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Life After the Tsunami
"The fishermen, young and old, can't return to the sea without the government's go-ahead...For them, the days are long and filled with more social visits then they've ever had time for before."
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By Nishat Kurwa
 In two fishing villages south of Madras, India, the death toll
of the Asian tsunami was low - but it's had a major effect on the
way of life there. In the interest of safety, the government has told
the residents not to go back to fishing for three months. And some
people in nearby fishing communities who have tried to fish... aren't
catching the same fish as they were before the tsunami. That's a source
of worry for the young people here, as they look to the future. Youth
Radio's Nishat Kurwa sent this postcard from Chennai.
Before the tsunami hit Pattipulam, you'd be hard pressed to find ten
people in any house in the village watching TV in the middle of the
day.
Manivanan, a young fisherman, says normally, the men would be on the
beach, cleaning the boats and making the nets, after spending a morning
at sea.
MANIVANAN (on tape)
Before we didn't have time to watch TV...only after eight o'clock we
had time to watch. But now, we don't have work so we just spend our
time watching television.
NISHAT
Villagers also spend more time with family. Vadivel has been a fisherman
for about three years...he says before the tsunami hit, his parents
would make him go to bed so he could get up early and go to sea.
 VADIVEL (on tape)
But after the tsunami happened, we have some time. When we lie down
to sleep, the adults are there. We share stories, we share jokes,
we talk about a lot of things...
NISHAT
And it's not only relationships within the nuclear family that are
shifting. The village elders have asked the young people to take on
more responsibilities, especially when it comes to dealing with relief
organizations and the government. Twenty-one-year-old Santosh, who
lives in the neighboring village of Sulerikadu, says the youngsters
help distribute supplies, and make lists of which villagers need what.
SANTOSH (on tape)
They give responsibility to the youth and they take it up, because
there are youth who have been educated, who can contribute other things.
NISHAT
 Higher education is a new option for young people in many of these
small fishing towns. Traditionally, kids joined the workforce after
high school because there was no money for college. A family's daily
catch didn't bring in enough profit to cover tuition. But in recent
years, government officials began emphasizing the importance of education.
So, the fishermen began working extra hours… to be able to send their
kids to college. But 19-year-old Vadivel says the tsunami swept away
those prospects, at least in the short term...
VADIVEL (on tape)
The older kids, they have lost their books and uniforms, so they are
not able to go back to the schools. And we need to pay the fees too.
Since we're not going fishing, we don't have money, so we don't have
fees.
NISHAT
In Sulerikadu, young men carry scholarship letters in their pockets
to show to foreigners, or anyone else who might be willing to contribute
to their tuitions. By now, they may have given up hope of returning
to school, since some college bills were due in full by January 20th.
They're studying computer science and microbiology. But many young
people have returned to fishing.
But now, even that path is uncertain.
 The fishermen, young and old, can't return to the sea without the
government's go-ahead. The married women used to meet the men at the
shore three times a day to help haul in the fish. For them, the days
are long and filled with more social visits then they've ever had
time for before.
Most young unmarried women don't go to college. Their
day-to-day activities haven't really changed - they're still working
in the home. But there is one Friday ritual, strictly the domain of
women, that's indefinitely on hold. Twenty-year-old Bagevadi says
every week, girls and women would go to the beach and pour milk into
the water, to bless the sea.
BAGEVADI (on tape)
After the tsunami happened we haven't gone to the sea to worship,
because we're so scared it might happen again.
NISHAT
And even if they never see another tsunami, it will take ten to fifteen
years to rebuild the life they enjoyed before. One young man says
the life they're living now, with miserable living conditions and
constant boredom, is a kind of torture.
- "Life After the Tsunami" was produced by Youth Radio's International
Desk, in association with National
Geographic.
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