The crime and stigma!

She was trafficked as a child. Taken away from home, she was exploited sexually, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. Years have gone by and today she is a local recruiter/trafficker who travels back and forth to her village, luring and promising people of a better life like her own. With expensive jewellery and clothes, she is perceived as the icon of success in the village despite the fact that an unfortunate world is hidden behind her external dignity. How can any parents in a poor village deny their children the opportunity for a better life promised by such a convincing recruiter? Desperate people, struggle to resist the temptation of allowing themselves to fall in the trap of human trafficking. There are thousands all around the world who agonize over whether to give in themselves in hopes of evading what they perceive as a dead-end road in their lives or for the purpose of generating much needed income that would help their families survive.

Trafficked victims are as young as 10 years old, often illiterate or school dropouts and come from very poor families. Many are also victims of abuse early in their lives. Victims face major problems being reintegrated into their home communities when they are freed from the situation into which they were trafficked. They have often been treated by law authorities as criminals, either for prostitution or illegal migration, and, therefore social stigma and personal emotional scars make the recovery even more difficult. Assisting victims to resettle and start a new life is a huge challenge for organizations and concerned governmental agencies. The most difficult aspect of rehabilitation and reintegration of victims/survivors are the deep-rooted feeling of stigma associated with having been trafficked, which most often is an obstacle to providing the psychosocial and public health support needed to reintegrate the survivors. In fact, in my experience, in many cases, initial efforts to develop self-help support groups and provide specialized mental health and psychosocial support is met with fear and suspicion. They find it difficult to repose their trust in anyone, live in the constant panic of being exploited again and don’t find it easy to talk about their experiences. In addition to these psychological and social considerations, the victims face the practical financial challenge of providing for life's essentials.

A lot of organizations have been trying to empower the survivors as facilitators and further helping them become the change agents. Various techniques like group and one-to-one counseling (focusing on overcoming fear, shame, denial, guilt, and self-blame), training in life skills, positive thinking, trust building, self discipline and leadership, have proved to empower women significantly and is helping reach out to a far wider network of survivors. With empowerment, survivors are found to be increasingly confident, open and trusting of each other.

What is most needed is to help the survivors organize, participate and speak for the decisions that affect them. Without the input of survivor voices, their priorities of need will continue to be decided by others. And this would always leave us behind 'true empowerment'!

People in Crisis

Broken dreams, struggle for existence, loss of many a lives, no present and no hope of a future - the worsening humanitarian crisis around the world make me wonder if there ever will be a chance of heaven on earth as we read in books and pray for; or these suffering millions are doomed to an eternity of a life in hell on earth?

Year 2008 saw nature in its most devastating form when cyclone Nargis hit the country of Burma a few months back. This was followed by the high power, 7.9 magnitude earthquake – the largest to hit China in 3 decades. Both calamities left millions dead and homeless. The international community responded with much vigor since there was an urgent need for post disaster assistance and aid in both the countries. To worsen the situation, Burmese government blocked humanitarian access of most international groups to all suffering areas of the country and the death toll kept rising higher. Public health experts have predicted a likely epidemic of water-borne disease, such as cholera and E.coli, due to a lack of clean drinking water. Suffering with years of malnutrition and severe poverty throughout the country, fatality rates could reach up to 20 percent as a result of these diseases. Also, a large-scale child measles outbreak is likely to be the result of the congregation of large groups of people in the aftermath of the cyclone. Malaria and dengue fever outbreaks are also expected due to the large numbers of now homeless people living in close proximity to open water, says Chris Beyrer, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. With almost non- existent healthcare infrastructure, the hard-hit Burmese can have only little hope of receiving any degree of healthcare. A WHO report in year 2000 revealed that Burma is second to only Sierra Leone in having the lowest level of government investment in health infrastructure in the world. Whatever little international aid that has been allowed inside the country, much of it has been seized and filched by the ruling junta, according to UN reports. Additionally, the Burmese government did not even issue visas to humanitarian aid workers as a priority, making it even more and more difficult for rescue groups to assist the suffering families/individuals.

