V
V.Balasubramani
Guest
It is reported that cyclone ‘Ockhi’ battered the cost and displaced hundreds of fishing families and destroyed their houses. Governments are making tall claims about the rescue and relief measures made to save the fishermen who were stranded in the sea….
Cyclone Ockhi
Let it sink in: There is still no word from almost 900 fisher folk after Cyclone Ockhi
If such a disaster had happened in Chennai, would it have been ignored the same way, ask fisher communities.
Consider these numbers. 11 days, over 120* dead and around 900* still missing.
Cyclone Ockhi hit India’s southern coast on November 30, its gale winds leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. Yet the cries of men, women and children from south Tamil Nadu and Kerala have not been loud enough to outrage us – the media, the government and the people.
In Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari, people have been protesting for the past four days demanding that the missing fishermen be rescued. On Monday, families carried out a symbolic protest, draping a black cloth around their eyes – suggesting that the state and central governments have been blind to their cries.
Just over 100 kilometres away, in Kerala’s capital, hundreds carried out a similar protest outside the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding that rescue efforts be stepped up to save nearly 250 fishermen who are still missing.
Out of sight, out of mind?
“We have been crying so far but no one has heard us. If this had happened in Chennai – will the Tamil Nadu government or the national media not care? We are at the edge of Tamil Nadu, that is why we have been neglected,” hits out Father Churchill, who belongs to the South Asian Fishermen’s Federation based in Kanyakumari.
This sense of betrayal is not limited to the fishing community in Tamil Nadu. Sindhu Maria Napolean, the daughter of a fisherman in Thiruvananthapuram, echoed Father Churchill’s thoughts in a recent Facebook post, which has gone viral. Lashing out at the media and the government, Sindhu wrote, “A friend told me yesterday, that if a tragedy like this had happened in Sabarimala, our central and state governments would have sprung into action! For you, the news was how Kadakampally boarded a helicopter, or how Pinarayi's car was blocked or how Nirmala Sitharaman went to Kanyakumari. Now I understand why people said someone from our community itself should be there to present what is news to us."
Read more at: http://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...most-900-fisherfolk-after-cyclone-ockhi-72985
Cyclone Ockhi
Let it sink in: There is still no word from almost 900 fisher folk after Cyclone Ockhi
If such a disaster had happened in Chennai, would it have been ignored the same way, ask fisher communities.
Consider these numbers. 11 days, over 120* dead and around 900* still missing.
Cyclone Ockhi hit India’s southern coast on November 30, its gale winds leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. Yet the cries of men, women and children from south Tamil Nadu and Kerala have not been loud enough to outrage us – the media, the government and the people.
In Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari, people have been protesting for the past four days demanding that the missing fishermen be rescued. On Monday, families carried out a symbolic protest, draping a black cloth around their eyes – suggesting that the state and central governments have been blind to their cries.
Just over 100 kilometres away, in Kerala’s capital, hundreds carried out a similar protest outside the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding that rescue efforts be stepped up to save nearly 250 fishermen who are still missing.
Out of sight, out of mind?
“We have been crying so far but no one has heard us. If this had happened in Chennai – will the Tamil Nadu government or the national media not care? We are at the edge of Tamil Nadu, that is why we have been neglected,” hits out Father Churchill, who belongs to the South Asian Fishermen’s Federation based in Kanyakumari.
This sense of betrayal is not limited to the fishing community in Tamil Nadu. Sindhu Maria Napolean, the daughter of a fisherman in Thiruvananthapuram, echoed Father Churchill’s thoughts in a recent Facebook post, which has gone viral. Lashing out at the media and the government, Sindhu wrote, “A friend told me yesterday, that if a tragedy like this had happened in Sabarimala, our central and state governments would have sprung into action! For you, the news was how Kadakampally boarded a helicopter, or how Pinarayi's car was blocked or how Nirmala Sitharaman went to Kanyakumari. Now I understand why people said someone from our community itself should be there to present what is news to us."
Read more at: http://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...most-900-fisherfolk-after-cyclone-ockhi-72985
