CNS STORY: Indian fishermen want boats, not aid, in aftermath of tsunamis

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CNS Story:

TSUNAMI-BOATS Jan-5-2005 (640 words) With photos. xxxi

Indian fishermen want boats, not aid, in aftermath of tsunamis

By Catholic News Service

CUDDALORE, India (CNS) -- Aravindan pleads with tsunami relief workers to give him boats and nets, not bread or clothes.

"We want to get back to fishing and make our living," said the 36-year-old fisherman, who lost two sisters in the Dec. 26 tsunami tragedy, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.

Aravindan is among hundreds of tsunami survivors, most of whom depend on fishing for their livelihood, in the Cuddalore area of southern India's Tamil Nadu state. All of them have lost their fishing gear along with family members.

"We don't want any relief materials except boats and nets to get back to the sea," he said, expressing confidence he could rebuild his life within six months.

Aid workers in Sonamkuppa, Aravindan's coastal village, said his words reflect the general sentiment among local people. All the houses in the village were either damaged or washed away.

Claretian Father George Kannanthanam, among the first to reach the predominantly Hindu villages in the coastal area with relief, said the relief phase was ending and "people would like to get back to work."

Father Kannanthanam is director of a leprosy rehabilitation project in neighboring Karnataka state. His relief team is helping 26 villages in the Cuddalore area.

Tsunamis devastated coastal areas of the Indian Ocean region after a magnitude 9 earthquake off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. Nearly 150,000 people in 12 countries have been killed, with thousands more missing.

Cuddalore district, on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, lost 1,080 people, but only 797 bodies had been recovered by Jan. 3. More than 9,000 people were left homeless. Most of the fishing boats and nets were destroyed or damaged.

Ramaswamy, head of the fishermen's community in Southakoppa, told UCA News that his village lost 22 children to the waves. Even so, the people have no plans to run away from the sea.

"Back to the sea is our dream," he said, "but who will give us boats and nets?" A catamaran and three sets of nets, the basic requirement for a team to go out fishing, cost about $3,500.

"No fisherman can afford that kind of money, especially at this time," Ramaswamy said. The district administration pays about $350 for each damaged boat. Ramaswamy's village reportedly lost 42 boats.

Aravindan's village has 65 families, and they have reported losing 42 people. Yet the fishing community there does not want to leave the coast. Most regard as futile state government plans to build new houses for them, away from the sea.

"Running away from the sea is like committing suicide. Our dear ones have become part of this land and sea. Where could we go?" said Ravindran, another fisherman.

Father Kannanthanam said his team is working to provide fishing equipment for those who need it.

"Only fishing can sustain their life," he said.

Some relief materials, clothing in particular, could be seen scattered on the roadside, on beaches, public grounds and campsites. Only a few people seemed interested in them.

Sister Mary Mascarenhas, who heads a 30-member team of volunteers, said they, too, are trying to get the fishermen back to the sea.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Nagapattinam, a hard-hit area about 60 miles south of Cuddalore, sent three fishing boats out to sea Jan. 3, the first fishing activity in the tsunami-hit area since Dec. 26. That district reportedly lost 3,000 people in the disaster.

An Indian army team of engineers facilitated the repairs of the boats. Its leader, Jose Manavalan, said the fishermen's return to the sea marked the "second phase of rehabilitation."

The first boat relaunched belonged to Selvakumar, who died in the waves. Nagaraj, Paulraj and Selvam, his surviving colleagues, pushed the boat into the water, resuming the only way of life they know.

END

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