Author: Deepal Trevedie
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: April 5, 2001
"I am shaken up. I can't find the
right words. It's so depressing." Former US President Bill Clinton, who
spent over five hours in Kutch on Wednesday, told the American Indians
accompanying him that "the tragedy is unimaginable."
An American India Foundation
office-bearer who accompanied Mr Clinton to Kutch told The Asian Age on
Wednesday night, "I have been with him three times in my life. But today's
was an unforgettable experience."
Mr Clinton was apparently so moved
by the plight of the quake victims that he told the Red Cross and the American
India Foundation "not to force him to eat." The former President, according
to a senior AIF member, did not eat anything from noon to 7 pm.
"My God, Gujaratis sure are very
courageous people," Mr Clinton remarked after visiting Ratnal, a village
devastated by the January 26 earthquake. According to the AIF member, Mr
Clinton looked "visibly upset" at Ratnal where he interacted with the locals
freely.
Mr Clinton was so overwhelmed at
Ratnal that when over two dozen girls came forward to greet him, he brushed
aside his security and let the young girls apply tika and perform the traditional
aarti. An 80-year-old woman, in typical Kutchi style, asked Mr Clinton
to bend his head and namaste. Mr Clinton obliged willingly and she blessed
him. "He is better than Vajpayee and Keshubhai Patel. They haven't bothered
to come and see me," she said. She wanted. to, offer Mr Clinton a glass
of water and had even cooked a meal for him. Mr Clinton thanked her for
her concern. The old woman, who lost more than six family members, said
"this gora (white man) is the best neta (politician) India seems to have."
For Nandish Kodrani and Mital Thakker,
both Class 7 students, it was a great surprise. They had been participating
in the Republic Day rally when the quake struck and claimed the lives of
over 250 schoolchildren. "This is the first time I have seen Nandish smile,"
his father said. Nandish lost his mother and sister in the tragedy. The
former President said he wanted to fake a walk with these children. He
consoled them with hugs and then walked down the street holding their hands.
He observed a two-minute silence
before paying floral tribute to the 250 children who died here. When he
saw a woman crying, he told the security to let her approach him. Ms Madhvi
Thakkar came forward clasping a photograph to her chest. "I lost my daughter
Nimita In this tragedy," she told Mr Clinton, who appeared to be at a loss
for words.
From 12 noon to 7 pm, Mr Clinton
refused to eat anything. Even while flying from Bhuj to Ahmedabad, he refused
snacks. Back in Ahmedabad, it was a quick shower and a private dinner with
a few people. "It is remarkable the way the people here have responded
to this human tragedy," Mr Clinton said. "The Kutch visit has been a lesson
in life for me," he told an American Indian in Ahmedabad where he watched
a traditional dance and spent 20 minutes in the lobby of the Taj where
he was staying. Quake survivor Mital Thakker, who walked the ill-fated
street in Anjar on which over 250 children died with the Indian flag in
their hands, could only say, "Oh my God, he is so cool." One BJP politician
dubbed his visit as "disaster tourism."
