Indian Social Forum and my new home!
So, finally. About my travels. (or, at least, the beginning of my travels...) :
I was invited to attend the Indian Social Forum in Delhi with a local organization that works on issues of poverty including hawkers. That was November 9-13. It was amazing. Four days of fascinating panel discussions, films, and interactions with people from all over India, representing every social cause under the sun. Also, my Hindi improved dramatically. Almost all of the sessions were in Hindi, so I was forced to listen to it all day long, and even though I usually could find someone to translate for me, sometimes I had to just sit and fend for myself. There were a thousand interesting sessions to attend, but I had to restrict myself to those pertaining to hawkers. So I attended a lot of discussions about the informal sector, about a proposed social security bill, about implementing policies to benefit hawkers, and about organizing to oppose evictions and displacements. I met hawkers' leaders from across India, and got to hang around Medha Patkar and see her organizing in action. Medha is world famous for her opposition to World Bank-funded dams in India. You should Google her and prepare to be inspired. And I can say that she's even more humble and honorable in person than I ever imagined. During the day she was followed around incessantly by a swarm of media people and adoring fans. In one session with her that I attended, in which many hawkers from around the country shared proudly their organizing strategies and successes at home, Medha stood up and very wisely suggested that the group use the time and space to make plans for organizing together, rather than just swapping stories. What do we want to do as a group, she asked? Later that night, when the traditional dances had ended, the food vendors had closed up shop, and most of the adoring crowds had gone home to their hotel rooms, I sat next to Medha on a tarp in a tent, and watched her discussions with 20 or so other dedicated organizers from around the country. They were planning an India-wide campaign to oppose all evictions: it was a joining together of hawkers, those threatened by dams and other big projects, slum activists, and others. As everyone was filtering in she turned to me and commented one the fact that we were the only two women in the group. Later she arranged for someone to translate the meeting's proceedings for me. My translator turned out to be a fascinating young man named Joseph. He is a Catholic, from a middle class family, and so very well-educated and ambitious. At 19 he had landed a job as a software engineer for a firm in Chicago. He wanted to be the next Bill Gates. Then there were horrific riots and mass killings in his homestate of Gujarat, he had some sort of re-awakening, and decided to return to India and become a priest. Now he is in seminary and a follower of Medha's National Alliance of People's Movements.
I also really enjoyed getting to know the others who had come to Delhi with the organization that invited me. I had become friends with that org's intern, who is Canadian, so it was good to spend time with her. And there were also many other volunteers that I became friends with, most notably, Dilip, Amar, Jal, and Sanjeev, in whose neighborhood I'm now living. They are all community organizers and activists, who told me stories about the history of the Indian independence movement. There is an Indian film, Rang de Basanti, that's been nominated for an Oscar. I've seen parts of it and I highly recommend it. It's about a British filmmaker who goes to India for a film, and about Indian youth learning the history of India's freedom fighters and becoming engaged in their own contemporary society. The Britsh filmmaker speaks Hindi in the movie, so people frequently comment when they hear me speak Hindi that I am like Sue. The movie is also good for portraying the breathtaking beauty of India and some of its many historical places.
I finally got settled in a permament apartment yesterday. It is a decently-sized room on the second floor of a small two-storey house. I have my own separate walk-up entrance, a bathroom, and the potential for a kitchen if I choose to buy a small gas stove. For now, I'm taking my meals with the family that lives on the first floor. I'm within walking distance of my new friends Sanjeev, Amar, and Dilip, as well as their community center/library, the Joy Social Club. The other week Joy put on a poster event, displaying posters and handing out literature on the street about HIV/AIDS and condom usage. The also give birthday parties for children in the community who are orphans or whose families can't afford to celebrate. At night, the community center has English class tutorials, and Sanjeev's house is constantly full of community children doing homework, singing and dancing. It's a great community. Sanjeev is in his mid-20s.
I would love it if all of you reading this would send me a postcard from where you are, so that I can hear from you and so that I'll have something to decorate the walls of my new place with. I also think my Indian friends would be excited to see pictures of different places in the US. And of course, other treats and letters are also always welcome :) Here's my new address, and I hope to hear from you!
