Jobless tribals

Since morning a team of five of us (Tamagna, Shampa, Akbar, Shubhra and me - the first three being staff of SMOKUS, a local NGO) spent a lot of  time in Chak-Bhabanipur, a tribal village beyond Dalimgaon, about 15 kms from Kaliyaganj town in West Bengal India. After that we visited two other villages Uttar Jagtala and a hamlet in Dhankail and returned late in the evening to  Raiganj for stay. The visit was mainly to see how people of these villages, mostly tribals, are utilizing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for their benefit. As we got into the Chak-Bhabanipur village we saw a freshly dug pond, completed under the scheme initiated by the government against the act. We asked the people how many of them worked in it. They said, "None". Why? These people had not worked for more than three years. Reasons were mind-boggling. (a) The tribals of   the village had given their job cards to the local government officials (panchayat) years before, and they were told that the people will lose the Job Cards if it is with them, when the jobs are available they will be informed! (b) About three years ago, the local post master took their Pass Books since their accounts into which their job money was being transferred was in the local post master saying that he needs these books to update the books! They never got back the books. Meanwhile the post master died ! Ha...ha..ha.. Now the new postmaster says that he has no knowledge of the Pass Books of these poor tribals. But he needs the old Pass Books to update their account numbers as the Post Office has to issue new account numbers. 

Since the time the local NGO workers started visiting the villages after I and Shubhra gave the last training in early January, on 28 / 29 Jan 2012, the local government officials gave the Job Cards back to a community leader. And we were able to see some of their Job Cards. These people, with instigation from the NGO staff went to ask for works. The government officials are saying that unless they show the new account number they cannot give these people work, because they cannot transfer the money!  

So, should we blame it on the dead postmaster! Damn it, let him go to hell! But what about the living ones? I have taken photos of some of their Job Cards. Will write in my next blog on the discrepancies found in the records of NREGA website and the records found in Job Cards.

Before closing: Who dug the pond? The people of higher caste from neighboring village!

Amazing Mohit

I reached Raiganj on 24th to train some village women in Right to Information Act and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). I spent the evening in the company of Dr. Prabir Chatterjee and his family, and when I was reaching the hotel it was about 9.30 pm. I saw Mr. Mohit Sengupta, the Raiganj Municipality Chairman getting into his car. I walked up to him and wished him, and shared a few moments with him and returned back to the hotel. 

This man has made several changes and improvements in Raiganj. He was on the road checking that a road repair work got started on time at 9.00 pm. Since he took over, most road repairs take place only at night to avoid inconvenience to people during the day. The roads are cleaner than most towns in West Bengal. On every day when he is in Raiganj, he reaches the Municipality office at 6.00 am, checks that all staff entrusted with sweeping the streets have gone on duty, and then he goes home around 7.45, gets ready and comes back to the office. Many roads have been widened and beautified. He has managed the several factionalism within the party and waded through several opposition. He was loved by Mr. Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. This man can do well if given an opportunity in State or National politics. Someone must find the quality in him.

Clean and Unclean

Banjara Basti is a small little slum housing about 400 families along the drain that flows along the railway tracks next to Tikiapara station in Howrah, West Bengal. Since our team works among these people too I get to go through some of the places on this route. Yesterday, 18 Feb, I told Ruby and Meena, two social mobilisers to take me into the slum to speak to the men and women there. The houses were practically floating on the filthy water that was flowing out of the drain and each house was raised about 2 to 3 feet above the ground to let the filth flow below them. I wouldn't call this "disaster preparedness" in any way, because they were living on hazards, with no means and way. There were scores of children. About a 100 of them below 5 years. I found none of them wearing any footwear to protect them from the germs. I even found children dropping and picking up things from the two feet wide small narrow raised "road" (probably the raised portion of the tubed drain) with bare hands. Women and children were sitting on filth with no care. I got to speak to children, older ladies and a few young and old men. There was a old man who was sitting and spitting all along. His teeth were sparkling red...green....blue...black, due to many years of chewing tobacco and betel leaves. Hygiene, Water and Sanitation are never heard off in these families. I saw some young girls and boys going to school. That was the only comforting point of life. 

Just a stone throw away I saw the Big Bazaar on the Belilious Road, big and mighty, with large space to park tens of cars, and for the affluent to walk, shop, eat and make merry, oblivious to the other world that exists in filth, discomfort and with no means to live on. Who is clean? And who is not?

