Bounteous treasures she has gifted
Yet when slighted has raged forth
With fury and leaving devastation
Calm and serene on the outside
Yet bubbling with energy inside
The ocean lies before us
A mystery and enigma forever
Hey all this is a poem I had written some time back about ?The Ocean? in fact this is only part of the poem, if you do want to read the full poem you can access the following link.
https://telugupeople.com/discussion/article.asp?id=1652
Ironically today when I look at the devastation wrought by the Ocean on Dec 26, 2004, I was reminded of the words of this poem which I had written some time back. Boxing Day is a day after Christmas, so called, because its on this day, that boxes containing gifts are opened. But this day bought the gift of death to thousands of people living in the South of India( especially Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Maldives and yes going as far as Somalia too.
Sri Lanka has been totally devastated, the paradise on earth has been turned into a living hell hole. The lovely beaches of Thailand and the resort hotels have been washed away. The prosperous coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Kerala have been badly affected. Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Kanyakumari, Kollam some of the most bustling towns on the Southern coast have been turned into ghost towns.
Innumerable fishing villages have been washed away. In a time of horrendous tragedy like this, people of India have been unanimous in facing the calamity. Aid and relief have been pouring in from all corners of India to help the affected people. Now is the time for us to put this tragedy behind and see what we can do. Rebuilding after a natural disaster is not an easy task,most of the aid goes into the hands of corrupt middlemen and the economy is damaged a lot.
And the loss is not just physical but also mental and economic, so here are some of my thoughts on what needs to be done. I would request other MS ians to also come up with suggestions and see if we can do anything concrete to help, instead of just
expressing our angst in chatrooms and emails.
Give a man a fishing rod
One of the common things that happens after a natural disaster is to donate food,clothes, utensils, money etc. But that?s not the only thing these people need. I have been born and bought up in a coastal city, Vishakapatnam, and my father being a doctor, he had many patients from the fishermen community.
I know some of these people personally, and I can say this for sure about the fishermen, they are very hard working and would never beg for doles. The people most affected by this calamity are fishermen, who have not lost just their lives but also their only means of living. Giving them food, clothes and blankets would mitigate their suffering but what about their livelihood. They need fishing nets, boats, fishing equipment. The Chinese saying goes ? Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, give him a fishing rod and you feed him for life ?. Lets not insult these hard working people by giving them some doles and expect they would be satisfied with it. They need more than that.
They need help to get back on their feet, build their homes, and again resume their livelihood. If we turn these people into beggars, that would be the greatest tragedy for this nation. The coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and A&N which were affected by this tragedy were thriving areas. Towns like Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Kollam,Port Blair, Kanyakumari need to be helped to get back to normalcy.
Trauma counseling
The loss during a natural disaster is not just financial and physical. It is also mentally traumatic for the patients. The pain of seeing your loved ones being washed away by the raging sea, leaves deep emotional scars which take a long time to be healed. This is where we need expert medical aid to help these people get over the scars. Financial loss can be covered, but emotional scars take a very long time to heal. MS has quite a lot of people from the South of India, maybe some of them could volunteer to help in this regard.
Disaster Management System
In spite of Gujarat 2001, Orissa 1999 and god knows how many such other calamities, our disaster response system is still something of a joke. Consider this fact, it took 2-3 hours for the tsunami to strike the coasts of Southern India. And not one official could predict it. Anyway let this be a lesson for us and let us come up with a comprehensive disaster management plan, instead of waiting for the next one to strike. It?s high time we were more proactive. Isnt it ironical that the Tsunami warning system in US was develop by an Indian, Tad Murthy who settled there? We have such a wealth of talented and scientific manpower and if we are unable to use their talent, its very shameful. Lets face the bitter truth, India is vulnerable to every sort of disaster right from earthquakes, cyclones to tidal waves. If we don?t act now, the future generations would never forgive us. Its sad that 100000 people had to die in India, so that officials could understand the significance of a tsunami warning system.
Save the Children
Any natural disaster that occurs affects the most vulnerable of all the children and for those who are unfortunate enough to lose their parents, life is a living hell. At the mercy of rapacious, greedy relatives who are eager to pocket their relief, dalals who try to push them into bondage just to earn some money, the thought of having none in life, it?s a thankless life. Children are the most neglected lot and lets change that. We cannot afford to treat the future generation of our country in such a shoddy manner. Even if we cannot adopt the children, lets sponsor their education at the least so that, let each one of us resolve to sponsor the education of at least one child. Lets give a life to these unfortunate souls.
Like I told, these are only some of my ideas, I would be happy if other MS members could contribute some more, so that we could come up with a foundation and help the people. I am awaiting not just your comments but also your suggestions. This is a chance for us to do something instead of just sitting and cribbing.
