Report on the Tsunami: Kanchipuram District

Harimau sahab,

Thanks for the write-up. I read in the newspaper a few days ago that some of the larger Indian cities are now empty of their beggars as that tribe has now migrated to the disaster areas in its search for handouts.

Isn`t Kanchipuram where they make the saris?

Harimau, thanks for the write-up.

I have a couple of questions for you....

Last August, I spent a week at Stirling resorts on the beach at Mahabalipuram. It is within a stone`s throw of the beach temple. Which means that it is right on the beach but it is atleast 200 + meters inland. In the course of my stay there a lot of the staff became good friends. I was hoping you would tell me what happened to that resort. Hopefully they landed on their feet.

There were a row of shops just behind the beach temple that sold stone carvings. I hope they made out ok too. And finally, I took a couple of rides in a catamaran from the beach a little distance away from the beach temple towards Madras. I went to see the tops of the submerged temples. Hope that community made out ok too.

The staff at the hotel needed to make photo IDs and I helped out by taking close to 100 photos in my digital camera and putting it on a CD for them. I still have them I also have more than 500 photos of Mahabalipuram. I keep looking at them and it makes me very sad

Well done, Harimau. Do you think the people you met might benefit from people helping them to process their trauma? I think there will be widespread Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I heard that reconstruction work is held up in places where the government wants to settle the fishermen 1 mile away from the sea but the fishermen want to rebuild in the old locations, ie, closer to the sea.

re: #2 by Dalit

Do not hide behind ``Dalit`` name.
I dare you to ask ``http://www.stopfundinghate.org`` to write article about groups such as WorldHelp. Everyone knows what intentions the Chirstian missionaries have in poor and illiterate tribal areas. Why all these attacks happen on Christian missionaries rather than just a common Christian who is leading his normal life. As a secular country every person has a right to practice his religion. But this provision has been shamelessly used as a front to proselytize poor, illiterate people. This leads to confrontation. These missionaries have taken undue advantage of the constitution and have openly declared that converting hindus to christianity is their right.
Indinesian imams have warned such groups to refrain from any conversion activities during distributuing relief supplies. Also, read this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10647-2005Jan14.html

``Last weekend, WorldHelp launched an urgent fundraising appeal among evangelical Christians in the United States. ``The Aceh people strongly and even violently oppose other religions. They are unreached with the gospel,`` the group said on its Web site. ``If we can place [the Muslim orphans] in a Christian children`s home, their faith in Christ could become the foothold to reach the Aceh people.``

The Rev. Vernon Brewer, president of WorldHelp, which is based in Forest, Va., told The Washington Post on Tuesday that his group had raised $70,000 and hoped to collect $350,000 more. He said the children had already been airlifted to Jakarta with the permission of the Indonesian government, which he said had been ``explicitly`` told that the children would be raised in a Christian environment. ``

Great to get a factual, first hand account from one of chowks own of the after affects of the tsunami. Thanks. Hope you write up on the rest of your visit as well.

Does Kanchipuram district have a coastline ?

`` Watching TV news in Tamil Nadu is like watching a soap opera. The current government is the ultimate in apathy, incompetence and villainy if you watch Sun-TV, the mouthpiece of the DMK party. On the other hand, it is the best administration and one which cares for the poor and downtrodden people and upholds law and order irrespective of rank if you watch Jaya-TV which is owned by no less than Jayalalitha Jeyaram, the current chief minister of the state. The truth is not even in the middle of these two extremes since both of them use their power to propagate myths about one another. It is thus that I got to distrust TV news in Tamil, which is practically the monopoly today of these two competing parties. One could of course watch Doordarshan which propagates the third myth that the Central Government is the most benevolent administration in the whole wide world when not singing the praises of Manmohan Singh and his coterie of people with less than stellar reputations. ``

What is the beef with party owned mouthpieces ? I found them entertaining. In USA you have the National Review, Heritage Foundation etc.

nice writeup..

But I think ``Cuddalore`` and ``Nagapattinam`` are the worst affected districts. don`t know if you had been there..maybe you`d have found bigger impacts there..

one interesting news item in this tragedy is that the Tsunami has brought tonnes of new Titanium deposits along the TN coastline.. hope mining that will offset the financial damages..

