Tsunami camp on showcase for Clinton trip

As visitors, including some women police, poured into shelters no. 600 and 601, Murugesan, an inmate of shelter no. 599, looked on gingerly....

As visitors, including some women police, poured into shelters no. 600 and 601, Murugesan, an inmate of shelter no. 599, looked on gingerly. N. Ali (18), UNICEF’s ‘‘link’’ leader and a resident of Akkaraipettai, who had been training the children to use the toilets, explained, ‘‘When some US officials came a few days back and selected the shelters Clinton would visit, they were impressed by the manner in which Murugesan’s wife had cleaned their shelter and the rangoli…But when they came to know he was a cripple, they struck out his shelter from the list.’’

Vati, 15, watched nervously as officials, policemen and representatives of UNDP and some local NGOs swarmed the district collectorate this afternoon, busy preparing for a brief visit by former US president Bill Clinton.

But the excitement hardly touched Vati, who was being tutored for tomorrow’s big show by a Delhi-based UNDP official. Vati alias M. Vadivel and two other tsunami victims — Parameswaran (50) and Nimala (15) — would get to have a few words with Clinton, as the UN special envoy is shown the exhibits at the collectorate and an adjoining relief camp.

Story continues below this ad

Parmeswaran had lost all three daughters and now runs a home, Nambikkai (hope), for the affected children. In a government-run orphanage, Nirmala struggles to overcome the pain of losing her mother.

DSP K.A. Abdul Rahuff, who is supervising the security measures for Clinton’s visit, said: ‘‘He is expected to arrive at 2.50 pm by a special aircraft to a helipad about one kilometer from the District Collectorate.’’

‘‘I know who Bill Clinton is. He is the former US president. He is also tall, fair, handsome,’’ nine-year-old Sathyapriya said, as she swung from a wooden pole at the relief camp, run by the International Child Development Scheme. Her mother, Bhoopathi, a 28-year-old widow with four children, from nearby Pattinappakkam village, is busy cleaning her shelter, no. 601. ‘‘He is coming here tomorrow. I will wear a new saree and dress my children in new clothes,’’ she said.

Clinton would also take a peek into shelter no. 600 and inspect the ‘‘child-friendly’’ latrines in the camp, housing nearly 3,000 inmates. The shelters, made of zinc sheets, are hot and stuffy. ‘‘We are not showcasing the best or the worst. Just the situation as it is,’’ said District Collector J. Radhakrishnan.