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VII. Barriers to re-establishing sustainable livelihoods

The Indian government now faces the daunting task of helping survivors establish viable, sustainable livelihoods. Because the fishing industry is the basis of much of the economy of the region, reviving it should be a priority. The challenge officials should set for themselves, however, is not just to return the affected area’s inhabitants to their standard of living before the tsunami, but rather to “build back better”—to structure the large-scale development now underway so that it removes s long-standing barriers to economic and social progress such as discrimination against so-called lower castes and tribal groups.

Reviving the fishing industry

It is estimated that the tsunami destroyed or damaged at least 83,000 boats.118 Nearly 5,000 mechanized boats were damaged. The rest were traditional boats, including fiber-reinforced and wooden catamarans, both mechanized and non-mechanized. Nearly 150,000 fishing nets were damaged or lost.119 Total damage and losses to fisheries is estimated to be around U.S.$620 million.120 Every fisherman interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that his boats and nets had not been insured.

Since many of the fishermen are still displaced and living in temporary shelters, often at some distance from the sea, their fishing activity is at a standstill.121

Initially, just coping with the disaster and then, fear of the sea, had stopped fishermen from venturing back into the sea. But a month after the tsunami, many fishermen said that they were willing to go back to work, but they had no boats and nets. Many complained about the delay in replacing lost boats, nets, and work tools. S. Iyappan, a fisherman in Pattinacheri village, lost his one-year-old daughter in the tsunami. He has also lost, at least for now, his entire way of life. Nevertheless, he told Human Rights Watch that he was willing to go back to the sea because of his family:

We have lost everything. But it is the sea that gives us our food and we know that we have to go back. We have faced many other dangers out in the water, and now I will just believe that this tsunami is just another such danger…But how can we go unless we have boats and fishing nets? We have to start earning again. The government has promised to help, but it has been a month and there is still nothing. How long can we live like this?122

Many in the fishing communities, particularly those that own the bigger boats, are actually among the wealthiest people in the region. Several fishermen supply fresh fish to local export companies. According to R. Kaladharan, a college professor and member of the Federation of Consumer Organizations in Nagapattinam:

There is an impression that the fisher community is very poor. That is not true. They may not have bank savings, but that is because they put their money into buying better boats, building houses or in gold…Many of them own big boats and five or six families are dependent on the catch.123

The government should rapidly devise a comprehensive policy to restore the fisheries industry. The government had announced that it would provide compensation and subsidies to owners of wooden boats and catamarans and that owners of bigger boats would be given low-interest loans and other subsidies to replace lost boats or to repair those that were damaged.124 However, there are complaints that there is no uniform loan procedure and that some banks are demanding collateral for the loans.125 One possible effective solution was advanced by some district administration officials when they proposed that fishermen stand in mutual guarantees for each other and hypothecate their boats to the banks until the loans are repaid. However, fishermen say that even after they resume fishing, they may not be able to earn enough to repay the loans because of the high cost of materials, particularly petrol, and the additional burden of insurance premiums.126

The process has also been slowed by persistent reports that fishermen are claiming compensation for lost assets that they never actually owned.127 This is because, in many cases, neither the fishermen nor their assets were properly registered. In the reconstruction phase, the government should aim to ensure complete registration of individuals and assets and provide improved access to insurance.128

At the same time, the government should be sensitive to assessments that for every person directly involved in fisheries there are several others dependent on downstream employment. While some of the latter may have received cash compensation for the loss of relatives, houses or assets, many others are not registered owners of houses or boats and may be left out.

Supporting the entire community

As pointed out above, while the fishing industry is the key economic sector in the region, thousands of area residents derive their livelihood from other, often economically linked, activities. The Indian government and nongovernmental relief organizations should also make every effort to extend the benefits of reconstruction to tenant farmers and agricultural laborers, many of whom are from disfavored castes.

Ensuring that the entire community is supported is crucial because the land is expected to remain unfit for cultivation for several years, which will leave many of these people without a livelihood and vulnerable to a food crisis.129 One resident of the hamlet of Manikapanga told Human Rights Watch: “When we work, we get a daily wage and after harvest, we get some grain. Now we have nothing. Our livelihood has been destroyed by the tsunami.”130

Deva Sana, a daily wage laborer, said the situation facing him and others like him was perilous. “After the tsunami, all agricultural crops have been destroyed. There is no work. The government has not given us alternative jobs. We are dependent on NGOs to survive. If you give, we will eat. If not, we will starve.”131

Said Rajalakshmi, another agricultural laborer:

If there is good rain, then maybe in a few years this land can be cultivated. But we have had droughts for years. This year was the first time after many years that we were expecting a good harvest. If we wait for rain, we will have no food.132

Not surprisingly, the Dalit and tribal communities are more vulnerable to the pauperizing effects of the post-tsunami economic downturn. In Vadakattai village in Pondicherry, the Dalit residents said that because the land they worked on was ruined, they had no work and might be forced to migrate. Men and women both worked for daily wages. The village council leader, Nagamurthy, expressed the fears of his community:

Our crop is ruined and the land is full of salt. We are expecting the government to give us jobs for the next three to five years, or we will have to leave and find work in the cities. This is our home and we do not want to go. We are willing to do any job that we are given.133

Many Dalits told Human Rights Watch that they feared that the pattern of caste-based discrimination that characterized the initial phase of relief operations would continue during rehabilitation. Dalits, by and large, do not own land or fishing gear and are dependent on people of other castes for their economic survival. Such people have no assets that can be compensated. What they want, and need, is an opportunity to regain a sustainable livelihood.



[118] Home Minister’s Statement in Parliament regarding relief and rehabilitation of tsunami-affected people, March 10, 2005.

[119] Recovery Framework in Support of Government of India for a Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, March 2005, United Nations Country Team, India.

[120] Ibid.

[121] Litta Jacob, “Woe-Men of Tsunami,” The Week, April 3, 2005, p. 44.

[122] Human Rights Watch interview with S. Iyappan, Pattinacheri, Tamil Nadu, January 28, 2005.

[123] Human Rights Watch interview with R. Kaladharan, Nagapattinam, January 28, 2005.

[124] Home Minister’s Statement in parliament regarding relief and rehabilitation of tsunami affected people. March 10, 2005.

[125] Swati Das and T.S. Sreenivasa Raghavan , “Debt Trap Awaits TN fishermen, The Times of India, May 10, 2005, p. 9.

[126] Swati Das, “Govt Aid Yet to Bail Out TN Fishermen,” The Times of India, May 9, 2005. p. 8.

[127] Sunil Raman, “Eerie Silence on Tamil Nadu Beaches,” BBC News Online, April 25, 2005 [online], http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4479297.stm (retrieved May 9, 2004). The South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies has warned that adding more boats because it can lead to over capitalization and decline of incomes per boat. “Rehabilitation of Fishing Unites in Tamil Nadu-Recommendations, “ South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies, March 14, 2005 [online], http://www.tsunami2004-india.org/ (retrieved May 9, 2005)

[128] Recovery Framework in Support of Government of India for a Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, March 2005, United Nations Country Team, India.

[129] “Tsunami Turns Soil Saline, Field Uncultivable,” The Indian Express, January 7, 2005.

[130] Human Rights Watch interview with Kaliamurthy, Nagapattinam, January 29, 2005.

[131] Human Rights Watch interview with Deva Sana, Nagapattinam, January 28, 2005.

[132] Human Rights Watch interview with Rajalakshmi, Nagapattinam, January 29, 2005.

[133] Human Rights Watch interview with Nagamurthy, Karaikkal, Pondicherry, January 28, 2005.


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