I was 15 when the tsunami hit my city Chennai in 2004. Flamboyant houses, flourishing business, mighty lorries, happy families, dreams and hopes went reeling under the water and rubble as Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the coast of South India. I was one of the hundreds of students who volunteered to help the victims of the disaster, providing relief measures, temporary shelter and aid.
November 5th is the World Tsunami Awareness Day, celebrated annually. While everyone is talking about promoting national and local risk reduction plans, the targets and strategies neglected the very droplets that can kill!
It has been 16 years since the disaster struck and one incident is vivid in my memory. I remember distributing food packets to the refugees in the tents, most of whom had lost their families. A reporter was interviewing the victims nearby, asking for graphic details of how they lost their loved ones before their eyesight. His gaze fell on a grief-stricken woman who was clutching her breast, sobbing silently.
“Did you lose someone too?”, he asked. Her reply made everyone around gasp in horror.
"I lost my 6-month-old infant. The tsunami struck suddenly and I was the sole survivor in my village. I climbed onto the tallest tree I could see and watched as my village was decimated. For 3 days I clutched onto a branch, forcing myself to stay conscious to hold onto my son. Though I was without food or water and barely alive, I was breast feeding him. When I was finally rescued, I thought I received a redemption from God and a second chance at life. But I was wrong.
For a week we stayed at this camp, eating and drinking what we are served. Some diseases began to take charge as an after effect of the tsunami. The water caused my son and I to contract diarrhoea. I watched helplessly as the life slowly ebbed in his tiny body.
My son, who I kept safe on a tree, clutching the branches with my numb hands and weak body! My son, who I fed with milk from my breast though I had not eaten in days! My son, who gave me the strength to fight when I was surrounded by despair!
My son who survived the mighty tsunami, did not conquer diarrhea!"
It was ironic. A lady who saved 2 lives from treacherous water that approached her in thousands of liters and yet lost her baby’s life to a few drops of unclean water. A few drops, that is all it took to usurp a child’s life. That’s when I realized, the tiniest virus can take more lives than a massive natural disaster. Though miniscule in size, its repercussions are substantial.
I can only imagine, what if we had had easy water procurement systems 16 years ago? What if we had atmospheric water systems, sewage treatment and mineralised water that was accessible to all? Could we have saved that child and many more? We may not have been able to prevent the disaster, but we could have ensured fast recovery, enabled quick relief measures and provided better health to every single living being.
Whether in India, Haiti, Japan, USA, or anywhere, the Floods, Storms and Tsunami can hit any country. Climate Change is disturbing our planet and its balance, still no proper actions are taken!
Can we afford losing more lives, whether from such disasters or from COVID-19, Ebola etc., Can we afford not seeing the Droplets that can kill? Can we have a Droplet that can save the People and the Planet!
My name is Jyotsna, a woman engineer, and this is the reason that I work on that droplet that Saves Lives!