While the trauma of Burmese cyclone was still fresh in our minds, a high magnitude earthquake hit China. The aid workers in China with government and international support are still struggling to rehabilitate and provide for the quake hit families. The aftershocks, flooding, and landslides continue to frighten people and pose risks to relief operations. Groups are trying to provide critical shelter materials and other assistance to survivors, including tents, quilts, tarpaulins, and rice, but they are working under challenging conditions. China is one of the countries suffering from the most severe natural hazards all over the world. Although some great progress have been gained in natural hazard mitigation, the natural disasters bring on big economic loss, in average, natural disasters lead to a direct economic loss of considerable percentage of total GDP and death of thousands every year. China faces a serious situation in reducing natural hazard though now most cities in China are reported to be improving on information measures for disaster protection and reduction.

I have just finished doing a report on Sudan and cannot help but write a few lines about a devastated country that continues to face famine and extreme forms of human rights violation. There are thousands dying and millions are at risk of starvation. In fact, organizations like Human Rights Watch have reported that the continuing famine was caused and is being perpetuated by human rights abuses resulting from the civil war. The famine in 1998 was a catastrophe and even the international community failed to respond since the Sudanese government, militias and opposition forces looted supplies from the starving or blocked relief deliveries. The civil war continues and so also the gross violation of human rights.

I can continue to write about these people in crisis in every country around the world. And nothing of what I write would be an eye opener. It’s happening, it is being reported and is also talked about. There are groups/individuals from around the world giving out a helping hand – being there and helping recover these affected lives. And that’s tough! This is the spirit of giving and this truly is humanity in its most obvious form. Could anything else be more inspirational?

'English' India

When Lord Macaulay made English language compulsory for the clergy in India way back in 1835, his intention was to break the Indian affinity for local languages and create a working class for them who can communicate in their language for their work. Little did he know that more than a century later English as a language would take over as the commercial language, binding a culturally diverse and multilingual country together. 

With globalization taking over and open market economy mechanisms, arose a dire need of professionals with expertise along with proficiency in a language that rules the market - well the key word was ‘English’.

While on one hand, a huge number of private schools with their medium of instruction in English are flourishing in urban areas and upcoming cities; on the other hand, the public/government run schools are struggling to even operate appropriately, let alone provide education in English. Of course, most private schools with their high fee structure are also out of reach for a majority of Indian families. This inequality in education leaves a large size of young population educated in government and small town schools feel that a kind of advantage is being given to some people who might be just as good as them in the job but definitely have an edge because of their knowledge in English. Only a few government services like the Indian and State Administrative Services and the Defence services selections are not based on the applicant’s medium of education in English. 

Improving the quality of public education in the country is the biggest challenge in front of planners in India today. There is a huge paucity of good teachers and public schools everywhere need comprehensive improvements in their service delivery. The parameters for assessing standards in English are quite clear — a Class V pass out should have reasonable knowledge of arithmetic to be able to do simple divisions and subtractions and he should also be able to write 50-100 words correctly on a given topic. It has been found that very few students from public schools are able to write grammatically correct ten lines in English on a given topic.

To the villagers, these public English medium schools are really schools for the rich people. In villages 90% of the people, or even more, have only heard of such institutions, since they are almost non-existent in the villages. But they are very anxious that their children should get justice and equal opportunity in regard to education and employment. They do not understand why their children should be labeled as ‘unintelligent’ only because they do not know good English and why the English- knowing persons should monopolize all fat-salaried jobs.

If we really want equality of opportunity for every child in India, the Common School system is a must. As a State responsibility, it requires massive investment in improving the quality of services in the public schools. A successful common school system can ensure that every child gets equal quality education and therefore equal opportunities to grow and make a future. We need awareness campaigns and workshops to improve reading and writing knowledge of English among students everywhere. It is also important to realize that knowledge of English, as a language has to be developed since it is the connecting language today, opening up better opportunities around the world.

Every child deserves equality in education and opportunity without any discrimination on any grounds. The state has a crucial role to play as an instrument of social justice and to do away with discrimination of any sort, especially in the context of children who represent the nation's human capital.

Childhood in the battlefields

Abducted, intimidated, beaten, raped, abused and compelled to kill others under threat of their own death – this is the world of child soldiers who serve both rebel groups and government forces in over 30 armed conflicts worldwide. UNICEF and Amnesty International estimate that 250, 000 to 300,000 children (and may be more); between 15 to 18 years old are forced to become direct participants in bloody wars. Living a life of obscurity, these child soldiers grow up being physically, mentally and emotionally scarred for life.