People's Joy, My Joy

On 11 Feb, I managed to drag myself into the Sunderbans, in spite of so many works hanging around my shoulders. It was time to meet the people. It was also an occasion to meet some of the senior officials from ECHO who were on a trip to the Sunderbans to review one of the projects they were supporting. Since, in Brajabhallavpur, Patharpratima Block, South 24 Parganas district, we have initiated the Manually Operated Display Boards (MODB) that display the wind speed, rainfall prediction and tide height in some of their partner areas, I went there to support and enable better understanding of the system. So, in stead of me explaining the system, I was asking the men, "Can you tell me what is all these?" They explained so well that it put me to understand that the extra mile I as a person and what CKS as an organization has taken is a step in the right direction. I asked the women, "Can you explain what these red, yellow and green stand for? And what will you do practically if you see these signs?" Amazingly, some of the women explained it very beautifully. Then came my poser, "Do you think that the information given here is actually matching with reality as experienced by you?" The women said, "Yes, one day the board read that there would be 4 mm rainfall. And there was lots of clouds throughout the day, and there was some mild shower in the evening." The men joined the chorus, " The information on tide is absolutely correct. We have verified it by placing a bamboo inside the water and testing the height. It was absolutely fine. And the wind speed too changes as it is mentioned in the board."

I can recall the joy of the people on their face. I know that this time, if another cyclone like Aila comes, people know that they would be alerted early, and they know what to do. One simple step is a big leap for the mankind. I am satisfied. The joy of the people is my own joy as well.

The Failing Nation

I spent nearly eight days in the government-less country of Nepal. I reached there on 29 Jan evening and was there till the 6th Feb. Since the internet was too slow it was not possible to write my feelings and experiences immediately. One thing is sure about this country: the country is in disarray. There is no elected government. There is a group of oligarchy belonging to the elite of various political parties trying to discover a constitution that would keep the people segregated. I heard of proposals to divide that mountainous country from between 6 to 65 different divisions based on caste, religion, language, and you think of anything....based on that. I stayed for few days in Thamel - the place where all action is, in Kathmandu. The entire city has three major crisis: (a) Huge power shortage. We had nearly 20 hours of power cuts on many days. (b) There is no diesel or petrol for vehicles. Cars and trucks were standing in unending beeline to collect diesel or petrol from the gas stations. I was told that the gas stations were rationing out to private car owners : roughly about 5 liters at a time! (c) There is shortage of cooking gas across the nation. Newspapers were reporting of people blocking trucks carrying gas cylinders and taking away! (One good thing was, the people paid the driver, and returned empty cylinders.) Sincerity of the poor and simple people of the hills always outshines the filthy  politics of the nation.

The country as a whole needs to take a big leap forward. It needs to improve its infrastructure. Roads are crumbling. Population is growing in cities and towns. No rules seem to be enforced in building construction in this country that is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. The problem doesn't end there. When I visited some villages away from the bustling Kathmandu, I saw the people are drunk in the morning, tired of living, smoking out their lungs with cigarettes continuously. There is a real need on the part of world nations to step in and guide this country that has just got rid of its monarchy and is trying to set up its own democracy. All eyes are on the Middle East. But this beautiful naturally rich nation has not received its due attention.

My Little Sweet Companions

Erika and Edward have suited themselves very well into the CKS family. I was a little apprehensive initially because Ed had to use the eastern style of toilet, and has a room that is also partly our office along with another room that is being used as office as well. The food is certainly not American. But they have taken it all in a stride. They have learnt to relax themselves, as the food is mostly late by any American standards! And what is more beautiful about these two is their availability with their ideas and talents. Ed has come out with ideas for building a web based platform for a particular concept that I shared with him. And so he is busy with building that. He is also designing the display board for CKS, while continue to spend some time each day on his project for setting up  a  tele-medicine system in which patients can speak to the doctors via video.  Erika is always helpful with any odd jobs I give her along with her project work. I am really thankful to them for their wonderful support without which it would have been really hard to move on....

Power of the Powerless

I will be leaving for Kathmandu on 29 Jan 2012 to give a training in Disaster Risk Reduction. RedR India has asked me to be one of the two trainers who will be taking this training. As I was reflecting about disasters and developmental issues, I began to wonder on what is the actual power of the "powerless". The most vulnerable sections of society, people who have been socially and economically excluded due to reasons of birth, disability, gender, age, wealth and upbringing are the most affected in times of disasters. It is for their welfare the governments function. It is for their safety the social and political systems are. But ultimately, do these people have any real power? I remember watching one of the various films on the life of Jesus. In this the Satan tempts Jesus with the third temptation: Power!

"Power is what every man seeks. It was what they kill for. It is for this they wage wars!" What power do these vulnerable people have? Just over their own bodies,  over the small shelter they own, and a little control over their own children when they are young. Apparently they have at least these powers. But in some places, all these too seem to lose meaning. Go to the stone quarries in Birbhum district of West Bengal or the bordering districts of Jharkhand and Bihar where stone quarries thrive. Every one will say, the women there do not have any power over their own bodies. The women (and only young women are employed) are abused to the core. And they end up suffering from silicosis besides the sexual exploitation when the evening falls. 

