In August of this year, the State of Kerala in India was battered by the worst flood in a century; costing around US$2 billion in damage to infrastructure and the economy. For nearly a whole month, the state was drowning. Unprecedented heavy monsoons linked to the changing ocean currents and warming seas swamped Kerala. The resulting damage was amplified by poor development decisions that had covered mountain and wetland ecosystems like the Western Ghats with concrete. The floods took away people’s lands, livelihoods, and lives.
The havoc in Kerala was met with extraordinary solidarity amongst people from all religions, classes and communities; the rich with the poor, urban citizens with rural people. Fisherfolks provided rescue support alongside the state’s disaster response teams.
In a country rampant with farmer suicides due to debts, corporate monopoly, and no provision for climate reparations, we do great injustice by not factoring in loss and damage. While India rallies for historic responsibilities and accountability from rich countries at COP24, can we look at ourselves in the mirror?
– Shradha Shreejaya
