Penelope Gan | Photo Blog » Documentary

Tsunami Photo Museum – a visual memory

ganpenelope — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:18:08 +0000

It has been over 7 years since the Tsunami devastated the coast of Sri Lanka. Over 50,000 people were killed and thousands more injured and displaced. Though new disasters and tragedies have occurred in the world, people have moved one to other issues, and the wounds are being healed as businesses, roads and lives are being rebuilt, signs of the destruction that had taken the nation by surprise are still there … none more prominently showcase than the Tsunami Museum in Telwatta, Sri Lanka.

Started by Jacky – an independent volunteer from Holland – she was drawn to Telwatta during her initial stint of voluntary work post the 26th December 2006 tsunami and had returned to Sri Lanka on many occasions between then and 2010. A visual artist and an art teacher, she had taken lots of photographs and through her visual journey had discovered the importance of photos for the Sri Lankans and the impact the tsunami had on the lost of these visual memories as well. Consequently, Jacky decided to start the Tsunami Museum project with the following aim:

To visualize the stories of the local people who where affected by the Tsunami. A place where big and small stories can come together and can be shared. Not only the stories of the local people, but also about the people who came to help.
To create a place where people can see and remember what has happened, because their experiences and the disaster that followed has had a big impact on the lives of so many people and will stay with them all their lives. Besides this fact, the Tsunami story has become a major subject of Sri Lankan history and is important to show to the upcoming generations.
To try and collect international photo material and bring it back to Sri Lanka and the affected villages, like Telwatta and Parelyia.
The Tsunami brought people from all over the world to Sri Lanka. Many villages had not met people from other cultures before. I hope the museum will be a place where cultures can come together in the future as well.

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Details of the Tsunami Photo Museum

Opening Hours:
The Museum is open every day from 9.00 AM untill 18.00 PM

The museum is free of charge because we want to give everybody the oppurtunity to see the exhibition but a donation, to maintain the museum, is most welcome.

Address:
Tsunami Photo Museum, Templeroad, Telwatta, Sri Lanka

Museum website:
http://tsunami-photo-museum-srilanka.blogspot.com/

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In Jacky’s own words:

At the 26 of December 2004 I was sitting in Holland behind the television watching the Tsunami videos and the aftermath. I had just got back from a trip to Thailand and I considered myself lucky being in Holland at that time, if I had made my trip 3 weeks later I could easily have been in the Tsunami myself.

I watched the news all the time and decided I wanted to help, not just donate money but go over there and help the people who had suffered so much. I wanted to help the people in whatever way I could. I tried to get in contact with NGO’s or people working on the site but this was very difficult. Nobody wanted to take the responsibility for helping volunteers. Finally after 3 weeks I got in contact with Jessica (also from Holland) who was helping the people in Sri Lanka.

On the 26th of January 2005 I was on the plane to Sri Lanka. I got some little donations from friends and I had asked some schools in my village to donate some presents for children there. I came to Hikkaduwa where Jessica was working together with more volunteers from all over the world. At that time most foreign people in this area where paid and unpaid aid workers.

We started with clearing rubble by hand in the village Wellawatta. After that I went to Hambantota for a week to do activities for children with another volunteer group. Between the rubble we would be colouring picture books, play cricket and other games at schools and in camps and made paper flowers and music in the childrensward of the hospital.

When I came back to Hikka Jessica and Co had already started to work in Telwatta. Making temporary wooden huts for about 15 families that were still living in the Temple at that time. Every day I passed Telwatta junction and this was still a big mess. People where living in tents between the rubble. Nothing had been cleared yet. After some time I decided to leave the other volunteers with the building of the huts and I started to see if I could help clean the rubble at the junction site. I tried to find volunteers to help and money to buy the needed cleaning tools, cause I didn’t have any budget myself. After one day of work with 8 people we where only able to clear one house foundation and I thought: “My god this is one hell of a job I started!!!!”

Any way although it seemed a long and heavy job to do we continued and after about 3-4 weeks we where able to clear the site from rubble. Main problem was to find the money to pay for the bulldozers and lorries that where needed to take away the rubble. Nobody had really a budget for this. I was very thankful that Jessica’s foundation wanted to donate the money for this and also to pay for the people who helped to clean. In the mean time I was able to get the Danish Peoples Aid to build shelters on the site and also I was able to get some funding for the clearing from them.

