After long 22 years I returned from abroad to celebrate Christmas with my family in Kerala. To my surprise Christmas was silent throughout the coastal area. I couldn’t see any celebrations of fun or laughter or joy in this place. Cyclone Ockhi has badly hit the place and thousands of people have lost their lives. Hundreds are still missing and many have lost their livelihood, families desperately looking for their beloved ones to return. The breadwinners of most of the families were lost and you can see sadness throughout this coastal strip.
As usual, both the central and the state government have declared compensation and relief measures. However, I fear the benefits will not actually reach the poor and the needy. The fishermen community are always marginalised and driven away from mainstream politics.
I recall my own experience which happened in the year 1984, I was in college. A similar cyclone hit in the costal belt of Thiruvananthapuram and the roof tiles of my house flew. My house was partially damaged, an electric post in front of my house was broken into two and the compound wall damaged and my favorite mango tree too, fell down. We were stranded, lonely, outside the house in heavy rains and there was no one to help in the middle of the night. Doordarshan was only TV channel then and this cyclone was not of news value for them.
Next day leading Malayalam dailies carried the news, ministers and revenue department officials visited our house. Relatives, friends and people from near by areas came to see and assess the damage, church representatives also visited and all declared compensation, soothing words, etc. Sadly we never received any compensation.
Now, 33 years later, I see that within one week maintenance work is completed and life is back to normal. All the flash news and banner headlines in newspapers at least help the affected people get the compensation now. Hope the government and agencies help them on time.
- The reader is based in Dubai
