Roofs of sand

  • 20/04/2008

  • Week (Kochi)

Muniyamma, 30, and her family survived the tragic Boxing Day of 2004. But its aftermath has left her a widow and her four children fatherless. Her husband Pazhanivel, 38, immolated himself as the district administration tried to evict tsunami refugees from a temporary shelter in Kadambadi, near Nagapattinam. Having lost the breadwinner of her family, Muniyamma is inconsolable; "He gave his life to guarantee us a roof over our heads." After the tsunami, the family had relocated to Kadambadi from Aariyanaatu Theru, a fishing hamlet. Trouble started when the district administration asked the 100-odd families in the Kadambadi tempo