This was how it all started in Telwatta for me. After that I have been doing all sorts of projects in the area, but I kept coming back to Telwatta, because for some strange reason I felt at home there. And the people there have made me feel welcome and even when they didn’t have anything themselves they would give me a smile and a cup of tea. Also I admired their strong sense of community spirit and their strength to rebuild their lives after loosing nearly everything.

I have been up and down to Sri Lanka since the Tsunami for the last four years. All these times I had taken lots of photographs. I also found out how important photo’s are for the Sri Lankans themselves. Not only because they like them and put the photo frames on a central place in their house. Very much because, through the Tsunami, the people lost 98% of their photographs and didn’t have any camera’s. It where the aid workers, volunteers and journalists that had the camera’s. They visited the sites and took pictures, but most of these photos the village people didn’t see themselves.

From this background and my own background as a visual artist and an art teacher I decided to start the museum project. A project that is based with different aims:

- To visualize the stories of the local people who where affected by the Tsunami. A place where big and small stories can come together and can be shared. Not only the stories of the local people, but also about the people who came to help.

- To create a place where people can see and remember what has happened, because their experiences and the disaster that followed has had a big impact on the lives of so many people and will stay with them all their lives. Besides this fact, the Tsunami story has become a major subject of Sri Lankan history and is important to show to the upcoming generations.

- To try and collect international photo material and bring it back to Sri Lanka and the affected villages, like Telwatta and Parelyia.

- The Tsunami brought people from all over the world to Sri Lanka. Many villages had not met people from other cultures before. I hope the museum will be a place where cultures can come together in the future as well.

It is impossible to tell the whole Tsunami story, as there are too many. But by telling some of them I think a lot of people will get a general idea what has happened. The museum is not only about the Tsunami but also about the first years after, as so much changed every day during this chaotic period. I have chosen for a museum with a personal touch instead of a museum that shows all the facts. For me the personal stories are more important than the facts. Only the necessary facts to tell the story will be presented in the museum.

I had not been in Sri Lanka before the Tsunami. When I came here I saw the mess of a culture that has been whirled up side down. I had no idea how it had been before and what was normal and not. I learned about Sri Lanka life and culture the other way round. I learned about every day Sri Lankan life from rubble. Now slowly I get to see and understand what it had been like before the Tsunami. I hope I will be able to do more projects in Sri Lanka in the future. For now I would like to invite you to explore the museum and read the Tsunami photo stories.

The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony

ganpenelope — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:18:23 +0000

Known more commonly as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of remembrance to God (dhikr) in initiating the Sufi path (dervish), the Mevlevi Order (Persian: مولويه - Molavīyeh) is a Sufi order founded in Konya, Turkey by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, theologian and Islamic jurist.

Following his death, the Mawlawi order was founded in 1273 by his successor, Hüsamettin Çelebi. The Mawlawi believe in performing their dhikr in the form of a “dance” and musical ceremony known as the Sema, which involves the whirling, from which the order acquired its nickname. The Sema represents a mystical journey of man’s spiritual ascent through mind and love towards “Perfection”. Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the “Perfect”. He then returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, able to love and to be of service to the whole of creation.

Rumi has said in reference to Sema:

For them it is the Sema of this world and the other.
Even more for the circle of dancers within the Sema
Who turn and have, in their midst, their own Ka’aba.

The origin of Sema is credited to Rumi where it narrates the story of Rumi walking through the town marketplace one day, when he heard the rhythmic hammering of the goldbeaters. It is believed that Rumi heard the dhikr, “la elaha ella’llah” in Arabic “لا اله الا الله”, or in English, “There is none worthy of worship but Allah(God)“, spoken by the apprentices beating the gold, and was so filled with happiness that he stretched out both of his arms and started spinning in a circle. With that, the practice of Sema and the dervishes of the Mevlevi Order were born.

In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the “The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony” of Turkey as amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

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The Sema is practised in the samahane (ritual hall) according to a precisely prescribed symbolic ritual with the dervishes whirling in a circle around their sheikh, who is the only one whirling around his axis. The Sema is performed by spinning on the right foot. The dervishes wear a white gown (symbol of death), a wide black cloak (hırka) (symbol of the grave) and a tall brown hat (kûlah or sikke), symbol of the tombstone.

Sema ceremonies are broken up into four parts which all have their own important meanings.

