ABSTRACT
Not long after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, observers noticed that similarly damaged villages on the southeast coast of India had very different patterns of recovery. One scholar described how, when relief workers arrived on the scene of a damaged village, rather than being met by ‘victims in shock’, they were met by the representatives of the nongovernmental fisher caste councils, who handed over carefully prepared lists of their casualties, damage, and needs (Bavinck 2008: 76). This self-organised, coordinated response to crisis stood in stark contrast to the frustration and anger expressed by another hamlet nearby which felt left out of the aid framework.
One of our men has committed suicide because he never got any response to his request to re-start the small business he lost in the tsunami. We also are frustrated that the government never replies to our requests to replace the tools and handcarts we need to go back to work. We also are considering suicide.
(Quoted in Gill 2007: 6)