Kerala hasn’t still come to terms with the devastating floods that crippled the economic fabric of the state, not to mention the loss of lives and property. Yes, the wounds are still fresh, yet time will slowly heal them though the scars will, perhaps, remain forever. Like for instance, the disaster that cyclone Ockhi brought in its wake. November 29, 2017, dawned as a cloudy day, but turned ominous, the sea became watery grave for 400 fishermen from Kerala and TN, who had ventured out into the deep sea unaware of the cyclone warnings.
In Ockhi’s Wake: Disaster Preparedness at Sea, a film directed by Shibani Chaudhury and produced for the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust, focuses on the damage that Cyclone Ockhi wrought in the seas of Kerala and TN. The film is based on grassroots-reporting along with on-the-ground narratives of the affected people, and records different points of view of the victims, who struggled through the trauma of survival. The survivors recount being caught in the rough sea, of being thrown around like rag dolls, of huge waves and winds that howled like a banshee.
There are also tales of how survivors tied together bodies of their colleagues to them so that they would not be swept away. The film details tales of despair and hope interspersed with the narratives of the families who have coped with loss and trauma. It also focuses on how disaster managers and government authorities are rising to the post-calamity challenges. The film has been uploaded on YouTube and the ICSF website.