Naat and Taksim - Naat is the beginning of the ceremony where a solo singer offers praise for the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The first part is finished with taksim(improvisation in free rhythm) of the ney reed flute which symbolizes our separation from God.

Devr-i Veled - During the following Devr-i Veled, the dervishes bow to each other and make a stately procession in single file around the hall. The bow is said to represent the acknowledgement of the Divine breath which has been breathed into all of us. After all the dervishes have done this they kneel and remove their black cloaks.

The Four Salams - The Four Salams are the central part of Sama. The samazens or whirling dervishes are representative of the moon and they spin on the outside (sufi whirling) of the Sheikh who is representative of the sun. They, as previously mentioned, spin on their right foot and additionally, they have their right palm facing upwards towards Heaven and their left hand pointing at the ground. The four salams themselves are representative of the spiritual journey that every believer goes through. The first one is representative of recognition of God, the second one is recognition of the existence in his unity, the third one represents the ecstacy one experiences with total surrender and the fourth one, where the Sheikh joins in the dance, is symbolic of peace of the heart due to Divine unity. After the four salams, this part of the ceremony is concluded with another solo Taksim.

Concluding Prayer - The fourth part of the ceremony is a recitation from the Holy Qu’ran and a prayer by the Sheikh and then the Sema is complete.

Reflections: Yamuna River

ganpenelope — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:18:17 +0000

The Yamuna (Hindi/Sanskrit: यमुना, Urdu:جمنا sometimes called Jamuna (Hindi: जमुना) or Jumna) is the largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) in northern India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height 6,387 metres it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers (855 mi) and has a drainage system of 366,223 km²; forming 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin. With a distinguishable “clear blue” water as compared to silt-ridden yellow of the Ganges, the Yamuna crosses several states - Uttarakhand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - passing by Himachal Pradesh and later Delhi with nearly 57 million people dependent on the Yamuna waters; 96% contributing towards irrigation and accounts for 70% of Delhi’s water supply.

Despite it’s “clear blue” coloration, the Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially around New Delhi, which dumps about 58% of its waste into the river. This is attributed to the high density population growth and rapid industrialization which contributes towards the three main sources of pollution in the river:

households and municipal disposal sites,
soil erosion resulting from deforestation occurring to make way for agriculture along with resulting chemical wash-off from fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, and
run-off from commercial activity and industrial sites.

With an annual flow of about 10,000 cubic billion metres (cbm) and usage of 4,400 cbm the importance of the Yamuna river cannot be disregarded. Coupled by it being highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as goddess Yamuna, numerous attempts have been made to clean it. Nonetheless the efforts by the government of India that has spent nearly $500 million on clean up efforts and over Rs 1,700 crore to control pollution under the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) and Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) seems futile where it continues to be polluted with garbage and where most sewage treatment facilities are underfunded or malfunctioning, resulting in the pollutants being continuously channeled into the river.

The situation is exacerbated over the fact that the water in the Yamuna river remains stagnant for almost 9 months whilst the Lok Sabha continues with talks on plans on how to resuscitate the Yamuna.

Taj Mahal, the Crown Palace

ganpenelope — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:18:11 +0000

The Taj Mahal (Crown Palace) is regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world. Some Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed and is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India.

Built entirely of white marble, the Taj Mahal was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers by Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife – queen Mumtaz Mahal (her real name was Arjumand Banu*) at Agra, India. Completed in 1648 C.E. at a cost of 32 Million Rupees, the Taj is an “elegy in marble” or some say an expression of a “dream.” Glowing in the light of the full moon, the Taj transforms to take on a dreamy fairy like existence – as if floating and suspended in clouds – on a foggy morning when viewed from across the Jamuna river.

The Taj serves as a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower chamber. The construction documents show that its master architect was Ustad ‘Isa, the renowned Islamic architect of his time, employing specialised expert craftsmen from Delhi, Qannauj, Lahore, Multan, Baghdad, Shiraz and Bukhara.

The Taj stands on a raised, square platform (186 x 186 feet) with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and a symmetry of architectural elements.

Its central dome is fifty-eight feet in diameter and rises to a height of 213 feet. It is flanked by four subsidiary domed chambers. The four graceful, slender minarets are 162.5 feet each. The entire mausoleum (both internal and external chambers) is decorated with inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The main archways, chiseled with passages from the Holy Qur’an and the bold scroll work of flowery pattern is captivating. The central domed chamber and four adjoining chambers include many walls and panels of Islamic decoration.