Instead of attending school like many of us, these children are on the front lines of combat to serve as human mine detectors; their school bags have been replaced with suicide bombs and their little hands carry AK-47s and M-16s instead of notebooks. The only sport of their life is to kill!

Premier organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, UNICEF, International Rescue Committee, Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Save the Children, World Vision and many others have testimonies documented of child soldiers from all parts of the world. The children are abducted from what is left of their homes and forced into a life of war and sexual slavery. Deprived of education, these child soldiers are raised in a world of war and violence knowing only how to use the gun. The children are repeatedly threatened that they would be killed if they ever try to run away. These brutal and dehumanizing tactics used to control the children, make the child’s rehabilitation and reintegration into their own home communities much more difficult, if ever rescued.

There is no dearth of information on the hard realities of life of child soldiers around the world. The Maoist forces in Nepal have been steadily recruiting children despite pressure from Nepali and international human rights groups. Just last year in April, the Chhattisgarh State Police in India arrested two girls, aged 14 and 15 years respectively; who were wearing school uniforms and were armed with old 303 bore rifles. Human Rights groups have also reported on child soldiers being recruited in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Stories from other parts of the world are no different. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is reported to have recruited thousands of child soldiers in Sri Lanka, using intimidation and threats to pressure Tamil families to provide their sons and daughters for military service. HRW in their report ‘Protect the People’ talks of Government-sponsored paramilitary forces known as “Guardians of the Peace” who have committed many killings, rapes, and other crimes over the last four years in Burundi. Burundian officials recruited many children aged 15 and even younger for service in the Guardians and in urban patrols.

Recently, while working on Free the Slaves Freedom awards 2008, I came across a nomination of an activist group from Uganda called the Friends of Orphans (FRO), which works to support the former child soldiers and abductees from the Northern Ugandan conflict. The war in this region is between the rebel Lord Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda. They mostly use children and militiamen to fight the war. I was inspired to know about Ricky Anywar Richard, a former child soldier, who laid the foundation of the organization along with others who had been in similar slavery situations. The Lord’s Resistance Army abducted him at the age of 14 along with his brother. His powerless family members were burned to death while he watched and heard them cry for help. The children were tightly guarded, trained as fighters and he saw abductees being killed brutally if they ever tried running away. He stayed in the bush for about 2 and half years until he took a chance and managed to escape successfully. Living in extremities of struggle, he managed to study and conceived the idea to start an organization while working on his university degree in 1999. Ricky uses his child soldier experiences as motivation to contribute to the empowerment, rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers and orphans. FRO is administered by former child soldiers, orphans and abductees from Pader District, all of who were and continue to be affected by the war in Northern Uganda. It also operates a vocational training centre that provides self-employment oriented vocational training, entrepreneurship and sustainable income generation skills.

Human Rights groups working on the issue are finding ways to reunite and resettle the children with their families and communities, and provide for their psychosocial care and recovery. UNICEF has stressed on girls - especially orphans or unaccompanied girls - being especially vulnerable because they are often sexually exploited, raped or otherwise abused, and forced to be 'wives' by other combatants.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict in February 2002 is regarded as a particular landmark in that it specifically prohibits the use of child soldiers. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child contained specific provisions for the protection of children less than 15 years from recruitment into armies. The Optional Protocol - now signed by 115 countries and ratified by 63 - has strengthened the Convention in several ways and raised the ceiling from 15 to 18 years. Human Rights Groups have been urging the UN to "name and shame" offenders in all conflicts on a yearly basis, in order to keep the spotlight on the international agenda and encourage punitive action against those who continue to abuse children in this way.

The hard facts of modern-day slavery hit our face in many ways…child soldiers is one such category. They are recruited from the most vulnerable communities, can be easily manipulated, are cheap to keep, require no maintenance – in other words they are easily ‘disposable’, when not of any use!

(Photo courtesy: International Rescue Committee)

Political past and the official rise of Maoism in Nepal

April 10, 2008 stands as a historic day for Nepal and international political observers worldwide. After a decade long civil war, Nepalese polled in the much awaited elections, foreseen as crucial to Nepal’s imperative peace and democratic future. As of today (Tuesday, April 15, 2008 – 11:05 a.m.), the Maoists are stated to have bagged 102 of the total declared 180 seats. Amidst this anxiety, anticipation and celebrations, present life continues to be an inexhaustible struggle for most people in the Himalayan nation.