Cheryl Deutsch
87/615 1st Floor, Vrindavan
Co Op Hsg Soc Ltd, MHB Colony
Sarvoday Nagar, Jogeshwari (E)
Mumbai 400 060, INDIA
I was invited to attend the Indian Social Forum in Delhi with a local organization that works on issues of poverty including hawkers. That was November 9-13. It was amazing. Four days of fascinating panel discussions, films, and interactions with people from all over India, representing every social cause under the sun. Also, my Hindi improved dramatically. Almost all of the sessions were in Hindi, so I was forced to listen to it all day long, and even though I usually could find someone to translate for me, sometimes I had to just sit and fend for myself. There were a thousand interesting sessions to attend, but I had to restrict myself to those pertaining to hawkers. So I attended a lot of discussions about the informal sector, about a proposed social security bill, about implementing policies to benefit hawkers, and about organizing to oppose evictions and displacements. I met hawkers' leaders from across India, and got to hang around Medha Patkar and see her organizing in action. Medha is world famous for her opposition to World Bank-funded dams in India. You should Google her and prepare to be inspired. And I can say that she's even more humble and honorable in person than I ever imagined. During the day she was followed around incessantly by a swarm of media people and adoring fans. In one session with her that I attended, in which many hawkers from around the country shared proudly their organizing strategies and successes at home, Medha stood up and very wisely suggested that the group use the time and space to make plans for organizing together, rather than just swapping stories. What do we want to do as a group, she asked? Later that night, when the traditional dances had ended, the food vendors had closed up shop, and most of the adoring crowds had gone home to their hotel rooms, I sat next to Medha on a tarp in a tent, and watched her discussions with 20 or so other dedicated organizers from around the country. They were planning an India-wide campaign to oppose all evictions: it was a joining together of hawkers, those threatened by dams and other big projects, slum activists, and others. As everyone was filtering in she turned to me and commented one the fact that we were the only two women in the group. Later she arranged for someone to translate the meeting's proceedings for me. My translator turned out to be a fascinating young man named Joseph. He is a Catholic, from a middle class family, and so very well-educated and ambitious. At 19 he had landed a job as a software engineer for a firm in Chicago. He wanted to be the next Bill Gates. Then there were horrific riots and mass killings in his homestate of Gujarat, he had some sort of re-awakening, and decided to return to India and become a priest. Now he is in seminary and a follower of Medha's National Alliance of People's Movements.
I also really enjoyed getting to know the others who had come to Delhi with the organization that invited me. I had become friends with that org's intern, who is Canadian, so it was good to spend time with her. And there were also many other volunteers that I became friends with, most notably, Dilip, Amar, Jal, and Sanjeev, in whose neighborhood I'm now living. They are all community organizers and activists, who told me stories about the history of the Indian independence movement. There is an Indian film, Rang de Basanti, that's been nominated for an Oscar. I've seen parts of it and I highly recommend it. It's about a British filmmaker who goes to India for a film, and about Indian youth learning the history of India's freedom fighters and becoming engaged in their own contemporary society. The Britsh filmmaker speaks Hindi in the movie, so people frequently comment when they hear me speak Hindi that I am like Sue. The movie is also good for portraying the breathtaking beauty of India and some of its many historical places.
I finally got settled in a permament apartment yesterday. It is a decently-sized room on the second floor of a small two-storey house. I have my own separate walk-up entrance, a bathroom, and the potential for a kitchen if I choose to buy a small gas stove. For now, I'm taking my meals with the family that lives on the first floor. I'm within walking distance of my new friends Sanjeev, Amar, and Dilip, as well as their community center/library, the Joy Social Club. The other week Joy put on a poster event, displaying posters and handing out literature on the street about HIV/AIDS and condom usage. The also give birthday parties for children in the community who are orphans or whose families can't afford to celebrate. At night, the community center has English class tutorials, and Sanjeev's house is constantly full of community children doing homework, singing and dancing. It's a great community. Sanjeev is in his mid-20s.
I would love it if all of you reading this would send me a postcard from where you are, so that I can hear from you and so that I'll have something to decorate the walls of my new place with. I also think my Indian friends would be excited to see pictures of different places in the US. And of course, other treats and letters are also always welcome :) Here's my new address, and I hope to hear from you!
Cheryl Deutsch
87/615 1st Floor, Vrindavan
Co Op Hsg Soc Ltd, MHB Colony
Sarvoday Nagar, Jogeshwari (E)
Mumbai 400 060, INDIA