Every dawn brings fresh expectations that their loved ones will be located and rescued. At dusk, despair takes over in the absence of any positive developments.
James left to sea right on that fateful Ockhi devastation day, never to return again. He is survived by an unfit elder son, daughter
Cyclone Ocki: A mother’s tears
In the next family, an old mother sat with folded hands and tears in front of a chair carrying photograph of her only son Christ Reni. Christ Reni was young youth who had to take to fishing after his father had passed away. The teenager was the sole bread earner
Cyclone Ocki: An inconsolable child
A mother has not been able to stop crying. Her son, Wifred, left for fishing on Krishma boat around late November. “He should’ve been back around the same time the cyclone struck. Now we don’t know where he is. Is he alive? Will we get him back?” an inconsolable mother
Cyclone Ocki: Giving hope to Rufina
What makes every minute tortuous is the fear of the unknown. The death is spreading across the coastal villages, and the families are afraid that many of the 200-odd “missing” may end up on that list. Many fishermen from these parts do deep-sea fishing, remaining out of reach for up
Cyclone Ockhi casts a shadow on families
Johnson’s detail is even more depressing. He has two children-Ignatius Loyola and Vimmi in XIthgrade. The fishermen community are very well knit families and in times of unforseen tragic losses within the family, they take up the responsibilities of the children of the kin without a second thought. In a
Cyclone Ockhi: Meeshma’s tattered life
Every time ten-year-old Meeshma hears a sound from the sea, she runs to the shore. She expects to see her father’s boat. Marshel, would go fishing for weeks together.
When a disaster strikes, children are usually the worst affected. The children on the coast of Tamil Nadu are no exception.
Rapid Response for Ockhi Cyclone
Many fishermen are still missing months after a powerful storm struck the country’s southern coast. Initially, nobody knew the impact of the cyclone. Then we heard claims of 1000 fishermen having gone missing. So we decided to find out what was happening. Our four–member team visited Chinnathurai, a fishing village