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``It is thus that I got to distrust TV news in Tamil, which is practically the monopoly today of these two competing parties...``

True. It`s disgusting.. looks like Raj TV had its news programme and was arm-twisted by the IT minister for it`s competing with Sun TV and now got its license revoked.. don`t know if Vijay TV has a news programme.

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``The news reporting by the print media is equally bad. The DMK through several of its bigwigs controls a string of newspapers and magazines which publish stories that do not have the most tenuous link with truth. ..``

I disagree.... except a few I think the rest of the print media are not biased..

Harimau:

thanks for the informative write up

also grateful thanks for not going duracell on the Great Leader whatever... a subject that (i suspect) does not interest most chowkies...must be your private obsession with soysauce;)

rgds

t

tsunami aside... which is tragedy of grave magnitude with which we still haven`t managed to come to grips with pyschologically as human beings...

The best thing, as an outsider, that I like about India is the situation described by Harimau in the first paragraph. Sadly the political parties in Pakistan are not so developed as to invest in mouthpieces whether in print of electronic media... those days have long gone... after the banning of all political parties in 1958, the original mouthpieces ceased to be mouthpieces... so Dawn and Pakistan Times became Newspapers.. today the private channels GEO, ARY channels, Indus Network of channels, Uniplus, APNA, etc are all channels that take a neutral stance on politics... though they tend to be more critical of the government than the state owned PTV...

It is a shame really... I think Political Parties owning Mouthpieces would make TV much more entertaining.

CSFH Warns Against Hate Groups Exploiting Tsunami Crisis --
GIVE WELL, GIVE WISELY!
CSFH Urges Responsible Giving in the Wake of Tsunami Tragedy

Friends,

It is time to give and give generously. As the death toll climbs past 150,000 and the world comes to grips with the devastation caused by the deadly Indian Ocean tsunamis, numerous organizations across Asia are stepping up to organize relief and rehabilitation. We at the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH) urge all individuals in the U.S. and elsewhere to support them by donating generously.

However, our responsibility does not end with giving. It is also our combined responsibility to ensure that our funds do not end up in sectarian hands, and that this tragedy does not turn into another opportunity for communal groups to gain foothold in our plural society.

KEEPING ACCOUNTABILITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE ON THE AGENDA

The response to the tsunami tragedy in the US has been heartening, with hundreds of dedicated volunteers making enormous effort to raise resources for relief operations in India and elsewhere. Many of these groups have a long history of carrying out grass-roots, non-sectarian development work in India, and have been able to effectively mobilize their networks at this time to administer relief. They can be counted upon for working closely with affected communities in a transparent and accountable manner. The immense loss of life in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand, makes it incumbent on us to consider giving to our suffering Asian neighbors, either through transnational organizations or through informal networks of local community-based organizations. (See below for a partial list of such organizations).

Many of us are also members of a variety of linguistic, regional and cultural associations. Because of their social and cultural affinities, such organizations are well equipped to intervene in on the ground activities. Precisely because of these reasons, sectarian groups try to use them as vehicles to advance their own agendas. We therefore urge you all to not only take an active part in the fund raising activities of these organizations but also be involved in discussions on how and where the funds are to be used. Disasters of this kind are occasions when we should be on high alert to keep social justice at the top of the agenda.

STAY CLEAR OF SECTARIAN GROUPS SUCH AS IDRF, HSS, SEWA INTERNATIONAL AND VHPA

Please remember the lessons of past natural calamities: Latur earthquake in 1993, Orissa cyclone in 1999 and the massive earthquake that shook Gujarat in 2001. Sectarian groups in the guise of non profits have swooped in on these areas engulfed in tragedy (funded in large part by unsuspecting donors in the US) and established their presence in the grief-stricken communities on the pretext of providing relief. Not only did this lead to unequal disbursement of relief among various communities, but it also caused further fracturing of these struggling communities along lines of caste and religion.

This time too, the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Sewa International and Vishwa Hindu Parishad-America (VHPA) have all put out appeals for Tsunami relief. CSFH has done extensive research on these groups and traced their linkages to the parent organization in India: the violent and anti-minority Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). (See http://www.stopfundinghate.org for details.) Affiliates of this organization have been implicated by numerous national and international human rights groups as having engineered the anti-Muslim Gujarat pogroms in 2002 and the anti-Christian violence in 1998-2000. RSS itself is a secretive organization, openly sectarian in its operations, and is not legally permitted by the Government of India to accept funds from abroad; consequently, its US affiliates (IDRF, HSS etc.) are raising funds for organizations like Sewa Bharati, Jana Sankshema Samiti and Vivekananda Kendra in India, all of which are intrinsic parts of RSS operations in India and follow its divisive ideology.

