God created a heaven on this Earth with sunrise and sunset views. (Photo by Amandeep Kaur)
One doesn’t know when catastrophe might strike. It is amusing people claim god when it’s in their favour but abandon god when it seems fit. Act of God is a widely used term in India where insurance companies use it as an excuse to run away from all the damages done by nature. Every year thousands of people go homeless due to severe thunderstorms and earthquakes, and they cannot claim any insurance money due to it being an “Act of God.”
Recently, Punjab, the state of India, has been in a crisis. The month of July was horrendous for Punjab. Thousands of people were left homeless, and animals were crying while being swept away with the flood. Gurbuksh Singh, who is a resident of Punjab, shared his story in tears.
He is a farmer, father of three kids, husband, and a son. He shares, “last year the government had become our enemy and now these insurance companies.”
The past two years had already been hard for Mr. Singh due to the farmers' protest. The house that flooded this July was only made two years ago but took 30 years to build due to financial issues.
He recalled, “When I was a child there was a similar flood to this and where we lived the area was much lower, so the water had reached my village. I had lost my house then and am losing my house now. It’s unfair. My father lost so many years fighting for insurance and now I will.”
Mr. Singh did not only lose his house, but all the crops were flooded by the rainwater. They had paid labour workers to plant the wheat crops, but the water completely ruined all the hard work.
“The water did not only drown all the crops but also my family's hard work and dreams. To a farmer his land will always be his most prized possession, a fresh breath of air. Last year so many farmers died fighting for their land and now this flood. I lost hope in humanity last year and now I’m starting to lose hope in God,” Mr. Singh said with tears in his eyes.
The government has its share of responsibility for this flood. When the rainfall was becoming heavy the villagers tried to convince the government to raise the dam, so the rainwater doesn’t flow into the village and onto the farms. The government ignored all the requests even though history and science is proof of low areas flooding quicker compared to high.
Mr. Singh angrily claims, “I am not losing hope in god because of the government and insurance, but because why is this happening to me. I have never done anything to anyone and always been faithful.”
Mr. Singh’s oldest child Rajiv took him away from the press and answered the questions. He explained, “My father is an innocent man, who has worked every single day of his life to give me and my siblings the life he could never have. The government took away everything he had by not raising the dam, but the insurance companies took away the last few drops of hope he had left.”
It’s so easy to blame someone else and not take responsibility. Everyone has done that at some point in their life, but the intentions were never to drain someone of hope. This “Act of God” claim takes away hope from even the most hopeful eyes. Make it seem like they are falling from the peak of their achievements.
This is just one story out of the thousands.
