A terrifying calamity: A time to respond
(Editorial in The New Indian Express, Madras (Chennai) on December 27, 2004)
Can devastation be so sudden, so cruel, so terrifying? The disaster that has struck our Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Orissa and Kerala coasts and regions beyond is as unprecedented as it is apocalyptic. Death rose from unknown depths, the abruptness of its strike adding to the violence of the destruction. Long stretches of inhabited coastal areas were wrecked by killer waves in minutes; hundreds of fishing vessels were lost in the raging seas; Chennai’s Marina was turned into an incredible scene of doom and desolation. Was the sea exploding in anger, the earth crumbling in malevolence?
The horror of what we have experienced from Cuddalore to Orissa and from Alapuzha to Kanyakumari gives us a better understanding of the devilry others suffered. The epicenter of the earthquake was between the northern tip of Sumatra and the southern end of Andaman-Nicobar. People in both these areas were caught and crushed and washed away before they even knew what was happening. Sri Lanka was hit in a way it was never hit before by man or nature, walls of water rushing two kilometers inland in some places, destroying everything and everyone in their path. Maldives, particularly vulnerable because it is only about three feet above sea level, can hardly estimate what has hit it. Never has so vast a territory been so comprehensively ravaged by so momentary a terror.
A note of consolation - if there can be any consolation amid such mind-numbing havoc – is that official machinery has moved with commendable speed to organize rescue and rehabilitation. The Prime Minister went on national hookup to announce to announce a series of measures undertaken by the Government of India to alleviate the sufferings of the people. The chief ministers of the affected states have similarly mobilized their resources to get emergency relief measures going. Civilians, especially in the areas that were directly hit by the killer waves, have organized themselves the best they can, to do the best they can under the circumstances.
What can the rest of us do? This is the kind of disaster that calls for a collective effort by all of us to put life back on the rails. The thousands who have died in this terrible tragedy have left a void that can never be filled. The duty of the survivors is to do whatever they can to help in the rehabilitation of the regions, the villages and the families that have been devastated.
The New Indian Express group of publications announces the setting up of a Coastal Calamity Fund to supplement the actions initiated by the authorities. The Fund will be managed by the NIE group until it is handed over to the authorities concerned. All contributions above Rs. 500/- (US$ 12/-) will be acknowledged in these columns from time to time. (The Fund is now closed).
The Express Group of Publications is contributing Rs. 200,000/- (US$4500/-) to get the Fund going. We invite all our readers and institutional friends to heed the call of their conscience. The way to face disasters is by the lucky identifying themselves with the unlucky.
List of organizations accepting relief donations: (About 40% of the victims are children)
Association For India's Development
Blue Cross of India (for animals in distress)
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