[Fwd: Update Tsunami RElief Work - DAY- 3 - (WILDLIFE S.O.S(R) & FRIENDICOES-SECA]

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Update Tsunami RElief Work - DAY- 3 - (WILDLIFE S.O.S® &

FRIENDICOES-SECA

Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:01:53 +0530

WILDLIFE S.O.S® <wildlifesos

Organization: WILDLIFE S.O.S ®

dneale

 

 

 

TSUNAMI RELIEF WORK

 

" Working to Save Lives "

 

The only survivors of a lost village......

 

Report from Kartick Satyanarayan :Team-1 WILDLIFE S.O.S® &

FRIENDICOES-SECA

 

The night in a " Pichavaram Tamilnadu " guest house, once a sprawling

tourist place now a ghost house filled with insects was manned by a

terrified Mr. Karunanidhi who had survived the tsunami by running out

with his staff. He flatly refused to allow us to stay in the hotel till

we signed a letter saying we were staying at our own risk. This area is

home to a large patch of mangrove forests in the backwater area, that we

learnt had saved thousands of lives in Pichavaram breaking the impact

of the killer waves and making it possible for people to escape. The

flora and fauna of the mangrove forest sustained tremendous destruction.

 

 

 

Unable to escape the tsunami's wrath.....

 

Village Chinnavaikal, a small fishing hamlet, was a shell of wrecked

fishermen's houses and upturned boats. Hungry cats explored the ruins

looking for masters and food. Now there was no fish and no people

either. At Mulukuthurai, where the water had come inland for almost two

kilometers boats lay shattered unbelievably on top of houses, huge

anchors on the roadside, a bundle of rags near it, someone whose life

meant nothing to the mother sea! .

 

" Ashes to ashes... A silent cremation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arranging Fodder for the cattle

 

Hundreds of cattle roamed looking for food and water. It was obvious

that the cattle had fled leaving behind their homes but when they

returned the fresh water streams and wells, the waterholes that the free

ranging cattle had access to, had turned saline and brackish overnight.

We treated a herd of cattle for injuries and found many suffering from

dehydration, acidiosis from eating the left over rice fed to humans, and

hunger!

 

In these areas of Tamil Nadu the cattle and livestock is the wealth of

the poor people. The cattle had to be saved until the people returned

and were able to start feeding and caring for their livestock. Arranging

fodder for the cattle required it to be trucked in from the inland

areas; the coastal areas did not grow much fodder. A nearby inland

village called killai thikkal had several acres of farm land where crops

were being grown and we met Mr.Sambasiwam who agreed to sell us the

fodder from his farm. Arrangements for the transportation and

distribution of this fodder to the affected areas have also been made

and the all important feeding of the animals has begun

 

Dr. Prabhakar(Team -2) at the first distribution of fodder

 

Cheques can be made to " FRIENDICOES SECA " or " WILDLIFE S.O.S " and

sent to:

 

SD21D210, DEFENCE COLONY, NEW DELHI - 1100024, INDIA

Click Here to send Mails

<wildlifesos?subject=I%20wish%20to%20%20Offer%20My%20He\

lp%20for%20TSUNAMI%20RELIEF%20>

 

 

 

Pazhayyar is now a jutting out peninsular piece of land. The water has

decimated the village and penetrated over one kilometer inside the

coast. We saw over 50 - 60 hungry cats roaming around in search of food.

We have requested our next team to bring lots of cat food to help the

animals tide over until normalcy returned to the village. Over 60 dogs

hungry & scavenging could not be ignored. Dog food was been arranged

late last night from a pet food shop in Chennai.

 

We walked through the wreckage in the darkness to check if any people or

animals were trapped in the wreckage. It was a bright starlit night. As

we stood on the beach, unable to fathom how this destruction could have

been caused, we saw a shooting star in the starlit skies above. We said

a silent prayer for the dead and returned through the eerie town where

each house bore the dark color of death. A school classroom lay in

ruins, next to it a broken hut where a dog howled incessantly for its

owner. We could not ignore it and after a great deal of coaxing and

petting it quietened but refused our biscuits and water ...... It was

time to go, and the howling began as soon as we began walking away,

first gentle then high pitched! We quickly decided to spend the night in

the open under the stars and keep the dog company.

 

If no images downloaded Click here

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iler%20with%20Graphics%20>

 

 

 

--

Dave Neale

UK Director

Animals Asia Foundation

 

ANIMALS ASIA HAS A BRAND NEW WEBSITE!

Find out more about our historic China Bear Rescue and Friends or Food? projects

by visiting the Animals Asia Foundation website at http://www.animalsasia.org