The mausoleum is a part of a vast complex comprising of a main gateway, an elaborate garden, a mosque (to the left), a guest house (to the right), and several other palatial buildings. The Taj is at the farthest end of this complex, with the river Jamuna behind it. The large garden contains four reflecting pools dividing it at the center. Each of these four sections is further subdivided into four sections and then each into yet another four sections. Like the Taj, the garden elements serve like Arabesque, standing on their own and also constituting the whole.

Shah Jahan’s grave was later added to the Taj Mahal.

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* In the tradition of the Mughals, important ladies of the royal family were given another name at their marriage or at some other significant event in their lives, and that new name was commonly used by the public. Shah Jahan’s real name was Shahab-ud-din, and he was known as Prince Khurram before ascending to the throne in 1628.

Religion and Trance

ganpenelope — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:18:17 +0000

A trance-like condition or transcendence is a state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it. Typically this trance state is manifested in prayer, séance, meditation and paranormal “visions”.

People of varying faiths throughout the world are said to have experienced trance from different perspectives; physically, mentally and emotionally - with many textual references supporting such claims such as the Bible (Matthew 8:28-34), the Torah (Genesis 6:4) and the Qu’ran (Verse 275).

Even today, void of any scientific explanation, people are known to go into a trance be it a demonic possession, voodoo, speaking in tongue experience to deep meditative state. The condition in which a person gets to a transcendence state remains unclear and varied according to religious practices.

Devotees of Lord Murugan goes to the extremes and lengths of exhibiting devotion by carrying pots of milk or “pal kudam” on their heads, carrying elaborate frameworks on their shoulders called “kavadis” that have long chains hanging down with hooks at the end that are hooked through the skins on their backs, piercing skewers or “vels” through their tongues and cheeks, to pulling heavy chariots with hooks and chains attached to their backs are said to experience no pain as they are in a spiritual and devotional trance that is induced by chanting, drumming and incense.

Centered around faith, endurance and penance, devotees emerging from the trance-like condition quotes the experience as:

The first time I had the experience I just felt like I had a strong light coming into me.

You feel that somebody is beside you and taking care of you.

Lives as Brahmaputra Dies

ganpenelope — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:18:01 +0000

Dubbed the ‘Third pole’ for having the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps, the Himalayas boast 11 peaks over 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) and around 100 peaks over 7,000 meters (22,966 feet). The Himalayan glaciers are the water source for one-sixth of humanity; influencing the dynamics of the monsoon and acts as a reservoir that sustains agriculture, provide for fresh water and groundwater, and is home to a unique ecosystem with many endemic species.

The future of the ‘Third pole’ however is bleak.

With rising global temperatures, the United Nations predicts thatby 2030 all of the Himalayan glacier would have melted if the problem of global warming is not arrested. The Brahmaputra and Ganges River Basin, which the Himalayan glaciers flows to will be dried within the next 5 decades.

“Glacier in the Indian Himalayas” – a report commission by WWF and the Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) states that the Himalayan glaciers receive more heat than the Arctic and temperate climate glaciers. Himalayan glaciers are also more sensitive to the rising temperature of both regional and global climate and with the temperature in the Himalayas rising by 1 degree Celsius since the 1970s, small glaciers have been continuously melting with many having vanished over the decades.

Anil Kulkarni’s (from space application centre of ISRO (Ahmedabad)) investigation supports these findings as well, where in 1962, 1,317 glaciers were found spreading over 5,866 square kilometers. These numbers have been reduced by 16% over the period of 2001 and 2004 covering a smaller area of 4,921 square kilometers. Other scientific research echoes the same message with some predicting that 80% of the Himalayan glaciers will disapper within 30 years if the current global warming rates continues.

Whilst the timeline and figures of remaining glaciers estimation varies slightly, the message is clear. The treats are real and the catastrophe that these melting and vanishing glaciers brings with them will be far reaching and devastating as rivers like the Brahmaputra snakes through 3 populous nations originating from the Jima Yangzogn glacier near Mt. Kailash in the northern Himalaya (China), making its way south into Arunachal Pradesh (India) and ends at the Bay of Bengal*.

