They suffered the Tsunami It had barely been a week of witnessing dead bodies, homeless children, broken hearted parents and shattered people being rescued and provided with supplies, for rehabilitation, by many sources on television that I learnt about the arrival of two aircraft at the airbase, one morning. The aircrafts were returning, with passengers from Car Nicobar and were headed to destinations that were closest to their homes. The team of flying personnel had run many a sorties of similar kinds the past week trying as hard as possible to save and rescue as many victims as they could. It was a chilling
moment to discover that I was one of the few to be present there when they arrived. Prepare however much I did for the moment; nothing could have been enough for what awaited us.
Tragedy of some kind or the other has brushed passed many of us in our lives leaving one with memories of events that often become unforgettable. Yet, how typical it is for any tragedy to be a complete part of just that one person alone. It feels like as if you are in the midst of many trying to
share your
sorrow, and yet it remains only yours to be. With these thoughts running through my mind I saw the aircraft land finally with the many homeless, pained, and broken passengers getting ready to alight. There was a moment of panic that gripped me. I wondered what was I to say to them? Could I receive them with a smile? Would an embrace do the magic or just holding a hand make a difference? But, soon my doubts were put to rest on seeing from afar the first passenger, a small boy, step out and begin to run around on the tarmac playfully. How innocent this age was. How naïve and unaware of what he had just brushed past. Yes, it was then that I realized, all that would work, as a balm would be a meaningful spontaneous gesture. Pulling myself together to face a set of people who needed nothing but love and food for now, I was all set to be one amongst them, feel their pain as closely as I could and generate as much energy as possible to give them strength. The people walked in like tides of sorrow making each one of us around realize how little we
knew of life and how homeless they were. None knew anything about the fate the other had met with. They just walked in looking for a place to sit on and stared into wilderness. There were women having no idea about where their husbands were and they all sat around in silence speaking only when spoken to. Who knew that the day after a splendid celebration a major part of the world was nearly meeting its doom? The night before all these
families had celebrated Christmas on the islands not realizing that they were sleeping as a family one last time. Women that many others and I spoke with narrated stories of how they ran towards the air strip for shelter, while those who hadn’t had got washed away with many other. Some were lucky enough to get thrown ashore by an angry wave. There was no time to see whom one could help. The only people that they had in mind were children and many a mothers braved it out in the water despite not knowing how to swim. Others who tried just as hard did not have the good fortune and watched their children drift afar. They could now only hope that their husbands and families were safe somewhere. There were reptiles and snakes that crept into the water as they hung onto some old well rooted trees. Their clothes had them creeping all over into them and helpless was how they felt. There was screaming and shouting and homes falling apart right in front of their eyes like a pack of cards while the sea roared like a huge monster laughing and looming over their small happy world. There was much more, they shared, and cried as often as they recollected the events. All they wanted now was to reach home to some loved one who could hug them like no other. The brave warriors of the Air Force who were ready at the word “GO” sat broken and shattered in pain. There was much that was lost but there were many still busy rescuing others, forgetting the loss they had had for some time. They parted with no expression on their faces; just a word of thanks and it broke my heart seeing the lifeless state they moved in. The shock had just begun to seep in and learning of the tragedy of whom they’d lost would break them even further. Their words of sorrow still echoed in my ears and all I could do was pray for them. This was just a brief glimpse in the life of a few hundreds I could spend time with but, it left me wondering about the many other nations and the many other parents, spouses and families the world over who have been scarred by this event for life. May God be with them.
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