Wiping the tear drops

Entry 46

Synopsis: Three & half years passed since tsunami tidal waves devastated the coastal line of Tamil Nadu in 2004. This video documentary visits the tsunami affected fishing villages of Tamil Nadu coast & takes a critical look at the lives of fisher folk especially of the fisher women.

The rehabilitation work that has been carried out in the last three and half years has not restored the lives and livelihoods of these tsunami victims. Quite a few people from the fishing community and experts voice their reasons for why it is so? There are hundreds of people still living in inhuman conditions of temporary shelters. There are thousands of people who feel that the permanent houses given to them by the government and other agencies are unlivable. These houses are either bad in construction and facilities or situated too far from their original homes. Many fisher folks have in fact left their tsunami permanent shelters and gone back to their place on the seashore.

This video film attempts to find out what went wrong in the rehabilitation program in spite of billions of rupees spent, immediate intervention by government, the active involvement of many NGOs and funding agencies. Kala who is portrayed in the video represents many women who had to sell their organs to pay off their tsunami debts. Lakshmiamma represents many women; especially single women had to face humiliations in availing f the post tsunami relief due to the patriarchal nature of their panchayat system.

This film also tries to draw lessons from the post-tsunami situation in 2008 that can be applied to any post-disaster situation in future.