The effects are presently felt and have begun to affect over 400,000,000 people living in the downstream of the Ganges River Basin and the Brahmaputra – the most populated river basin in the world. The initial rapid melting of the glaciers have increased the volumes of water in the river causing widespread flooding, followed within a few decades later the opposite effects of declining water levels and massive eco and environmental problems.

Even an observer, you can’t turn a blind eye as you step onto the banks of the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati city. You would immediately be struck by the large deposits of sand on both banks of the river – a clear indication of desertification that is spreading throughout the banks of the great Brahmaputra.

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* The Brahmaputra is known as Tsangpo and Tsangpo-Brahmaputra. In China its name is Yurlung Tsangpo on Yurlung Zangbo. It originates in the Jima Yangzong glacier near Mt. Kailash in the northern Himalaya. From Jima Yangzong, the river flows east for about 1,700 kms. at an average height of 4,000 meters (13,000 ft). At its eastern most point, it bends around Mt. Namsha Barwa and forms the Tsangpo Canyon which is considered to be the deepest in the world. From this canyon the river flows towards the South and enters India (Arunachal Pradesh) where it is called Siang and Dihang and finally becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam joined by two major rivers Dibang and Luit. When the river enters Bangladesh it is called Jamuna and flows towards the Bay of Bengal. The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt and it is also one the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore.

Miracle Healer or Merciless Killer

ganpenelope — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:18:45 +0000

A stuffed fennec head lies next to mountain goat horns, monkey skulls, dried tiger penises and gutted out air dried lizards.

Parts of vanishing species from Africa’s forests are laid out for local buyers seeking sex boosters, spiritual and physical cures for multitude of ailments ranging from a simple cough to cancer, and exotic food, while the skins of jungle cats, snakes and other reptiles are draped impressively with lit bulbs carefully positioned to attract Western buyers / collectors of exotic fur and skin used to fashioned out luxurious fashion items and souvenirs.

While, noticeably a sizeable quantity of wildlife is hunted and felled to supply dealers and medicine men in this scruffy part of UNESCO enlisted Djemaa el Fna, Djemaa el Fna is just one node of a trade network that funnels the wildlife from across the region to satisfy the insatiable global demands.

With millions of people in Asia and Africa still believing that rhino horn prevents convulsions, tiger wine provides strength, bear paws enhances bravery, pickled turtle flippers increases longevity, fresh snake blood makes potent aphrodisiac and that the consumption of exotic fare endows them with added social status, the demand for wildlife is unlikely to wane. The supply of illegal wildlife available openly in Djemaa el Fna is just the tip of the iceberg of the global illegal wildlife trade problem.

Whilst the true immensity of the illegal wildlife trade is unknown, Interpol experts believes that it generates between 10 – 20 million dollars annually; coming a close second to the trade of illicit drugs in regards to revenue.

Although enforcement and awareness efforts have been stepped up globally in recent years by the likes of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and WildAid Asia, focus has been predominantly in Southeast Asia and China, especially in the wake of trade liberalization in the region and the proliferation of air and road links with China.

In Morocco, awareness have been limited to the Barbaray Macaques, which remains very much a localised issue. As a preferred source of protein and where primates are considered a delicacy, up to 40,000 primates are killed and consumed each year in Africa alone, with a small fraction of these game meat being supplied all over Europe and the United States by “bushmeat” hunters in addition to souvenirs made from tortoise.

Although a member of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), Moroccan wildlife trades and medicine men seems unperturbed and continues to boldly display and ‘push’ their wares. Much of this is due to lax law enforcements that is rife with corruption and the steep cultural and spiritual believe by enforcers themselves in the spiritual and physical healing properties of these wildlife, thereby legitimating the ‘product’ and trade.

With big-time operators, documentations are often doctored; falsely listing the source of the wildlife to circumvent conditions and species proscribed under CITES.

This practice of “laundering” wildlife through approved enterprises which breeds endangered species such as musk deer, bears and tigers have created an added complexity for enforcers and conservationists who is adopting a two-pronged approach by complementing theirs strikes against suppliers with education to lessen demand:

“When the buying stops, the killing can, too”

WildAid -

all we have is the earth and sky

ganpenelope — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:30:34 +0000

640 million children do not have adequate shelter

500 million children have no access to sanitation

400 million children do not have access to safe water

300 million children lack access to information

270 million children have no access to health care services

140 million people have never been to school

90 million children are severely food deprived

extract from UNICEF Report “State of the World’s Children 2005″

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The estimates vary but one often cited figure of number of children living independently in the streets totals between 100 million and 150 million worldwide*. India is home to 400 million children, the largest number in any country in the world. Not surprisingly, it has the has the world’s largest population of children living in poverty** and extreme hardship.

