Don’t believe rumours, Kerala still needs help

What would we have done without social media?’ That’s one question that those who’ve survived the Kerala floods have been asking. After all, in the past week, social media has proved to a saviour. People have used it for everything from sending out SOS to sharing live locations when they were trapped, to coordinating relief work. But as always, there has been a flipside too. Numerous vile videos, audio clips, and posts have crept into its ‘walls’ and Whatsapp groups — some cringeworthy, some ridiculous, some outright vicious and vile. For instance, the many videos that have impassioned people saying that the floods are a result of Lord Ayyappa’s curse for allowing women enter the Sabarimala temple! Though Malayalis were too busy to troll the makers of these videos, there were others that got their attention. One had a man dressed in army clothes, alleging that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stopped army officials from carrying out rescue operations. With some good ol’ digging up, it turned out that he was an imposter who is now going to have to serve a jail sentence for pretending to be the Army.But what gained exceptional attention during these difficult times was a viral audio clip of a Hyderabad-based Malayali, Suresh Kochattil, insisting people outside Kerala to stop sending money and relief materials into the state. To quote Suresh: “Most of the people who’ve been impacted by the floods in Kerala are from very well-to-do families. They’re either from the middle class, upper middle-class or are superbly rich. They don’t need money. They don’t need sanitary napkins. They don’t need matchboxes and candles. They need nothing. In fact, if you really want to donate, drop matchboxes and candles from the list because every house in Kerala has electricity....”He even suggested that the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund is “not the right place to donate” as he suspects the government of misuse of funds. Needless to say, social media users, especially in Kerala, have lashed out against these allegations which they have called “vile”, and said that it’s just a result of not understanding Kerala, Malayalis or what exactly they are going through.Hyderabad Times decided to speak to a few volunteers across Kerala to find out what exactly the ground reality is and here’s what they had to say:Send us whatever you can, pleaseWe have spent over Rs 2, 51,000 so far on medical assistance, toiletries, sanitary napkins, innerwear, food and water for various relief camps in Ernakulam, North Paravur, Aluva, Kalady and Malayattoor in the past five days. The requests are plenty, but we do not have enough money to meet all the needs. Right now, we are heading to Chengannur, one of the worst hit areas. The camps in parts of Chengannur are willing to accept anything at this point — rice, clothes, sanitary pads. So don’t hesitate, send us whatever you have. There are many regions where volunteers haven’t been able to reach to yet. There’s no power in most of these areas, so relief operations have become very difficult to carry out after 6 pm. So, yes, we could definitely use matchboxes, candles, torches and batteries in our supply kits.— Ann Mary Thomas , a volunteer from ErnakulamThe floods don't just pick the richI have been working at the UC College relief camp in Aluva — one of the worst affected areas in the floods. The entire town was under water, except this one college. So that meant that everyone had to take refuge here, both rich and poor; Hindu, Muslim and Christian. At one point there were around 10,000 people living at the camp. The first few days of the floods were the harshest because nobody could reach us with relief materials due to all the road blocks. And we struggled for every little thing — from food to sanitary pads to bedsheets. Thanks to everyone who’d sent supplies and money in the past few days, we have enough right now. People have started heading back home, so what we need right now urgently are cleaning supplies to clear the muck and rebuild this town from scratch. So, keep the help pouring in.— Adeep Hussain, a volunteer in the UC College relief camp in AluvaIgnore vile messages, we need helpI have been co-ordinating relief work and in the past one week, I have seen everything — hungry people, those without clothes, those without basic sanitation items. At one point, I was requesting people to send in clothes and chappals, even used ones, because that was the state of people who came into rescue centres. They literally had nothing; never mind whether they were rich or poor. From our collection centre, relief materials are still being dispatched to all corners of Kerala. In many districts, people are still stuck on rooftops. It’s tough to access them. Now that the water is receding, people are getting back to their destroyed homes. They need every kind of help possible to. I urge you not to get sidetracked by divisive, vile rumours. Continue supporting Kerala.— Durga Krishna, actor Co-ordinating relief work from KochiTo hell with politicking, you just do your bitActor Navdeep, who has not only raised his voice on social media as an influencer to urge his followers and fans to do their bit, and help rebuild Kerala, but has also been co-ordinating massive relief work, believes, this is not the time to get waylaid by politicking and pointless doubts that arise due to rumours. “The situation in Kerala is there for everyone to see, in papers, on social media, on TV channels. Homes are flooded, people are displaced, many are dead, many still missing. That Kerala needs our help is but obvious! We have been working with GCDA (Greater Cochin Development Authority), Kochi, and covering arears like Paravur, Chengannur and Alleppey. So, we are directly in touch with the people on ground zero on a daily basis. We get to know from them what they need. For instance, currently they asked us to avoid candles, milk powder etc., which were essential in those areas last week. Instead, they now want bleaching powder. So, the needs are legit; their cry for help is real. This is not the time to show solidarity on social media or share rumours. To hell with people playing politics. You do your bit. That’s what I’m doing.Tribal communities are devastatedI’ve been working in the tribal areas of Wayanad and Kozhikode. And I believe the tribal communities are probably the worst affected groups in these floods, primarily because most of the relief materials that have been sent do not even reach these regions. The roads to these areas are dangerous as it is, imagine what happens with landslides and deluge. Also, the huts of the tribal communities are not as resilient as concrete houses in the bigger cities; many of them have been completely wiped out by the floods. So many tribals are homeless right now, but their resilience is unbelievable. The relief camps in these areas still need rice, pulses, oil and other food items. When a calamity like this strikes, the poor would only get poorer.— Shihas Ahmedkoya, a volunteer of Green Palliative