Perspective Quake aftermath pulls India together and
apart
By THOMAS C. FOX
The state of Gujarat in northeast
India was on our itinerary long before the earthquake struck. It is a wealthy
state and home to 50 million. It is also the place where Christians have been
most consistently harassed and attacked in recent years by mobs inspired by
Hindu fundamentalist politicians.
On the morning of Jan. 26, at the moment the earthquake struck, my
wife, Hoa, and I were in New Delhi in a bus driving to a celebration
commemorating Indian independence. A large tremor was felt throughout the city,
but we felt nothing and were unaware until we got off the bus and began to hear
people speak of the quake.
There was, of course, no way to know its size or the devastation
it had just caused throughout Gujurat. During that first day we ran into people
who told us they were in buildings and saw walls shaking and cabinets falling.
Still, there was no immediate news as to size and meaning, although by the end
of the day we were hearing on CNN in our hotel room that the quake had
registered close to 8 on the Richter scale and that large segments of Gujarat
had been devastated.
That evening we watched CNN for information. News within India was
lagging behind international reports. Yet hour-by-hour the magnitude of death
and destruction grew. Papers the next morning were reporting 10,000 dead. By
the following day reports had grown to 25,000, and four days after the quake
estimates were up to 100,000.
Today, 11 days after the quake, some 30,000 have been counted as
dead. Some 50,000 to 75,000 more may still be missing. No one knows for sure
because no central authority has taken responsibility for gathering the
information.
India is a culturally and ethnically diverse nation. There are
more than 20 official languages. Some say nearly 1,000 languages are spoken
throughout this nation. This diversity comes with a large measure of
regionalism. Not often, it is said here, does the nation pull together, but the
outpouring of aid and concern for the residents of Gujurat is evident wherever
one goes.
Newspapers, businesses and student groups have taken up
collections. India Airlines has scheduled 40 additional flights into Gujarat
this week to bring in clothing and food.
Last night we took a train from Bombay to Surat and checked into a
local hotel. Our first encounter with the quake came as we looked at large bed
sheets hanging throughout the hotel lobby, covering cracks in the walls that
had been caused by the quake.
We were offered reassurances -- for what they were worth -- that
the aftershocks had ended and that we would be safe.
Fifty-two people died in this provincial town when apartment
buildings collapsed, trapping them inside.
Most of the destruction was some miles to the north. One of the
heaviest hit cities was Ahmedabad. Most of those who died there were crushed
when multi-story buildings fell around them. It has been repeatedly pointed out
to us that such buildings are relatively new to Gujarat and that the occupants
were among the rich in the city. The poor cannot afford such
structures.
In neighboring areas, however, it was a different case. Many
villages have been totally wiped out. Some have simply disappeared.
Relief has been slow to arrive on the scene although after nearly
a week and a half this appears to be changing. The army has been the only
organized force to offer relief in a systematic way from the beginning, and it
has had no training in such efforts.
The newspapers are filled with stories of finger-pointing and
scapegoating. Poor construction, it has been reported, has been the chief cause
of death in this earthquake.
A government official in a state with a relatively large Christian
population stated what we had heard privately from some Catholics in Goa, to
the south, that God was punishing Gujarat for its persecution of Christians.
While his remarks seemed to make sense to many Christians, they were the cause
of his forced resignation two days later.
It is clear that the finger-pointing in Indias highly
politicized climate will not end soon. Prime Minister Vajpayee, it is being
charged, was slow to respond and to rally government relief. The charge may
have some credibility.
One of the reasons I came to India was for a gathering of the
International Press Institute, a meeting of publishers and editors worldwide
that watchdogs human rights abuses against journalists. The day after the
earthquake the prime minister addressed the group and said almost nothing about
the calamity. We did take a few seconds in silence to recognize what had
happened. I was surprised that he took time to speak to us while a part of his
nation was in ruins.
International aid will be necessary in large amounts. Television
goes around the clock with scenes of devastation and suffering, and the
newspapers are filled with such reports. Lets hope the human family
responds to this great need.
Tom Fox, NCR publisher, can be reached at
tcfox@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, February 16,
2001
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