August 25, 2005, New Delhi - A month
after the floods and landslides around Mumbai on July 25 left 1,099 dead
and hundreds of thousands more affected, homeless or traumatized, India's
tribal communities face a particularly devastating loss, and are the target
of emergency and long-term rehabilitation efforts by Catholic Relief Services
(CRS) and its local partners.
Often the landless and voiceless in
society, the tribal communities of India live in the most rural areas,
with virtually no amenities, education or exercised influence over their
rights. Their options are minimal; their safety nets nonexistent. They
are communities who work as laborers on farms they do not own, often subject
to exploitation on wages and living hand-to-mouth during even normal times.
Their dependence on the harvest season for work seven months out of the
year results in five months of migration, and children rarely attending
school. In the region of Mahad alone, 96 percent of the tribal community
is illiterate.
"The tribal communities are at this moment a totally lost group," said Father Carlton Kinny, Jankalyan Trust director, and partner with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Mahad. "They have no voice here. They are the most neglected within society, always shut out from the mainstream, from education, and exploited at all facets of life. Their needs in emergencies like these are critical. We must look out for them."
In the coming weeks and months, people across the areas devastated by the floods and landslides are to receive compensation -- which could include land for some -- by the Indian government for their losses. CRS and its partners are paying close attention to the compensation provided to the tribal communities, and working to ensure they are not overlooked or left in a more destitute situation.
"We want to make sure these invisible families are not being left off the list," said Alex Mathew, CRS deputy country representative for South India. "It's not accidental or coincidental that we're dealing with the same ten percent of the population -- it's the same ten percent that is always vulnerable to being left out."
Currently CRS and its partners are providing relief to more than 50,000 families in the most affected areas of the Raigad, Kolhapur and Satara districts. Emergency relief assistance includes the distributions of food grains, sanitation items, and family kits (blankets, pans, utensils), in addition to the construction of temporary shelters.
CRS' longer-term rehabilitation phase will focus on the restoration of livelihoods, permanent housing, cash for work programs for the repair of land and farms, and children's educational materials, among other efforts.
Background
On July 25, flood waters topped record levels in Mumbai, with 37" accumulated within 24 hours (the previous record being 33" in 1910). The aftermath of mud landslides in rural villages proved even more deadly. As many as 1,099 people are confirmed dead and CRS estimates 248,000 homes are damaged or destroyed across 6,000 villages. Vital farm land has been covered in water and filled with debris. Clothing, school books, food stash, savings, and household and personal items have been washed away or buried under the landslides. Many cattle and buffalo perished. Polluted rivers have halted purchase of fish, depriving fishermen of their normal income.
An estimated 1 million people are affected by the disaster, resulting in an overall damage at roughly $1.1 billion.
For more information about how to help, call 1-877-HELP-CRS, send a check to CRS at P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD, 21203-7090, or visit www.crs.org.
For photos, interviews or further information, contact Caroline Brennan at E-mail: cbrennan@crs.org ; Phone (New Delhi): + 93-12-67-7936, or visit www.crs.org.
Working with local partners, CRS has supported relief and development programs in India for 59 years. CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Community and works in 99 countries and territories to provide assistance to people in need, regardless of race, creed or nationality.