40 Years Of Pilar Fathers' Mission In Andamans, Nicobar Isles Washed Away By Father Seby Mascarenhas, SAR NEWS
PANAJI, Goa, (SAR NEWS) -- The unprecedented gigantic earthquake and strikes of tsunamis of December 26 have left a trail of destruction and misery unparalleled in modern history. Among the worst hit are the Andaman and Nicobar islands, just about 100 kilometers from this seaquake, where the Goa-headquartered Pilar Fathers have been working for over 40 years. Father Pritam Toppo of Missionaries of the Society of St Francis Xavier (SFX), whose members are popularly known as Pilar Fathers, is the parish priest of the island of Hutbay, a 12-hour rocky journey by ship from Port Blair. As the earth trembled, he walked out and saw the sea in turmoil. The panic-stricken priest raised an alarm for all and raced with the sisters and people in the parish to a hill about an hour and a half away, time enough to escape the tsunani strike. As the monster struck, wave after terrible wave, his church, presbytery and all the tiny houses around disappeared in split seconds. For three days the priest's whereabouts were not known. News finally has reached that he is safe but there is no direct communication yet. Unfortunately, a busload of people travelling to Sunday mass were hit by the wave and perished. A nun from the place working in Port Blair lost her entire family in the bus Father Anuj Kumar, another Pilar priest, was on the worst hit Car Nicobar island where it is estimated that over 15,000 of the population of 30,000 has been wiped out. His tiny church was by the side of the Government guesthouse. Both have disappeared. For three days there was no news of Father Kumar. His voice was heard from southern Chennai city where the Navy had airlifted him after miraculously escaping the killer waves. As the first tremors struck the Andamans and the full impact was known, a emotionally distraught Bishop Alex Dias, the first Pilar prelate, had no words to describe the situation as his room was rocked and everything thrown about. He said on the telephone: "I do not know how my people are going to survive this. Miraculously none of the fathers working in the area have been hit." About 40 years ago, two Pilar priests, Father Tiburcio Ferrao and Father Mariano Dias stepped on the shores of the beautiful islands in the Bay of Bengal. Ever since it has been a love story of every Pilar Father and the exquisite islands. Over 50 Pilar priests have worked on these islands at some time or the other. The travails of travelling over stormy seas and the primitive accommodation and food were minor inconveniences for the priests vis-a-vis the joy of serving this simple tribal peoples. No wonder the terrible destruction in the Andaman and Nicobar islands has thrown a pall of gloom on Pilar hillock, near Panaji in Goa. , Father Tony Lopes, the superior general of the Society of Pilar is in constant touch with Bishop Dias of Port Blair, the first bishop of the Andamans and Father Jesuino Almeida, the vicar general. The Pilar Society has already made an immediate contribution from its own funds and the superior general has made an appeal to every institution to contribute generously. The Archbishop Patriarch of Goa is also in constant touch with the Bishop of the Andamans and has already appealed for help. Bishop Dias, in a very touching telephone conversation, said: "It is impossible to describe the situation here. We need everything: your prayers, your thoughts, your consolation and your material help. Years of hard work from scratch have gone back to scratch. More than material losses, it is the human tragedy that brings tears to the eyes. Orphans, but mainly widows and widowers.". The island of Port Blair is a virtual refugee camp on a war footing with naval ships and transport planes ferrying people from various islands. Nirmala Higher Secondary School of the Port Blair diocese is currently housing over 1,300 displaced people. While the camp is officially run by the government, Bishop Dias notes: "The generosity of the people is the bright side of this tragedy. It is the supplies from the local people for everything that runs this camp coordinated unofficially by the priests and the sisters". A Protestant pastor has his broken arm in a bandage in the camp. With tears in his eyes he told the Bishop that he swam and swam with his five-month-old child on one hand until a killer wave took the child away. He, his wife and another child found a perch on a tree until another wave uprooted the tree. They had to swim again and find another tree until rescued by the volunteers. Such stories are the order of the day. Father Almeida, the vicar general, said: "All the churches, presbyteries, schools and convents in Katchal, Kamorta, Car Nicobar, Campell Bay and Hutbay have been totally wiped out. However, it is the loss of life that is heartbreaking. The only redeeming feature is that it did not happen in the night so that the loss of life has been cut down". Seventy-six-year-old Pilar Father Mariano Dias, now on the staff of the Pilar Seminary in Goa was the founder of all these churches 40 years ago. He cannot imagine his work has all been washed away. Thousands of people from all over the world and Goa, moved by the enormity of the tragedy have been telephoning with sympathy and offering help. Even countries abroad struck with relatively few deaths have kept their flags at half-mast and the German chancellor has also urged people to cut down on the New Year festivities. While there have already been appeals for funds, I wish Goans were a bit more sensitive and had cut out on parish dances and donated the amount for the victims. Even the popular NDTV channel noted post-Christmas celebrations and commented that Goa danced while the world mourned! Struck with such a great tragedy of human and property loss, any help is welcome. It is heartening that newspapers and other agencies have opened relief fund accounts for the broken hearted survivors. (The writer, Professor of Theology, is Rector of Pilar Seminary, Goa) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOANET-READER WELCOMES contributions from its readers, by way of essays, reviews, features and think-pieces. We share quality Goa-related writing among the 7000-strong readership of the Goanet/Goanet-news network of mailing lists. If you appreciated the thoughts expressed above, please send in your feedback to the writer. Our writers write -- or share what they have written -- pro bono, and deserve hearing back from those who appreciate their work. GoanetReader welcomes your feedback at goanet@goanet.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goanet, 1994-2004. 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