BHUJ - October 16 , 2001.
"While the US are throwing bombs over Afghanistan, and Pakistan facing serious problems, I have spent a little more than a week in my beloved Kutch. What I see and what I hear touches me deeply and is beyond any experience I have encountered before. The apprehension I felt before coming was happily and instantly washed away by pure joy of being back with dear old friends, and the first few days were carried on a wave of much laughter and this rare sense of hospitality and togetherness that you encounter here. The people of Kutch are made of something special so laughter and togetherness are - believe it or not - still the keywords for me but a huge amount of serious reality is blending as pure facts are revealed day after day. A lot of reconstruction of roads and villages take place and the latter especially in the desert village area where many NGO's are working thus taking care of crafts people too. But when it comes to the city of Bhuj and its population nothing has been done. Here - 9 months after the devastating earthquake hit the area - the government of Gujarat has still not come up with any confirmed city plan and thousands of people continue to live in tin houses or tents. The main bazaar in the old town is up running and seemingly full of life from dawn till dusk. But a lot of the population has fled to other areas of India and those still living in the city are without job and money, which consequently affects all the shop owners who are now below 25% of their original turnover. On top of this many of them are facing expensive repair of their shops and homes, an expense they have to deal with alone since no government help is near. A few are taking advantage of the situation and rental prices have thus gone up and the same applies to constructions workers etc. And those who do not start repairing their homes due to lack of money are facing a pure demolishment of same. When it comes to tourism Bhuj has simply vanished from the latest issue of the traveler’ s bible - Lonely Planet and the city will have to live with this for a few years now. So much help is needed here and I realize that merely collecting money for NGO’s is not always the best solution. As I see it personal help is far better to a few selected families one of which I will give you an example of below.
Like my friend who lost his home in the old city. He also lost the document confirming that he is the actual owner of this particular piece of land. He lives with his 6 family members, his mother, his sister, who lost her job since she was running her business from home, his brother, who was employed in a lawyer’s office, and his wife and their two children of 18 and 12 years old. And they all live off his salary. Their home for the last 6 months has been a tin house of 3 by 3 meters where they live, sleep, cook and wash. Their few personal belongings are kept in trunks, cupboards, suitcases and bundles - imagine how little space is left! I seriously consider adopting a couple of families for a few years but cannot do this out of my own pocket, and now ask all of you to join me in helping these gentle people."
PS. The above text is part of circular letter sent to friends and dear ones around the world.
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