Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
Dr. Molly Joseph
Coordnator,
International Academy of Ethics
Wriggling under biting agony of a total destruction that ravaged part of my greenland Kerala, (India), a nasty long time impact of greedy Corporate Claws destroying its fragile ecological balance …
This is the Story of my country, called God’own Country, Kerala, India.
While in Serbia and other parts of the globe, the same rapacious hands are at work, building up echelons of power and money, causing total annihilation of ecology, denying the common man’s right to live in an ecofriendly habitat, destroying nature and human lives, here is the living tragic story of my motherland unfolding before our eyes..
now, this very moment.
I get choked as I script out each word.
tears soak my writing space…
There, the now devastated plane of broken remains, filth and debris, existed our beautiful part of Kerala, Wayanad, our tourist’s paradise. There was that
school in Kuthumala, surrounded by heavenly hills and dales, flanked by beautiful rivers, where while the birds chirped on early morns the dedicated teachers would take over the charge of the bubbly young children who flocked like fluttering butterflies while, behind, the green hills laughed, waving their leaves joining the merriment.
Now alas! Where are the children, where are those teachers? Where are those noisy bubbly homes?
The mighty land slide that swept over all
four days back, took them away.
The frail ecology, the shaken earth plates turned everything topsy turvy.
But for some strong walls, parts of the school still remain as a phantom…its devouring hole of emptiness where the missing precious lives, of our gems of humans echo and re echo over our shattered hearts, memories.
Thank God, the School withstood it to the maximum saving the thousands.
Many, their very homes, went under the sand and debris. Intensive search, rescue work still going on.
They, the brave rescue workers are able to save many with the help of the Army, by building Bailey Bridge and all. How many helpless survivors are agonisingly are waiting for the ambulance to arrive, bringing the rescued, live or not!
There is that young man hovering around, weeping. He had just taken his wife and two year old to her house there in Wyanad, and returned, only to know on half way return, that the mighty boulder had burst and it was a massive landslide there.
Rushing back, the shocking realisation… the geography of the very place had changed! No trace of anything! What a trauma!
How he hits his head, regretting, he should not have left. If only, he was there with them to the other side of life!
Now on to rational plane.
What actually went behind needs to be highlighted. A clearcut warning of these weakening Earth Plates was, predicted presented in a Report given to Government by one Investigating Committee Madhav Gadgil Committee, much earlier.
No seriousness was given to that, since it would affect the money pumping from the Multinationals to the coffers of “powers that be,” they evasively closed their eyes at the devastation of our ecology by erasing hills to build up resorts, filling up paddy fields for corporate complexes. The naive natives were also misguided into thinking that to implement the commission solutions, they needed to give up their lands and homes.
Now see the state of affairs! Everything gone!
Corporates still gliding over mounts of wealth, unaffected… They can
fly over the area watch, offer solidarity by doling out money as charity to flaunt!
Who cares!
Govt trying its best at rescue, recuperation. But are they keen on saving their face more, than in saving people or nature, putting it all on adverse weather conditions. The question is –
Who made the weather adverse?
When will the world open its eyes?
But we the people, the very ordinary Keralites rally round for help, rehabilitation. When Tsunami did such havoc, it was Kerala’s fishermen who became the redeemers, our heroes.
So touching it is when an offer comes from a breast feeding young Mother that she would be at rescue site to breast feed any hapless child found out from the debris. With her little baby she is waiting there at rescue camp.
How even after two three days some are rescued alive while many bodies are discovered in flowing waters.The heart broken scenario still persists!
This is a raw slice of life in front of me. The glaring reality is this, O, world !
We mankind are on a sinking ship.
There is little time, there is little time to save Nature, Mankind.
I believe what is needed these days is just to be humane.
If you can look into another’s eyes, if you just have time for it, we will realise we have that God in us to hold each other’s hand and redeem the world.
We won’t fall prey to lures of easy moneymaking over human, non human sepulchres. You need no grand theorisations on Ethics. Empty verbal exercise won’t suffice.
World listen!
High time we acted.
Our ship is sinking…
Dr. Molly Joseph
Coordnator,
International Academy of Ethics