Over 18 million Indian children life, work, play, sleep, dream on the streets and sidewalks of Indian cities …

and the numbers are growing with more than 50 children escaping intolerable circumstances at home to begin new lives on their own on the streets. Most vulnerable and exposed to exploitation and prejudice, these children work long hours during the day and at night, forming gangs in replacement of a formal ‘family unit’ to protect themselves.

Children who run away from their families often make their homes in railway stations, settling down where they first arrive. They brave heat waves, monsoon rains and harsh winters on their own without protection; even if they once owned umbrellas, raincoats and quilts, they would have no place to keep them or would lose them within 20 minutes of arriving at the station through to police brutality or those of the railway authority.

‘On the New Delhi railway station,

have you seen the children who sift

through waste, do drugs, polish shoes

and who knows what else?

Have you seen all this?

If you have seen them,

have you ever given any thought

to who they are, to their future,

that they are children too,

they have dreams too.

But will those dreams ever come true?

Or is it on the New Delhi railway station

that their dreams will shatter?

Why does this happen to them?

If you have never thought about this,

please think now.

Please save their future

from being destroyed.’

Shekhar, 14 years – excerpt from ‘If I Were Rain’, Youthreach

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* According to a report from the Consortium for Street Children, a United Kingdom-based consortium of related NGOs:

Estimating numbers of ‘street children’ is fraught with difficulties. In 1989, UNICEF estimated 100 million children were growing up on urban streets around the world. 14 years later UNICEF reported: ‘The latest estimates put the numbers of these children as high as 100 million’ (UNICEF, 2002: 37).

And even more recently: ‘The exact number of street children is impossible to quantify, but the figure almost certainly runs into tens of millions across the world. It is likely that the numbers are increasing’ (UNICEF, 2005: 40-41).

The 100 million figure is still commonly cited, but has no basis in fact (see Ennew and Milne, 1989; Hecht, 1998; Green, 1998). Similarly, it is debatable whether numbers of street children are growing globally or whether it is the awareness of street children within societies which has grown.

** The Government of India cites that a person living below the poverty earns less than Rs. 10 per day, or Rs. 296 per month. Furthermore, the government calculates that Rs. 10 will buy food equivalent to 2200 calories, which is medically enough to prevent death.

Survival : Men vs. Cow

ganpenelope — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:18:09 +0000

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Many are the human speeches I’ve heard migrating
in flocks, flying on invisible tracks
from obscure pasts to distant inchoate futures.
And within myself I’ve heard
day and night
in the company of countless birds
a homeless bird speeding through light and dark
from one unknown shore to yet another.
On cosmic wings a refrain echoes through space:
‘Not here, no, but somewhere, somewhere else!’

Tagore

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Agra – part of the GOLDEN Triangle is often associated with one of the world’s most opulent and breathtaking landmarks that signify progress, wealth and power – the Taj Mahal. However, like all parts of India, Agra – a city on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh suffers from urban poverty.

Being the most populous city in Uttar Pradesh, and the 19th most populous in India, with a population of 1.69 million (2010 estimate.), most of the 1.69 million people in Agra lives below the poverty line. Living on pavements alongside busy roads, these urban poor ‘homeless’ contend daily with the difficulties of not having access to basic infrastructure such as clean water and sanitation.

Without a safe and secure house and legal rights to their land, the ‘homeless’ by definition are ‘faceless’ and ‘invisible’ from the government’s official survey and statistical standpoint, and thus naturally denied from achieving their political, social and economic rights.

Faced with threats of eviction, the ‘homeless’ are constantly harassed and criminalised by the authorities, misunderstood, perceived as mentally ill and blamed for their current state of ‘homelessness’. Subject to such harsh conditions and misconception, the ‘homeless’ often finds themselves trapped in a vicious cycle that perpetuates over generations.