We urge everyone to make the responsible choice in favor of supporting secular groups with a long-standing commitment to the pluralistic ethos and democratic ideals of India. On our part, we are following up on our work of the past several years some of which is documented at http://www.stopfundinghate.org . We will be happy to assist you with any information and would really appreciate it if you will alert us to the debates and discussions that you are involved in by emailing us at info@stopfundinghate.org

We are building a FAQ to be posted on our site and it will be helpful to know the kinds of questions being raised. Meanwhile, please feel free to use the list below as a starting point to identify the kind of organizations that are worthy of support.

Thank you
CSFH (http://www.stopfundinghate.org)

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A partial list of non-sectarian, grassroots groups involved in relief operations:

1. AID - Association for India’s Development
http://www.aidindia.org/CMS/

2. American India Foundation
http://www.aifoundation.org/

3. Asha For Education
http://www.ashanet.org/

4. India Literacy Project
http://www.ilpnet.org/news/Tsunami/index.html

5. India Relief and Education Fund
http://iref.homestead.com/

6. Indians for Collective Action
http://www.icaonline.org/

7. Pratham
http://www.prathamusa.org/

8. Singh Foundation
http://singhfoundation.org

9. Vibha
http://www.vibha.org/emergencyrelief/

These groups are partnering with various mass-based organizations and NGOs in India, such as the Tamil Nadu Science Forum, the National Fishworkers Forum, Vidyarambam, APVVU (agricultural workers’ union in AP), People`s Watch, Bharathi Trust and Bhoomika Trust.

Among international organizations, Doctors Without Borders is reputed to be the most committed and experienced with meeting disasters with professional expertise. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

The International Red Cross has country specific operations which may be accessed and supported through the following links:

Sri Lanka: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/sri_lanka!Open
Indonesia: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/indonesia!Open
Thailand: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/thailand!Open

Additionally, we urge you to also spread the word about the Red Cross`s `Family Links` initiative which helps locate separated family members throughout the affected region. You can find out more about this from http://www.icrc.org/home.nsf/home/webfamilylinks

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Also see CSFH`s FAQ:

* Why are you trying to prevent IDRF, HSS, VHPA and Sewa International from raising money for Tsunami relief?

* But IDRF is raising money for as many as 11 organizations. Do you mean to say that all of these organizations are affiliated to the RSS?

* What is wrong with the Sewa Bharati?

* Aren`t the Tamil Nadu fisherfolk communities largely Christian? What influence can the Sangh have there?

* Why are you against Hindu organizations and not against Muslim/Christian groups? (After all, Catholic Relief Services has gotten the largest relief package going.)

* OK fine, the IDRF is part of the Sangh and the Sangh is violent at times. But they also do good work during crises such as this tsunami, so why should I not support them in their good work? Are you not obstructing the relief and rehabilitation of people who have been hurt by trying to prevent IDRF, HSS, VHPA and Sewa International from getting donations for the Tsunami relief?

[ http://www.stopfundinghate.org/resources/atdfaq.htm ]

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* ``The Hindu organizations most responsible for violence against Christians are the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP), the Bajrang Dal,and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps, RSS). According to a former RSS member, these groups cannot be divorced from the BJP party: ``There is no difference between the BJP and RSS. BJP is the body. RSS is the soul, and the Bajrang Dal is the hands for beating.``
[ http://www.hrw.org/press/1999/sep/christians.htm ]

* ``The groups most directly involved in the violence against Muslims include the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that heads the Gujarat state government. Collectively, they are known as the sangh parivar, or family of Hindu nationalist organizations.``
[ http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/04/gujarat.htm ]

As evidence of IDRF-funded RSS-indoctrination, see
http://www.idrf.org/dynamic/modules.php?op=modload&name=
My_eGallery&file=index&do=showpic&pid=346&orderby=dateD
The gentlemen (?) on this photo are KB Hedgewar and MS Golwalkar, the first two dictators of the RSS. You can also their photos on the RSS`s homepage: http://www.rss.org