The Silent Genocide

Orissadiary.com, Sept 15, 2009

By Umi Daniel
“Cholera's reputation as a killer has been earned over the centuries, but modern advances mean we now have the scientific and public health solutions. However, the conditions which enable cholera to be spread - lack of knowledge, poverty and social inequity - also need to be challenged” Ronald Waldman WHO,

One very important issue which Dr. Waldman and any medical practitioner may tend to agree that, cholera or diarrhea is a sheer outcome of poverty, inequity and a state of denial of access to basic services. The 40 recently reported diarrheal deaths in Lanjigarh in Kalahandi or hundreds of death in the past in Kashipur, Thuamularampur and Dasmantpur have been the result of several known factors and conditions like contaminated water and food made of toxic mango kernel and consumption of dead animal meat etc,. Part of KBK region becomes famous for gastro, Anthrax, cholera and malaria deaths which are bit less political and controversial for the administration to handle than the starvation deaths which used to make national news sometime back. However, simply one can’t rule out the invisible Hunger which I feel is the single most factor for all human-made spates of cholera, diarrhea and other epidemic in the region. Those who know the region well will agree-normally rainy days are the lean interlude in the food and employment seasonality of tribals creating a crisis like situation. During rainy days, tribal living in hilly terrains don’t have access to gainful employment to meet his/her food and other basic requirements nor find any traditional forest food e.g. tubers and wild roots which is essential ingredient of tribal food security. Mango kernel as food supplement of tribal has been in practice since ages to cope up the rainy day hunger in most part of undivided Koraput and Kalahandi and in the past has lead to gastro related complications and deaths. The health workers who generally stays at the panchayat headquarters finds difficult to move to the remote villages or arrange emergency medical health. While the ill-equipped administration stays busy in countering and fire-fighting the diarrhea and cholera deaths, the post monsoon season brings in malaria as killer epidemic to the region. Even a cursory observation of the situation may suggest that diarrhea and malaria are the major contributory factors of deaths in the tribal area, which mainly occurs during the pre and post monsoon season.

Predominantly, outbreak of cholera has been customarily reported from Dasmanthpur, kashipur, Laxmipur, Thuamulrampur, Lanjigarh blocks which are contiguously located. Within these blocks there are well identified villages and Panchayats which are inaccessible, remote and mostly get cut off during rain. In the past ten years, cyclic diarrheal deaths have been reported from one or other villages located in these districts.

Generally, the district administrations of these districts hold natural calamity meeting prior to the onset of monsoon. The meeting prepares usual contingency plan to tackle untimely and heavy rain which creates havoc in the districts. However, I am not sure whether the calamity meeting also discuss, identify, map and spot the most vulnerable panchayats not having potable drinking water, road communication, make a reality check on referral services available Anganwadis, PHCs, CHCs and district hospital. The district administration are supposed to have records, cases, data, mapping of the area and frequency of such disaster occurred in past. The water resource and PWD wings at the district should be having the list of villages which lack potable water sources, or information on the number of workable and defunct tube wells in every villages etc. Needless to say that the tribal welfare department, Civil supplies department and DRDA should know the status of implementation wage employment and food scheme during rainy day or should be having some plan and strategy to implement and continue employment generation and food schemes in monsoon to curtail hunger and destitutions. Similarly, the state under its disaster management or relief wings should have proactive measures, adequate preventive action and timely intervention to address these situations for which precious lives can be protected.

I remember, few years back when the starvation deaths were reported from these regions, the state government issued an official communiqué making the Sarpanch of the panchayat accountable for any kind of starvation death reported from its jurisdiction. (It’s in fact easy to get Sarpach being accountable for everything as s/he is the softest target!) But, despite hundreds of people dying due to diarrhea and cholera; none has been held accountable for the utter apathy and in-efficiency at the official level leading to such deaths. Moreover, one of key focus of the KBK LTAP (KBK Long Term Action Plan) is to improve the basic health delivery system in the region. However, preparedness of the administration in terms of effective implementation of food and employment generation schemes, drinking water, health services is conspicuously missing in addressing hunger and diseases in KBK regions.

In the 21st century when the human-kind boost modern scientific innovation on health and disaster management, the people in (rather infamous) KBK region are dying preventable deaths. This is a great shame for the modern civilization to witness the genocide of tribal which is going on silently in this underdeveloped region.

[Umi Daniel is Head of Migration theme at South Asia level, Aide et Action. He can be contacted though e mail: umi.daniel@gmail.com]