Indian fishermen become heroes of Kerala flood 

Selfless seamen refused payment for the loss of their livelihoods.  

Fishermen in India's Kerala state are being hailed as heroes for using their traditional wooden boats to rescue men, women and children from swirling floodwaters.

"You are like our God," a woman with folded hands told fishermen who saved her along with another female villagers and 30 youngsters trapped in a children's home in Alappuzha district, an area laced with waterways.

The fishermen, mostly Catholics and Muslims from the Arabian Sea coast, formed their own voluntary rescue service during flash flooding from August 15-18, 2018.

While some people were just temporarily isolated by deluges, the lives of others were in serious peril as rising floodwaters submerged homes.

A team led by Raju Thomas from Trivandrum Archdiocese, some 200 kilometres away, carried their boats on lorries to the disaster area in central Kerala. "We could not see the children's home," he said. "We found them after we heard the children screaming."
Raju's team was one of several organised by the local archdiocese. Fishermen from coastal Cochin, Quilon and Aleppy and Trivandrum were among some 1,500 fishermen who joined rescue operations.

On many occasions they were able to skilfully manoeuvre their small traditional boats into places when helicopters were unavailable or unable to reach victims because of overhanging trees.

Trivandrum Archdiocese alone organised 130 boats manned by 500 fishermen, said coordinator Fr Shijin Jose. It was a difficult operation as fishermen had to pass through narrow lanes in residential areas. "Many of the boats were damaged," Fr Jose said. "But they repaired them and completed the mission successfully."

Government officials offered fishermen 3,000 rupees (US$42.00) daily to compensate for the loss of their livelihoods. However, they refused the offer as they just wanted to help people in distress, the priest said.

Several fishermen who joined the operation told ucanews that their biggest reward was the relief they saw on the faces of those they saved.

According to the KSDMA (Kerala Disaster Management Authority), floods during the entire monsoon season claimed 383 lives and resulted in more than 1.3 million people being shifted to 3,612 relief camps. 

T. K. Devasia, Kochi India, www.ucanews.com August 27, 2018

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