The stunning beauty of landscape sits in stark contrast to the actuality of life in this country. Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries, is still trying hard to recuperate from the civil war, which shook the nation and made it a hotbed for the communist insurgency that pitted Maoist guerrillas against the Nepalese army. Caught in the middle of a never-ending war, emerged thousands of victims’ of fighting and increasing number of missing civilians; terrorized, abducted and killed by forces on either side. In this backdrop of a tattered economy, deeply traumatized Nepalese population awaits a democratic future for Nepal with a hope for a better life someday.

Impeding the development of any progressive, democratic and modernization forces in the country, the institution of monarchy has been seen as one of the prime reasons for the plight of the Nepalese people. Enjoying absolute power, the King has been able to call and dismiss Parliament at will leaving strong marks of feudalistic relations and exploitation of the poor and marginalized.

Nepal suffered from the same economic stagnation that Britain created across the Indian subcontinent during the period of imperial rule. Talking about the historic past of Nepal with India, one can blame India for bullying Nepal after attaining independence in 1947 and pressurizing the feudal Ranas and Congress party to share power, depriving people of free elections. First elections in Nepal were held in 1949 under the rule of King Mahendra, but in 1960 this brief period of democracy was brought to an unexpected end with parties banned and the government overthrown by a royal decree. The royal appointees occupied all the local and national government posts. The new constitution ‘supposedly’ guaranteed democratic rights and elections were held again in 1991. Corruption, patronage and frequent changes of government led to disappointment among the people and ‘people’s war’ began in 1996 when the demands made by the Communist Party Of Nepal (Maoist) stressing on pro-poor policies were rejected by the government.

In June 2001, the scandalous news of King Birendra and eight other members of the Royal Family being shot dead in the Royal Palace hit the headlines around the world. The ‘official’ story was that they were killed by Birendra's brother, Dipendra, who then shot himself. Well, rumors never died that the killing was arranged by the successor, Gyanendra and his actions too never proved the contrary. In 2002, Gyanendra dismissed Prime Minister Deuba and took power.

The unstable political situation in Nepal has had sweeping consequences that affect the economy, the tourist industry and daily life of a majority of Nepalese. The just happened elections are being seen as a sign of relief by the bulk of the population while a few others still strongly want the monarchy to continue. The final and official results are yet to be announced but the Maoists celebrations have already taken to the streets.

Let us wait and watch if the new rule in Himalayan nation would keep up its commitment to democracy!

Be a leader - make a difference!

All of us have our role models, people whom we admire and people who influence us with their actions, ideals and achievements. When such individuals inspire us, we consciously and subconsciously absorb the qualities we respect.

A right opportunity at the right time provides the base for developing leadership attributes. When we take up a new job or task, we "believably" anticipate what can and can't be achieved. As we set in, we explore avenues to excel and hence are encouraged to match that desire with increased commitment. As a leader, one is expected to be outstanding and perform beyond their perceived limitations. Interestingly, far from the limelight of busy world, there are many individuals, who in their own small way are making a big difference in many lives. These are the leaders acknowledged probably only in their own small communities/ in their own families but they are the real leaders.

Throughout my student life and also in my career so far, I have been blessed with the opportunity of being in the presence of some exceptional people, who according to me are also successful leaders. The group includes some of my teachers, my friends, my professors, my work supervisors, my colleagues and people I was serving. These are the people who have inspired me in both big and small ways to do the right thing the right way. But I saw the real leader in me rising to prominence when I started to work with victims of exploitation. Once taken out of a situation of abuse, they looked at me with faith and admiration – as someone who gave them a new life…they stared at me with hopeful eyes. And that has been the real test of me as a leader. As their leader I always feared being unsuccessful at fulfilling their hopes, in protecting them when they needed protection, in guiding them in the right direction, in bringing them happiness and love; and in being a friend!

Being one of the fortunate ones, I also got access to resources and opportunities and am happy that I could make good use of it all. With my work experience so far, I have learnt to use analytical skills and my judgmental instincts appropriately to take a positive decision. Seeing myself lead, I had to learn to take decisions as being creative.