Although resettlement efforts with the aim of improving the lives of the ‘homeless’ have been made since the 1970s in India, its focus has always been in major metropolises such as Mumbai and Delhi. Even so, the methods applied (i.e. eviction through massive force utilizing helicopters, land moving vehicles and armed police) have been heavily criticized and the adequacy and appropriateness of resettlement locations have been questioned. One such evacuation led to a landmark case judgment that maintained that the Right to Life includes the Right to Livelihood in response to the public interest petition against the Bombay (Mumbai) Municipal Corporation filed in 1981 by a journalist to protect the rights of pavement dwellers.

With growing interest from the western media and the world, thanks partly to the success of the critically acclaimed Academy Award and Golden Globe 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire, India’s urban poor plight has been on centre stage.

Besides external pressures, added pressure for efforts to step-up the resettlement of the ‘homeless’ is also felt on the home front with massive and rapid urban development taking place in the name of ‘beautification’, tourism and major international events such as the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

What remains to be seen is: will India’s Slum Resettlement / Redevelopment Scheme succeed in improving the lives of India’s urban poor such as those promised by the government in its effort to create the Slum Rehabilitation Authority*? Or would it merely serve as a vehicle to demolish ‘weaker members of society’ to pave the way for more glitzy commercial and lavish residential complexes, thereby forcing the ‘faceless’ and ‘invisibles’ of India to be ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind’? Will smaller cities take home any valuable lessons from its ‘Big Brother’ Mumbai and Delhi?

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* The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) was created in 1995 and, as a result, a new policy was introduced which recognised the rights of any slum and pavement dweller who could prove residence in the city of Mumbai on 1 January 1995 to ‘avail of an alternate permanent accommodation’.

Under the policy, each eligible family is entitled to a housing unit with a floor space of 225 square feet (21 square metres). A slum landowner, a co-operative society of slum dwellers, an NGO or any real estate developer having individual agreements with at least 70% of eligible slum dwellers is entitled to become a developer. Developers implementing SRA projects must provide this housing unit free of cost to slum dwellers occupying the land.

The policy works by giving incentives to developers in the form of development rights. The amount of development rights generated by a project is dependent on the location of the plot and the building design. Developers may use development rights in excess of those needed to build free housing units to construct additional housing and/or commercial units for sale if space allows, and/or to sell the rights as Transferable Development Rights on the open market.

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Children Beggars

ganpenelope — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:18:14 +0000

Just like prostitution, begging is the world’s oldest profession with its own code of conducts and specialisation* involving all walks of life. However, unlike adults, only 9 out of 10 (homeless / street) children resorts to panhandling as a source of income.

Children who take to panhandling are usually victims of organised begging rackets, led by gang leaders who often present themselves as ‘benefactors’ and ‘protectors’ of homeless / street children that comprise of the poor, runaways and disabled.

For others, girls in particular, bonded beggary is seen as the last, but better, choice to avoid threats of being made a prostitute or one to be served before any pedophile. Nonetheless, ‘surrendering’ themselves to gang leaders as bonded beggars is no guarantee that their faith would not take a turn for the worse and that their fear in most cases materialises.

Because the child beggars business is extremely lucrative for the gangs, and where enforcements by authorities are weak, thousands of children are forced into it with many being mutilated annually, through amputation of ‘infected’ limbs and by gorging out eye balls by unscrupulous and corrupt physicians who works hand in glove with the gang leaders.

Visibly deformed children are highly prized by the perpetrators as they easily invoke pity and sympathy, thus becoming the most prolific and profitable beggars. Young girls that are too young for the flesh business, are often handed babies or toddlers who, like themselves were either kidnapped, lured or bought from very poor parents under false pretense, hope and promise of providing the child with a better life. Hungry, tortured and often subjected to the harsh elements these babies and toddlers will cry inconsolably, thus able to garner pity.

Whilst begging occurs everywhere – even in developed and rich nations – beggars in the urban areas are subjected to more anti-social elements compared to their counterpart in the rural area. In the latter’s case, people are more willing to give to beggars to earn punya (divine credits).

Furthermore, child beggars in rural areas are often not part of an exploitative syndicate but have taken to the streets and panhandling in their effort to contribute financially to the family’s coffers, thereby receiving support, love and basic amenities from the family unit.

Although the earning capacity of child beggars is much higher than the ones in the rural areas, child beggars in the urban areas do not receive a single penny; their ‘keepers’ or ‘owners’ reap the benefits.

* ‘The Begging Profession’, a translated article written by K.L Kamat (original title Bhikshatane was published in ‘Malliage’ monthly) provides an interesting insight on begging as a profession.

read it HERE