Life!

Another week has passed…these moments will last forever, not through words but through thoughts. Life is like a race…moving swiftly, with every runner well positioned on the track. With the gun shot, every individual runs his own course. Some people start well – others don’t and while some people have already finished the race, others are now just beginning.

Life…it is in steps, not in elevators and escalators.

Remember the little pleasures in life – (friends and friendship being the centre stage of our lives) laughing out loud, sharing smiles, talking a lot, doing as you please, singing songs, dancing in the rain, falling in love, listening to music (with meaningful parts), making funny faces, linking arms and walking down the street, hearing each other and giving advice – all those ‘so – called’ silly things and silly ways. Hmmm…I miss all those ‘silly’ moments.

Work during the week was fantastic! I attended the Brown Bag lunch and Conference on Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and the Rule of Law for the poor, held at the World Bank office. The conference focused on questions like - Why poverty reduction efforts need to consider
Rule of Law for the poor and what it will take to build it. Mr. Gary A. Haugen - President of
International Justice Mission (IJM) was the speaker for the conference and did a presentation highlighting the IJM experience. It was found that forced labor/human trafficking is representative of a more general failure to provide basic law enforcement protections for the poor in the developing world. IJM's casework experience with thousands of individual poor people provided insights as to why "work- arounds" for broken public justice systems that may
work for economic elites or commerce do not work for poor people, and why the failure of the police, courts and supporting services to protect the poor in their person and property undermines poverty alleviation programs.

I also attended the panel discussion organized by the Human Trafficking Caucus & Human Rights Caucus on rural slave Labor in Brazil along with viewing of the documentary ‘Bound by Promises’. The documentary tells the story of men who set out in search of work and are taken to isolated ranches in the Amazon region, only to find that they have been lured into debt bondage. The U. S. and Brazil share a strong economic relationship and a common vision for the future. The briefing brought to light the issues Brazil has faced, the steps it has taken to overcome them and the blueprint it has laid out for ending the use of forced labor.

I also got the opportunity to speak at an after school civic program, organized by Liberty’s Promise, a local nonprofit organization that supports young immigrants in need. It was very interactive and I spoke all about myself, my background, my work experience and information on slavery issues and community involvement. The immigrant youth groups were very engaged and had a lot of questions to ask.

This was followed by 2 days of office retreat – which actually meant coming together of all the FTS staff, to share updates and strategize for next year. The staff from California and Connecticut office had come down – it was in fact great to put faces to people’s names – with whom I was communicating only via emails.

And then came Diwali – the festival of lights – celebrating the triumph of good over evil. We did a massive Indian dinner – invited a few friends over – did ‘puja’- lighted candles and had a great time together. The following day I had plans to go to New York, to spend the weekend with a really close friend of mine – but phew - I got up with some fever and terrible body ache, and had to cancel my trip. I hope to see her sometime soon – have been waiting to meet her since the time I arrived in US.

Oh yes – during the retreat – one favourite song of every staff was played. I loved Ama’s favourite song – ‘Talk to her’, which goes:

When you talk to her talk to her
Like you'd want somebody a
Talk to your mama
Don't get smart with her
Have a heart to heart
With her just like you
Would with your daughter
Cause everything you do or say
You got to live with every day
She's somebody's baby
She's somebody's sister
She's somebody's mama…

The song celebrates womanhood and the spirit of being a woman.

Cheers!