They are the brave hearts who wrote a new chapter in history with their oars, in the face of a disaster. With the same care that they take to unfurl their nets out in the sea, they extended their arms, pulled out tens of thousands of drowning people and brought them back into life. They scooped up the flood-inundated state of Kerala in the hollow of their palms and deposited it on dry shores. Fisherfolk came to the rescue when floodwaters crashed into houses like waves and submerged districts; Kerala will never forget these angels. Mirroring the intense rescue efforts in a battlefield, they, along with the military, saved more than 70,000 lives. Auditorium. Shashi Tharoor, M. P., recommended them for the Nobel Prize. Many marooned people had sought refuge on the upper storeys of their houses, taking with them the elderly and the new-borns. Disregarding their own safety, the fisherfolk swam in to rescue these people and took them to shelters. The fisherfolk defeated the overpowering floods with their unity and inner strength. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called them Kerala’s very own army. The State honoured this rescue team at a special function organized at Kanakakunnu Nishagandhi Around 700 fishing vessels from Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur districts contributed to the unprecdented scale of rescue operations in the state. Almost 3,000 fisher folk arrived to search for and save people trapped under the floodwater, risking their own lives. It was on seeing coracles being used in Aluva for rescue efforts, that the fishermen set out to save the stranded people with their boats.
JAISAL – A PICTURE THAT GARNERED ADULATION
During the deluge, picture of Jaisal triggered ovation all over the world. To this day Kerala remembers this fisherman, Jaisal, who offered his back as a step for women struggling to board a rescue boat. Felicitations and public receptions were hosted in his honour. The gifts Kerala gave helped him move out from a tarpaulin-covered, leaky, single-room dwelling into a two-storeyed house. “I had not set out expecting anything in return. At that time I was not able to do anything else. When I came to know that I was of help to many people I felt happy. Isn’t being a stepping stone the easiest job to do?” These are Jaisal’s words. Jaisal and his team rescued around twenty families during the flood. This fisherman still remembers the faces of many who cried and clung on for dear life. “We had arrived there hearing that a woman among the group was bleeding. She had to be rescued somehow. On reaching, we sensed that the situation wasn’t very good. It was difficult to endure the cries of many.
Aged people were not able to walk or clamber onto boats. It was when the height of the boat became a hindrance to many that I got the idea of offering my back as a step. Even when the full weight of people came on me, I bit down the pain. We had reached there after wading through even bigger pains – that was the thought that gave me courage during the time. Many were unaware of what they were doing in a bid to save themselves. Some stepped on me wearing footwear. Certain others reminded them to remove their slippers. But they might have forgotten that I too was human. I have no complaints. Maybe they did it in their tense state. It was later
when I saw the video I understood that what I did was important,” Jaisal remembers.
