The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A year on, tsunami survivors are still struggling

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 27, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A year on, tsunami survivors are still struggling

R. Sujatha

In the metropolis victims of the killer waves find rebuilding an uphill task; men in fishing communities harder hit than the women "Everything has changed. We do not know where the rocks are. When the net hits a rock, we have to cut it and it means a loss of Rs. 15,000"

CHENNAI: A year after the tsunami struck, killing over 200 persons across this metropolis, the survivors are still struggling to rebuild their shattered lives.

And it is the men in the fishing communities who have been really hard hit. The women have become domestic help or taken up jobs in leather export houses, helping them to make ends meet and even save some money. But the men, who have not been fortunate enough to find alternative sources of livelihood, sit despondently on the shoreline watching the mood the sea, for the terror in their heart has still not stilled.

Candlelight vigil

The fishermen say they have ventured out to sea only on about 50 days since the tsunami. On Monday, the men "struck work" as mark of respect for the dead. Amid their sorrow and poverty, the fisherfolk maintained a daylong candlelight vigil.

The Marina beachside shops remained closed as a mark of respect for the victims. Oblivious to the gravity of the situation, children played cricket on the sands. On the shore, boats and catamarans stood idle with black flags waving in the strong breeze.

The morning began with a silent procession by the fishing community from Anna Square to Lighthouse.

The residents of Dooming Kuppam near Santhome did not take part, waiting as they are, for the relief that has still not come under their way.

A non-government organisation promised them boats and catamarans but only nets have been given so far. In Mattan Kuppam, also along the Marina in Triplicane, which lost 13 people, a huge pink candle stood as a mute symbol to the carnage wrought on December 26.

REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS: (From above) Fisherfolk from Olcottkuppam and Ururkuppam take out a procession along Besant Nagar beach; children pay homage to their loved ones near a 7-foot candle on the Marina beach; and flowers placed in remembra nce of the victims, again at Marina. — Photos: N. Sridharan, V. Ganesan and K.V. Srinivasan

At Srinivasapuram Kuppam just off the mouth of the Adyar, where 56 people died, children hovered around the table where candles were lit in the morning in memory of the dead. Rose and marigold petals were placed with fruits as offering to the dead.

Contour changed

Since the tsunami, the ocean floor has changed shape, the fishermen claim. "Earlier we knew where every rock was. We knew where to cast the net for a good haul but everything has changed. Now we do not know where the rocks are. We cast our nets thinking there should be fish here, but then the net encounters a rock. We have to cut the net which means a loss of Rs. 15,000," G. Nithya Kumar of Srinivasapuram Kuppam says. His brother, who should have cleared the class X exam by now, dropped out of school to take up fishing to support the family.

For the members of Puthiya Thayagam Youth Welfare Association in the hamlet, the images of devastation are still fresh. "For four months after carrying two children in my arms to the Royapettah hospital, I lost hope," says a 20-year-old youngster.

"All of us are impoverished," says M. Muthu of Nochikuppam, where one person died. Each boatman has lost property; the victims say the Fisheries Department is yet to give the promised relief of Rs. 32,000. Some have received a little money but others have received nothing.

There is little awareness about the need for insurance. Nor have the men saved for the future. Some young men have become watchmen and garbage removers for Onyx. Widowers R. Paramasivan, 55, and K. Arumugam, 60, of Mattan Kuppam are too old to go fishing. They have distributed the Rs. 2 lakh that they received as compensation among their children. Arumugam says: "When my wife was alive I did not have to worry about money. Now there is no one to even give me a rupee for a cup of tea."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu