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Journalism of Courage
A few litres of kerosene, some pickaxes and crowbars and inflamed passions. That was all it took to tear apart the lives of people in 62 villages of Tikabali, one of the 13 blocks ravaged by the riots in Kandhamal district of Orissa. More than 720 houses were burnt, plundered or razed by the mob, forcing over 930 residents across the block to take refuge in the Tikabali camp. Here, lunch is distributed at 4 p.m. and children queue up for milk.
KAMANTARA PRADHAN, 60 Labourer, Katadi village
Kamantara has stunning tattoos all over her wrinkled face8212;a practice typical of the Kandh tribe. One of the few Christian Kandhs, she has read the Bible in the Kui language. This was perhaps reason enough for fellow-villagers to target her thatched house. Kamantara8217;s house8212;like many others in her village8212;and her belongings were turned to smoke in a moment of madness. She also lost one tola of gold and the Rs 2,000 she had put away for her daughter8217;s wedding. 8220;That afternoon, they came with petrol, kerosene and matchstick8212;they were all prepared. My house was the first they targeted,8221; she said.
For the last three weeks, Kamantara, her husband, their four sons and daughter have been living in the relief camp. But now, she has had enough8212;of camp life and the lunch of boiled rice and dal. She longs to go back, but knows her home is thick with the smell of burnt wood. 8220;To go back to my village, I will have to reconvert. I hope peace returns,8221; she says.
Gopia Digal is too feeble to talk. And when he does, his frame quivers, interrupted by violent bouts of coughing. But that didn8217;t stop a mob from attacking him on August 27. 8220;When the mob, armed with spears and pickaxes, came to my house, I ran to the nearby forest with my wife. We stayed in the forest for the next three days, hungry and thirsty,8221; says a tearful Gopia, dressed in a ragtag green tunic.
Gopia, a Hindu, became a Christian before his marriage. Since then he has been a regular at the local church.
8220;They broke my door open with axes, doused the house with the kerosene I had at home and set it on fire. They also torched the wooden beam which supported the tin roof of my house,8221; he says.
The mob burnt his clothes and a sackful of paddy, for which he had toiled as a sharecropper. It also razed his cattleshed.
After the riots, Gopia and his wife took refuge at the nearby relief camp set up at the government high school in Tikabali. But they had to return as their cattle were going hungry.
Bewildered and helpless, Gopia, who is just back from the camp, is now trying to rebuild his life. 8220;Some people have threatened me, and asked me to reconvert. What will anyone gain from reconverting a 70-year-old?8221; Gopia asks.
BARU DIGAL, 68 Preacher at the local church, Katimaha village
Dambaru Digal converted to Christianity 15 years ago and landed the job of a preacher at the church in Katimaha. The church is now in ruins8212;and so is his life. His house was an easy target too. After the mob ran through the house, all that remains is a pink blouse, a green lungi and a blue petticoat. His cot was burnt along with the rest of the house and his chickens were stolen. Last week Dambaru went home, only to flee after villagers threatened him. Dambaru8217;s son Jasbant, who works as a security guard in a private company in Bhubaneswar and says he is a Hindu, was not spared either. His house, built under the Indira Aawas Yojana, was plundered. 8220;We have lost everything,8221; Jasbant laments.
BEAUTY DIGAL, 2 Nidrapara village
In her pink and blue frock, Beauty looks happy to be cradled by her father Dase Digal. After going hungry for two days in the forest, where her parents went into hiding to flee the mob, Beauty is lucky to be with her parents. Her father, a mason, lost all his tools in the riots and will have to stay at the relief camp if his children are to get some food. 8220;At least she gets food and milk here,8221; he says.
