Kerala's worst floods have been a national disaster in more ways than one

A swimmer set a national record at the ongoing Asian Games, not knowing if his family had been rescued from the rising waters. A Major going home for Onam mobilised an army of volunteers and saved thousands before finally seeing his own family at a relief camp. Fishermen waded through sludge waters to save as many as their motorised boats could carry. As flood-ravaged Kerala sifts memories from the muck, the rest of us must separate true tales of heroism from the fake news, half-truths and political mud-slinging that has dominated headlines. 

Kerala’s worst floods in a century have been a national disaster in more ways than one. Because the trolls have been as unrelenting as the rescuers. Pictures of RSS swayamsevaks helping flood victims have been doing the rounds on social media with the caption, “Media will not show you this”, implying that the right-wing organisation is attacked more than it is appreciated. The official RSS page used the same pictures with a call for donations for Kerala. It became a Right vs Left and Hindu vs Muslim debate. Courtesy “presstitutes”. The pictures, however, are from the 2015 Gujarat floods, according to fake news busters Alt News, which also highlighted how old RSS pictures have often been circulated during new disasters. In another act of viral insensitivity, an imposter in Army camouflage is seen in a video saying that the Left-led Kerala government is obstructing central forces in their rescue efforts. Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani had a message for the Hindu rescue workers: it’s a sin to save the lives of beef-eaters. His demagoguery, unfortunately, isn’t a sin in the eyes of his followers.

A barrage of fake news could also make you believe that a flood victim drowned because he refused a saffron life jacket, or that the relief material being sent from neighbouring states can’t reach Kerala because roads are closed. And that “wealthy Keralites” don’t need donations. It goes on and on.

But not all the horrific insensitivity came from fake newsmakers. Half-truths made an appearance, too. A video of earth-movers clearing debris and plastic that the sea had spat out on the Malayattoor-Kodanad bridge in Ernakulam was seen as a shameless act of dumping the dirt back into the waters. Some wits on Twitter were also of the opinion that this was why Kerala deserved nature’s wrath. A schematic also suggested that the “entry of women into Sabarimala Temple” and “beef-eating” led to God unleashing his anger. Newsminute later reported that the rescue workers had no choice but to clear the bridge as there was “water everywhere” and that lives needed to be saved.

Kerala can use all the help it can get. But a political slugfest is ongoing to determine who can help. The Centre refused the UAE’s offer of a Rs 7-billion donation. The UAE now says the offer was never “official”. Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan-government says its demand for Rs 22 billion from the Centre has not been met, while the Narendra Modi-government says that the Rs 6 billion sanctioned is only “advance assistance” and that more funds will follow after an inter-ministerial assessment. It’s a lollapalooza for news-lovers, who might have been deafened by debates on news channels. Enough to keep them distracted throughout the disaster. It’s not a surprise then that many have missed the contribution of 12-year-old Akshaya, a heart patient who pledged Rs 5,000 from the Rs 20,000 her family has collected for her second surgery through crowd-funding. She says she couldn’t see children suffering.

Hundreds have died, several are missing and lakhs are picking up the pieces to rebuild their lives. If there’s a lesson to be learnt from this social media circus, it is that what Kerala may need, more than money and labour, is the country’s undivided, unbiased attention.