When we were doing film shooting in Kasaragod, we met many people in that place and the happiness that I felt while answering innocent questions of children who had grown up in a typical rural setting is something to cherish forever. However, the mention of Kasaragod brings a lot of pain to me ever since I have been trying to find out the extent of the Endosulfan issue in the district.
Even a small fever that affects our children is enough to unsettle us for days. We lose focus and keep constantly enquiring about the health of the little one. Contrast this with those parents who have to spend a lifetime concerned about the health of their kids. For the only fault of living in an area where Endosulfan's effects are extreme, many families have been pushed into immeasurable pain. These people were not informed about the complexities of pesticide use and that it can cause serious diseases such as cancer. People told me that when the medicine was being sprayed from helicopters, children used to run to get drenched in the cool spray! A whole community was pushed into undignified decadence because the government wanted to increase profits from cashew farms it owned here.
While many exist in a vegetative state, many have died prematurely. The fate of many children who will never grow up into capable citizens are sealed. We satisfied our sense of guilt by stopping the spray of pesticides once it was known that it was deleterious to health. Then we ventured no more, feigning that our responsibilities were completed to the best of our abilities.
I was very happy that a group of students, under the aegis of by Manorama Nallapadam, were uniting to do what they could to bring succour to the affected people. The effort is to provide life-long care for the affected; not temporary measures such as a few boxes of medicines or clothes. Let us be part of that movement and share the sentiments we have for our own children. Let us share whatever we can -- however small it may be -- for the sake of those kids who would never enjoy the beauty of nature or experience the vigour of a healthy life. Let us show that we care.
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