Author: Sanjay Suri in London and
Arun Venugopal in New York
Publication: Outlook
Date: February 12, 2001
When grisly TV pictures conveyed
the mammoth scale of devastation in Gujarat, Indian expatriate families
promptly drove down to the Swaminarayan temple in Willesden and the Kutch
temple in Kenton, London, donating what is perhaps the most disposable
of items: old and discarded clothes. Soon the heap of clothes became so
huge that youngsters organised teams to cart them into the basement, where
others sorted it out and ladies sat stitching bags to put them in. But
it was to no avail: the cost of flying down the clothes wasn't only prohibitive,
but it was discovered that Gujarat didn't need them anyway.
"The only kind of help that really
matters is cash," says Shantoo Ruparell of the National Council of Gujarati
Organisations. "That way people in Gujarat can decide what to spend on.
"And cash from the prosperous Gujarati
community of Britain was coming in aplenty, with estimates of the total
collection ranging from £2 to £10 million. Donors have a bewildering
range of charities to choose from. The Indian High Commission in London
was pressing for donations to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Mainline
British charity organisations, Care International and Oxfam, launched their
own appeal, as did several community groups. The Lohanna Community of North
London, for instance, gathered £25,000 from its 16,000 members in
just a few days. Two of its representatives are flying to Gujarat. "We
want to see for ourselves where we should spend this money," says community
president Janu Kotecha.
The group that was most successful
in attracting donations was the Sewa International, a wing of the Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh, affiliated to the RSS. The International has already
collected close to £1 million and has received pledges from many
businessmen, including Lakshmi Mittal, for another million, besides winning
the unexpected support of the Muslim population of Leicester. "Our initial
target is £5 million," says spokesman Manoj Ladwa. "At peak times
we've been receiving up to 500 calls per hour." The huge response had the
International engage an Ireland-based company to receive calls and donations
through a toll free number kept open 24 hours; it also provided bilingual
operators to man the phone hotline the Foreign Office had set up for information.
All this testifies to the clout the Sangh enjoys among Gujaratis.
In the US, professional groups are
focusing on providing medical help to the victims. For instance, Dr S.
Balasubramaniam, chairman of the Trauma Subcommittee for the Association
of American Physicians from India (aapi), is rushing to Gujarat to tackle
what he thinks is the inevitable next phase-outbreak of an epidemic. "We're
trying to tackle infectious diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis,"
he says. (The aapi has also written letters to its 30,000-strong members
for cash donations.) Balasubramaniam is worried the beleaguered Gujarat
and central governments have done little to combat the outbreak of epidemics.
"I hope they're not putting immunisation on the backburner. Or we can lose
more lives than in the earthquake." The aapi is trying to organise the
delivery of specialised medical equipment, such as an automated immunisation
gun, which can immunise 100 people an hour, as against the 20 immunisations
a nurse can do in an hour. "There's no needle, no contamination; you press
the trigger and deliver the right amount," says Balasubramaniam. The price
though, is prohibitive with each dose costing $25. Fortunately, several
pharmaceutical companies have promised medical supplies at cost price.And
couriers such as the United Postal Service have guaranteed free delivery
of supplies for the aapi.
Assistance for the quake victims
isn't confined to the Indian community. Says Nitin Vora, former president
of New York's Jackson Heights Merchants Association, which expects to raise
$50,000 soon, "We all contributed and are trying to raise funds from Pakistanis
and Bangladeshis too. They share our grief. We told them to leave politics
aside. This isn't about politics, it's about humanity. They all agree."
But perhaps the largest fundraiser
in the US is the baps Care International, affiliated to baps (Bochasanwasi
Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha). Apart from personal contributions,
baps Care has also begun approaching corporations for contributions. The
organisation, which hopes to collect about $25 million, has been swamped
with calls, making Girish Patel, who is overseeing the group's efforts
in New York City, gush, "The response is overwhelming."
Among baps's largest contributors
is the Asian-American Hotel Owners Association-whose members collectively
run 17,000 hotels in the US, representing one-third of all hotels-which
has donated $25,000 to the relief efforts. The Association responded with
alacrity as it has a substantial number of Gujarati members. But many fear
their donations might fall into the wrong hands. "People tell us, 'If you're
giving it to the government we won't give,'" says Chandrakant Patel of
the Gujarati Samaj in New York, which has so far raised $35,000 and expects
to touch $200,000. "We won't send it directly to the Gujarat government,"
Patel explains, "but make personal arrangements to give it to a charitable
organisation."
The Indian Development Relief Fund's
method of raising funds is simple. "Everyone should donate a day's income,"
says Vijay Shrivastava, who represents the group's Atlanta operations.
So far, the group, with volunteers in 15 states, has raised $20,000 via
its website (www.idrf.org) and personal campaigns. With help pouring in
from around the world, there seems to be a sliver of hope for the shattered
people of Gujarat.
