Tsunami–hit Andaman Islands remain neglected, Church only hope, says PIME coordinator

Chennai – The coordinator for the tsunami campaign launched by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Mission (PIME) in India has lashed out at the government, international NGOs and the media for their lack of interest in the reconstruction of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where the people are still suffering due to lack of food, medical supplies and proper shelters.

The devastating tsunami struck the archipelago last December claiming over 5000 lives but little has been done since them to help the survivors come out of their misery, said Fr. Anthony Thota. “Most NGOs and rescue teams have left the islands stricken by the December 26 tsunami. Media interest has waned and the government has not kept its promise to compensate the population; meanwhile people are still waiting for housing so they can start living again,” he said.

“I visited the Andamans recently and the situation is really bad,” the Chennai–based (Tamil Nadu) missionary said. “There are very few NGOs left to bring real help to the people; most have left the territory.”

According to Asia News, Fr. Thota said that the United Nations has kept some groups providing psychological support to the victims, but primarily Caritas India, Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and PIME are providing concrete help.

“The authorities,” the PIME coordinator lamented, “say they must first wait to find land on which to build the promised housing,” whilst people must continue living in temporary tents in dangerous sanitary conditions. And the situation risks getting worse.

“In a few months, in July that is, the monsoon season will begin and heavy rains will make an already precarious situation worse and more dangerous,” Fr. Thota said.

According to the PIME coordinator, the central government had promised millions of dollars in aid for post–tsunami recovery on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, one of the worse hit areas in India, but so far victims have received measly compensations.

According to the coordinator, the government “is playing around” with these people. The bureaucracy’s “corruption and laziness” is the main obstacle to aid getting where it is needed.

What’s more, in his view, “local authorities hope to use reconstruction and compensation programmes to further their own electoral interests,” he said.

For the local Church, reconstruction remains the main goal. “Catholic NGOs are giving away clean water, medical assistance and run refugee camps,” Fr. Totha said, adding that PIME and Pilar Fathers (an Indian missionary institute) have agreed to build two or three schools and a hostel in an area some 30 kilometres from Port Blair, the capital of Andaman Island.