Unimaginable tragedy: Clinton Thursday, April 5, 2001
BHUJ/ANJAR: Former US president Bill Clinton, who said he had come to ``look, listen and learn'', admitted on Wednesday that the destruction in Gujarat was much more than what he had imagined. "I have followed this earthquake on television, but when I came here I realised that this is something unimaginable, almost incomprehensible," he said.
The Clinton visit started an hour late. Arriving at the Bhuj airport, he drove down straight to Ratnal where over 200 people had died and 98 per cent of the buildings were destroyed. Flanked by US Secret Service personnel and district police officers, Clinton met Chhaya, a survivor of the Anjar school tragedy.
"They are courageous people who have withstood such devastation and I am here to see how I can help them. The rest of the world will have to come to Kutch now to restore the lives of these people," he told reporters.
In Anjar, Clinton walked down the road where 200 children, marching in a Republic Day parade, had perished in the earthquake. Flanked by a couple of surviving children, the principal and teacher of the school, Clinton then laid flowers on a small memorial.
On the way back to Bhuj, he stopped at Dhaneti village to visit a tented camp site. In Bhuj, Clinton visited the massive Red Cross rehabilitation centre in the college ground complex, and then the Jubilee hospital where he addressed the Press and the people.
He said he had plans to collect several million dollars to help rebuild houses, hospitals and schools and give jobs to the affected people. "Until all the villages are rebuilt and all children have schools to go to, our partnership which has begun today, should last," he said.
He said: "So many people have done some wonderful work here after the earthquake. It is an honour to be here with 40 people of Indian-origin who have done well in America. Before coming here, I had a talk with Prime Minister Vajpayee and he told me that the whole world came to the rescue of the quake-hit people and now there is need for long-term rehabilitation.
"So, I am here to find out how we can make houses, hospitals, schools, drinking water systems and how best we can help. When I was here the last time, I had decided to return to this fascinating country but had never imagined it would be so soon. This sad event has brought me here, and we can now be partners and work together to see that all the people in all the affected villages get rehabilitated."
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