Tsunami relief activities in India

Report written by: Anna Ruhland, Erik Sandsten and Ravinder Singh.

Report also available as a PDF file here

It was the day after Christmas when the southeast coast of India was hit by massive sea waves reaching a height of up to 35 feet. The waves were traveling at the speed of 800-900 km/hour towards shore and destroyed everything that stood in its way. Within a few minutes, the water came and went, leaving behind death and destruction not to be forgotten for many years.

Alone in India more than 18.000 people died and even more were left homeless.

The total number of people killed in Tsunami disaster is estimated to 2, lakhs 80 thousand from Indonesia to Somalia. And these official numbers are still increasing.

On the morning of the 26 th of December Erik, an exchangee from Denmark, was still in Sweden celebrating Christmas and enjoying himself. His sister woke him up and told him that there had been a horrible earthquake in Asia and that he ought to come and watch the news. At that time nobody was aware of the severe destruction and death that the Tsumami had brought with it.

Erik had no idea how the Tsunami would forever have influence on his life and that he three weeks later would participate in the relief work in Tamil Nadu. He started to realize the affect it had on the south India and the idea of helping out came to him.

Arriving in Bangalore on the 6 th of January he spent a few days settling down, but not many days after he just wanted to go. Rumors of epidemics went on which scared him a little, but not more than his will to go and help. Anna, an exchangee Germany, celebrated Christmas with her sister on the west coast of India, near Goa. Early in the morning on the 26 th of December, she got a call from a friend who was concerned about her safety. The following days she spent in the absurd situation of the increasing numbers of deaths and being surrounded by a heavenly and totally secluded area filled by people who came to celebrate Christmas and new years. Family and friends who were worrying about Anna’s safety continuously contacted her.

Back in Bangalore and Mysore while talking to other exchanges and following the relief work in the news she became more and more convinced that she wanted to go to Tamil Nadu and offer her help. This was also due to the fact that she came to India to do social work. Ravinder, a former exchangee to Switzerland, couldn’t believe his own eyes when he saw the horrible news in TV. As an experienced social worker he immediately knew that he wanted to participate in the relief work and offer his help in the affected areas.

The three of us were all involved with ICYE and since the disaster was such a discussed topic, we quickly realized our common interest. Within a week we were on our way to Nagapattinam, which was one of the worst affected areas.

After our arrival we went to the office of SNEHA an NGO, which is coordinating the relief work in the nearby affected villages. They informed us about the different villages and gave us instructions on where to go. When we reached the village our impression was that the situation was not that bad. The interior part of the village was almost untouched. On a few houses, especially in the flat areas, we could make out the waterline on the walls, where the water had been during the tsunami attack. Many places in the village there were water tanks and we were told that every citizen was given two meals a day, 60 kg of rice, 4000 rupees, bastmats and stoves. While walking through the village we saw queues of survivors waiting for donations in front of the temple. Wounded persons were still in need of proper treatment from one of the medical camps. The feeling of a somewhat satisfying situation in the village changed immediately when we approached the part of the village near the coastline. The sight was shocking. All the houses were brought to ground level and we were walking over the remains of kitchen utensils, cloths, toys, damaged fishing nets all buried in the broken bricks from houses. Fishing boats were either washed into the sea or damaged to an extent of uselessness. Later on, about 1 km from the shore, we even saw boats, which had been thrown by the waves into houses. Many of the sewer systems were blocked and it was becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects that again accommodated an immense danger to the health of the people.

The locals showed us the areas of the mass graves and also black patches on the ground where they had burned bodies that they hadn’t been able to carry to the graves. There were lists with pictures of unidentified victims and many posters with missing persons were hanging on the walls.

Woman and elders were mourning at the places where their home and loved ones used to be. The daily life was now ruled by fear of another disaster and the hopelessness and worries about their insecure future. None of the fishermen were carrying out their job, scared of the ocean, which provided their daily food. And many mentioned their wish and will to work within another profession. Those who had lost their homes in the Tsunami were staying at railway stations, schools and temples, which became their temporary shelters. All they could do was to wait for government- and volunteer workers to finish the construction of sheltercamps.

By joining a mixed team of doctors, teachers and other volunteers from Orissa, we started a medical camp in one of the villages. After just a few minutes a queue of locals were waiting to get their needed medical treatment. Meanwhile some of us went through the village, cleaning paths and sewer systems and even repairing those that were ruined. We tried to involve and mobilize the locals in our work with the hope of making them a part of the rehabilitation. In the beginning it was rather difficult but as time went by more and more participated.

For all of us the counseling of the survivors seemed to be the most important thing. By starting games we caught the attention of the children and within a few minutes they played along with an ardor none of us had expected. The adults were influenced by the joy of their children, which encouraged them to join the games. Everybody seemed to appreciate our effort to divert the attention from the last weeks of sorrow. It was a great achievement for us to make the smiles return to their faces. Or as one of the parents said: That we could make their children fall a sleep without any fear of the tsunami.

Based on our experiences the relief work must focus on different kinds of aid at the same time. The reason is, that for example, the counseling of the people only will have short-term effect as long as the mess from the tsunami is still in their village. And if the sanitation work is done without their involvement a big part of their mental rehabilitation and pride will go lost. These people are used to take care of them self and that should be encouraged. This is why a simultaneous aid with counseling, sanitation, equipments and rebuilding will have a much greater effect. It is however important to mention that a lot of people who experienced the tragedy are in serious need of professional counseling from psychiatrists.

Contributions like fishing- boats and nets are strongly needed since fishing is their only way back to an independent life. Even though they are scared now there will always be some brave fishermen who will dare to go to sea and hopefully inspire the others.

Our days in Nagipattinam have been one of the most rewarding experiences any of us has ever had and we recommend it to anyone who is interested, for their own sake, but more important for the sake of the victims.

Report written by: Anna Ruhland, Erik Sandsten and Ravinder Singh.

Report also available as a PDF file here

For more information, you can visit www.greenwaythailand.org/tsunami/index.htm