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India Tsunami Update Jan 12

Acarya Lokanath, a member of our search and rescue team, came across a collapsed house one day. It reminded him of the rescue work he did  in Bhuj after the Gujurat earthquake in 2001. From a similar house he rescued a young boy who had been trapped there for five days. So he dug into this house with his bare hands and found not a child, but a cat and a dog trapped alive! The policeman wanted to shoot the animals, but Dada Lokanath said no, life is as precious to these animals as it is to us human beings. He rescued the animals and made sure they were cared for.  

It is still unknown how many people have died from the tsunami in Nagapattinam district, and many are feared buried under the mud. We were able to dig out some bodies that were buried as much as 3 feet deep. In fact, the local police called us relief robbers as we seemed to know where to go to find bodies, just as a thief knows where to go to find money! 

We are still cleaning and repairing up to ten houses daily, in particular the houses of old people who cant do it themselves. If the houses are in a dangerous condition, we ask residents to transfer to one of the twenty-three relief camps provided by the government.

Two days ago, Mr Goenka, the Secretary of AMURT India, was distributing shoes and toiletries to the survivors. He told us about a survivor he met. We were approached by a well dressed woman who invited us to her house for tea. As soon as we reached there, she started telling us her misfortune. She belonged to a rich family, but had lost everything in the tsunami. Now she was poor, but did not have the courage to ask alms from others. We comforted her as best we could. That evening two of our counselors went to see her.

Some of our counseling is done in peoples homes, but most is done in three of the governments relief camps: Nadianagar, Nalliantottam and Vedanajaya Street. Many women have lost children or husbands, are in a state of shock, not even bothering to cook or wash. Our counselors bring food to them, gently counsel them and listen. They also encourage them to start their regular daily routine. Two Portuguese child counselors have joined our team and organize games, music and yoga for the children. Rui Guimards reported by phone, The children are scared and need to play. They need to express themselves in a natural way.

We have made an offer to the Nagapattinam district government to reconstruct 100 houses. We are awaiting their reply.

 
After the tsunami waves hit the shore line, the after-shocks continued for about one week. The government would sound an alarm and everyone, including relief workers, would have to rush away from the shore. During one such alarm, Acarya Ishtapremananda (in the above photo) saw a handicapped person trying unsuccessfully to flee. He took the man in his arms and ran with him to safety.

One of our team members related the following story:  On the third day I decided to walk around the city to see the devastation for myself. I met a frail woman carrying her 5-year old daughter. The woman told me her daughter had been crying for milk for five days. Luckily I had some milk in my bag and I handed it to the child. Her eyes lit up and she smiled broadly. It amazed me that what we take for granted a carton of milk � was like gold for this child.