Atlas Corps took off as a ground breaking initiative which defined mid career development professionals like me as one of the growing leaders from my part of the world and provided me with an opportunity to connect to the global world to work on global problems. Being with an organization like Free the Slaves gave me an opportunity to view slavery around the world and understand international efforts in combating the same. Most importantly it has encouraged me to act as a leader and contribute with my existing knowledge. Just last week, I got the wonderful opportunity to do a presentation for the master’s students from SIT Graduate Institute (founded over 40 years ago as a training center for early Peace Corps volunteers, the Institute prepares students from more than 30 countries to become informed and effective leaders, professionals, and global citizens.) Talking about slavery as a critical issue, I spoke about FTS strategies and the role of NGO’s, governments, corporates and individuals in tacking the crime with the aim of transferring academic learning into real-world practice in the service of social change. Standing there and addressing a big class where I probably looked the youngest was jittery but a great experience.

The experience that I take back from here would certainly assist me both professionally and personally as I take my work, vision and mission forward. I have learnt about the quintessential qualities of being consistent at work; promote effective communication; encourage and support co- workers; encourage responsibility and most importantly to facilitate leadership by personal example.

Peter Drucker - Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things!

Beauty and the Beast!

White and pink, setting an impression of candy floss and dispersing the sweet scent of spring in the breeze – I am still wondering at the beauty of cherry blossomed trees!

It's the sunny days I enjoy the most in spring...the sun shines bright spreading warmth and the gentle wind blows with silent grace. Thousands of Cherry blossoms, running in a line all around the Tidal basin is one of the most picturesque sights I have come across till date. It is nature in one of its most perfect forms.

Walking around the Tidal Basin for hours, I smiled looking at the unmatched beauty and calmness of cherry blossoms – which are here to stay only for a few days and people would have to wait for an entire year to see them, when they blossom again next spring. (hmmm…I wouldn't be in DC to enjoy this beauty next year).

I am also in the midst of one of the most exciting and most expensive political year for United States. While Bush is busy pushing for interesting changes in the NATO alliance; back home, Obama and Hillary are trying hard to be the Democratic favorite of the nation. Bush’ regime, for all right reasons, has been the most talked about in U.S., and around the world. In year 2003, US led the invasion of Iraq, calling Saddam Hussein’s actions as an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. Five years and still on – the Iraq war has left thousands dead on both sides and a significant percentage of Iraqis who lost their homes continue to live life as refugees. Criticism continues in U.S. for spending millions of dollars in fighting the war, for death of many American military men and for the economic recession that country is going through at the moment.

An interesting highlight has been President Bush’ declaration of a zero-tolerance policy regarding human trafficking, and ironic human rights violation that continued in Iraq in the form of contract sponsored trafficking. Some private businesses, under contract to the Defense Department, were found engaging in human trafficking. It was revealed that those trapped and trafficked met a grim fate: on their way to the US bases, they were kidnapped and later executed by Iraqi insurgents. These men had paid the equivalent of a year's salary to "job brokers" working on a sub-contract from KBR (Kellogg, Brown & Root) so they could be taken. Most of them thought that they would be given work in Jordan but once in Jordan their identification documents were confiscated and they were told that they would be sent to Iraq since there were no jobs available in Jordan. These men had no choice but to stay. Free the Slaves in response to the contractor-sponsored trafficking in Iraq launched the 'WarSlavery' campaign in 2006. The issue was raised to move public action to insist on accountability regarding usage of American tax money, which was being paid to these contractors for businesses in Iraq. It was demanded that such contracts be terminated, victims be freed and compensation and assistance be issued for rebuilding their lives.

With this and more, Bush’ administration now has reached it’s probable last phase. Whosoever comes to power after him perhaps already knows that the legacy would not be so much of a pleasure to take over!

In this political world, there are no ‘friends’ for life. What continues to thrive is worldwide love-hate relationship where every nation is living in constant fear of the other. Even premier international bodies like the UN condemn but fail to act in some most critical situations.

Life continues in Iraq, in midst of a shattered economy. People continue to live with a hope for a better future for Iraq and a better life for their kids. Whatever happens…whenever peace may arrive, the scars may fade but the pain will remain forever. This pain of war is immeasurable!