The States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have many stories to tell of how the rich destroy the houses of the poor for no reason of their own. If one person of the lower caste commits a sin the entire village bears the brunt of the rich land lord. They live in fear. Absolute fear.

The power over children is a long lost battle. There are numerable stories that keep regularly appearing in media where poor families have sold their children to keep other children's survival in tact. We know of children who are engaged in labor to pay back the debts of their parents. There are children who are sold for money and sex. There is the huge "camel racing"! And now, read through the media in West Bengal. You have children dying of institutional apathy as they do not get appropriate medical care. Where are our children?

In this context what is the power of the powerless. How can we speak of people's rights that needs to utilized to ensure access to freedom, development, growth and less vulnerability? It is all one big question: What sustains the social inequality.

The Mom and the Daughter

5 Jan 2012 - 01.30 am. At this unearthly hour I am waiting for Erika and Edward to land. My two students who are arriving from Seattle and will be with me for the next three months. It is often tough to get my time divided between them and my work. But it is always a joy to learn from them, because they come with fresh ideas, fresh blood and all too new view of India. After I waited for them in the reception hall for almost 40 minutes, I saw them emerging with another lady. I called them out, and I heard Erika telling the lady, "That's Puthumai!". The lady was looking at me, and then was almost turning to go towards the Pre-Paid Taxi Counter from where she can book a taxi for herself to go to wherever she wanted to go! I thought this lady is a co-traveler who was probably sitting next to Erika. Erika suddenly mumbled, "That's my Mom". I couldn't believe my ears. Erika's Mom came all the way to drop her in India? Hei, no kidding! 

I greeted her and asked her where she wanted to go to. She mentioned a Five Star Hotel in the City. I told her we can drop her without any problem. And so, after little bit of persuasion, she agreed. The trip to the hotel was about 30 minutes, and she was so kind, amazingly simple, and was forthcoming with her views, opinions and about her own family. In the short span of 30 minutes, this lady had made a huge impression, that is hard to fade. 

Footnote: She had come to Kolkata to be a volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity.

Cyclone Thane

A telephone call from a friend, Stephen Raj, in Puducherry (also known as Pondicherry) in South India made me write this post. He was referring to the serious damage cyclone Thane that hit the union territory of Puducherry and the districts of Cuddalore and Villupuram in Tamilnadu on 29 -30 Dec 2011. Their organization Pondicherry Multipurpose Social Service Society is responding to the needs of thousands of people who are affected by the disaster. He was specially referring to the loss of livelihood. I have traveled in those areas, between Puducherry to Vadalur through Cuddalore and visited many villages in October last year. The places are dry and so mostly cash crops such as cashew nuts, tamarind, coconut and other such trees are grown along with millets and others. According to Stephen the people are feeling that their lives have been pushed back by at least 20 years, as even if they plant trees it would take another nearly 10 years to get on to the regular cropping. Houses are damaged. There is no electricity and people are living in temporary shelters. Huts have been ruined and people  are extremely stressed after the damage. He has sent me some photos and a small project write up if any organization is willing to support PMSSS.  If anyone is interesting in supporting the livelihood of people, you may contact: Executive Director, Pondicherry Multipurpose Social Service Society (PMSSS), No 81, Laporte Street, Puducherry - 605001, India. Email: pmssspondy@hotmail.com

You can view files and pictures, including a project proposal by clicking on: Support PMSSS

Sean

My friend Sean has lost both his mother and father in about 15 days in December. It is really sad. I am sad too. Sean has been such a good friend since I met him first in 2004. No doubt about that. He has traveled twice to meet me and to be with me -- each time for couple of days. And I traveled to Seattle almost four years ago to be with him for nearly 10 days. And he has been such a wonderful friend that he brings blessings through his thoughts and words. The biggest blessing he has is his wife Shannon who has been his ever supportive shoulder to whatever burden comes in his life. 

When in Seattle, I met Sean's Mom and Dad. Sean's Mom and Shannon's father would tease each other so much that it used to be such a wonderful thing to watch both making fun of one another. I had lots of fun as we dined along the Pacific in one of the picturesque restaurant. His Mom died of old age and other complications, and his father suffered a kind of cancer and other complications relating to old age.  

This is for you Sean! All our prayers, blessings and well wishes go to you! May God bless you, and give you peace of mind and heart, fill you with ever abiding Joy, and give you more friends to love, love unconditionally.