Not all superheroes wear capes, some wield paddles and oars. The fishermen of Kerala have been the true heroes during the recent floods that devastated the God’s own country.
The Kerala floods, described as one of the worst since 1924, took many lives and left many homeless. While the entire state was reeling under the crisis, these “sons of the sea” turned out to be the saviors for a lot of people. Braving driving rain and raging waters, the fishermen from Kerala have rescued more than 65,000 marooned people from flood hit areas in the state during the rescue operations.
They had nothing but their strength, courage and boats to help their fellow humans. Most of them have struggled during the Ockhi cyclone in 2017 and they know very well how unruly and dangerous water can get. This made them battle inclement weather and treacherous waters in order to rescue the stranded and helpless people.
They take their boats out on rough tides and opposing flow every day for a living. So they were able to raft over the water flow in Kerala, accelerated by open dam gates in several places. They traveled in in their boats through narrow streets and carried stranded people back to safety. They not only rescued people but collaborated with the police and other relief agencies to supply drinking water, life jackets and essentials to the flood victims. They swam across the water to places where they were not able to take boats to rescue.
Jaswal KP went a step ahead to help…
As women wearing sarees, burqa and gown find it challenging to hop on to the rafts, Jaisal KP hunched down in flooded waters so the women could step on his back and in the raft.
Putting his back into it. Quiet literally. Jaisal KP a fisherman in Vengara puts himself in water so women and children can use his back as a step into the boat. 600 fisherman helping out in #KeralaFloods the unsung heroes. #Salute pic.twitter.com/DXo1CbKIs2
— Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) August 19, 2018
In the face of such adversity, tireless and selfless act of the fishermen from Kerala is truly inspiring.
This post is part of the We Are the World Blogfest, a monthly event created by Damyanti Biswas and Belinda Witzenhausen to showcase stories of hope and light. This month I’m helping out as a co-host, along with extraordinary bloggers Simon Falk, Andrea Michaels, Sylvia Stein, Belinda Witzenhausen. —please hop over to check out their WATWB posts as well as from other WATWB participants for a dose of feel-good to last you a whole month. You’ll be happy you did!
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13 Responses
This is very inspiring shilpa, I have been reading, watching and listening about the disaster in Kerala, so very disturbing at the same time these kind of superheros give hope to humanity. I feel comforted to see so many individuals, institutions,NGOs have taken initiative to reach out to Kerala. May they all be blessed. Just yesterday our Alumini group from St Francis Degree college have left for Kerala for rehabilitation work. The YWCA of the Southern region also has got active… hoping to bring some comfort to the flood victims.
I had heard some stories, from some of the Kerala people here in Canberra, Australia, of the brave fishermen. But this story is another one again and so good to hear. Thank you for sharing, Shilpa. I hope the people of Kerala in your beautiful country are getting the support they need.
Hii, Nice post such a valuable information thanks for such valuable information. Keep up the good work.
Sooo inspiring Shilpa! Thank you for sharing these stories. We see on the news about the Kerala disaster and the flooding and fear of drinking water and illness and people leaving … it is heart breaking. It’s so uplifting to see how people come together and humanity in action is seen – those fishermen have my undying admiration.
I always think calamities and tough times bring out the best in us humans. That is in fact a very sad trend but rather true. The Kerala floods saw a surge in the same fact. It was heartening to see people reach out to those in need across the boundaries of caste and wealth.
Hats off to these fishermen.
Yes, you are right Shilpa.
Fishermen were the true superheros during the recent floods in Kerala. These fishermen should be awarded bravery awards by our Government for their rescue operations.
When times gets tougher, it’s the bravery and character strength of people that comes to fore. I had read about felicitation of the fisherman by the government for their bravery and selfless efforts. They truly made the difference between life and death for people.
Great post _()_
Stories such as these show that tragedies soften teach us that people are inherently good. We often don’t notice this when things are calm but in my opinion when faced with adversity people usually step up. Thanks so much for sharing this and for being a part of #WATWB!
Its lovely to read such heart warming stories. As devastating as the floods, these heroes are strongest fighting for humanity and saving many lives.
It’s when calamities strike that warriors can be seen! In adversity, we see the strength and the Kerala floods showed us some strong, brave men and women. This heartwarming narration helps us appreciate them and teaches us to do our best to help Kerala in these dire times. Thank you for this post! I’m sure it will touch many hearts.
Sorry for my belated comment. So wonderful to find heroes in the face of disasters beyond human control. 🙂