was rejected by his colleagues, the seniors and
the better ones. Yet time taking had come up. But the land was yet not
finalised. He said, two acres was available, people heard for the first
time. Our comrade CRN concluded that if would not be adequate to house
69 families in the camp. The Collector couldn't be contacted again.
He sounded relaxed and satisfied with own contribution, paces and progress.
He said, I am roping in a few agencies. He took the name
of Oxfam. We called them to know that, the government is not using them
enough. The Collector was to get money for cooking gas from NGOs. Rs
2000 *3000 = 6000000 for all Kerala Tsunami affected. If they don't
fund, he would go in for stoves. He has no final answer as yet but that
6 crores too can come easily, provided the government is keen to mobilise
and encourage. That is what is lacking. We would expect this with Amma
not with Anthony or Oommen Chandy. Congress rules are known for more
space - political, social for social organisations and even political
fronts including the militants, the opponents. In a crisis so severe
and challenging, why was it different?
Is it a result of political ambition or just competition? Or allergy
to NGOs in a left-oriented State? Or just a political strategy, in a
context of the 'foreign funding' related debate ongoing within the left
parties? Why were other political parties, their fronts, even NGOs not
questioning? Any one or more of the same reason? Whatever it may be,
the questions are wider and our voice has to be louder. Amidst death
and deluge, we cant but ask:
What is the State doing? How much has it received from the common people
- their earnings, which is their sweat and blood? How much has it received
from another state government and what is done with the same. The collection
centres, are still functioning, day and night. The newspapers are still
appealing. The NRIs are pouring in - money and big NGOs writing their
proposals for more and more and more.
Where is all the money going? What has it been spent on? Who have spent
on what and who all on the same items and at what rate? Who has benefited?
Who will build the houses and temporary apartments? Will there be a
white paper presented before the legislature? What has relief done to
the affected? If there is a wave in Tamilnadu, why it is not in Kerala?
If it has receded or it is to, soon, what after effects will it leave
behind? Will the auditors ask each of their client agencies Government
organisations and NGOs, to produce all receipts and accounts? Will it
be transparent and made public? Will relief be contributive or contradictory
to the rehabilitation goals of help with dignity and self-reliance?
Will the fisher-people have their nets, boats, but also coastal territorial
rights and courage back? Will Irula and Dalit fish-workers too have
something of theirs when it is proved that nature doesnt differentiate
between titled property and the untitled one? Will all affected people,
get justice and rehabilitation with dignity, not just those thrown out
or taken in by the wave but all those evicted, unprotected, their 'property
'and 'livelihood' forfeited for development?