A Short Video On the Dalit Women of India

For those of who are interested in knowing more about the people I am trying to help, I found this short clip that shows the hard truth about the lives of Dalit Women in India. 

Navsarjan aims to empower the Dalit women in Gujarat, but they face extreme challenges and their work has only scratched the surface of the problem. 

My Morning in Photos

I had an incredibly productive and wonderful day today. I finished my concept note for the Environment Issues Campaign I am trying to launch here at Navsarjan, made really good headway with the Children's Book I am currently writing, and had my mind blown and my heart expanded by my mornings venture into the field. Yeah, overall I would say I am feeling pretty good right now. 

So today I wanted to share with you photos of the people I met and had tea with this morning. 

Every day is another opportunity to have a magical experience. 

Today these people made mine. I hope you enjoy the portraits, it was an honor and a pleasure to take them. 

Conference on Atrocities Act

Today I attended a conference on the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act...I know its a mouthful. This act is suppose to help prevent atrocities against the Dalits and Tribals, but the Act is almost never implemented properly. In fact every year the amount of atrocities registered against Dalits and Tribals in increasing by three percent. 

Four acts of atrocities are occurring every fifteen minutes in India. 

These acts include crimes such as battery, rape, murder, sexual abuse, etc.

 After twenty years of existence the bill has not done much to help end violent crimes against these discriminated groups. At the conference activists and organizations who deal with these crimes shared there experiences and talked about the amendments that have been suggested for the bill. There were three panels on various aspects of the bill, the need for witness and victim protection, and the current climate of the local authorities in regards to this ongoing issue. Each panel was followed by discussion. The conference was almost entirely in Gujarati but thankfully I had Manjula next to me translating so I could follow along. 

Tomorrow the organizations will come together to create a plan of action for the next year, of how they are going to start addressing these atrocities...trying to come up with creative new ways to insure that the bill is properly implemented and that justice is serve. They want to create a mass movement so people will start demanding the government keeps good on its work and fulfills its role as enforcer of the rule of law. 

It was inspiring seeing all of these organizations come together, there was so much fire and passion in the activists. They have a lot of fight left in them despite being up against seemingly unbeatable odds. The experiences they shared and the case reports they retold were both shocking and heart wrenching, but their unwillingness to back down inspired me. 

Yesterday, I wrote about questioning the quality of man especially after being faced with the horrendous evils men can inflict on one another. But today I realized that those same acts can and often do create individuals with the best qualities of man. 

For in each of the cases discussed today there was definitely always a person who had committed some unsightly act, but then there was also always a person fight to right that wrong. 

Justice may not always have been served... but these people stood up with courage and empathy for the rights of their fellow man and raged hard with all the strength in their heart to make a difference. 

And I think just by their seer presence they have made a difference.,.they have shown this community of traditionally outcaste people that they are not alone, that they matter, and that there are people who care about them, and are willing to stand and fight with them for their rights.

It was a long day, but I feel inspired after it. 

I feel as though my faith in the potential of people is better then ever. 

The fire in an activist is bright enough to light even the darkest of corners and bold enough to set the world a flame.

Questioning the Quality of Man

Yesterday I went on another field visit. We went to go meet four boys who were wrongfully arrested by the police. The oldest boy was 12 and the youngest one was 8. They had been arrested by the police and then held for three days while the police tortured them. The police refused to let the boys eat, or go to the latrine while they held them in custody.

 I edited the report that was to be sent out about this case a month ago, but yesterday was the first time I actually got to met the boys. The police tried to cover their tracks by accusing the boys of stealing a memory card from a person's phone. The person who supposedly filed that complaint had never even been to the police station. He was incredibly scared about how they had gotten his name and what would happen to him if he got involved in the case. 

The four police officers and the police chief who were involved in the torture all have been transferred, but no charges have been filed against them at this time. The boys were only released from jail because immense amounts of public pressure and media coverage. Taking criminal action against the police officers is another case all together. After seeing the boys and talking to their fathers we decided to file an affidavit with the High Court. 

The boys were screamed at, starved, beaten, and tortured for three days. The police officers used nails on the boys puncturing their skin all over, and still a over month later you could see the scares. As we talked about the details of the case I could see the one of the boys reliving those painful three days in his head. He starred off into the distance with pain in his eyes, he had been the main one they said stole the memory card.

 It is hard to believe that something like this can happen. That men who are suppose to protect and serve their country can instill such fear and terror in its people. It makes you wonder "who are the good guys?", and "how can you tell?"I am glad we decided to take this case on... and that the fear of failing has not prevented the act of trying. We will try and seek justice for these boys and show that there are still some people within the justice system of moral substance. 

I know there is still quality men in this world, but when i come across cases like this one it is hard to believe sometimes. 

How can some people be so cruel? How can they inflict such pain?

Ok...Ready?...TALK!

Recently... I have had to give a number of impromptu speeches. Manjula and I will be out in the field and all of a sudden our hosts will ask me to say something. Normally I am all to happy to talk, but trying to communicate to a crowd of individuals who do not speak your language can be a little daunting. You want to say something that will interest them or inspire them, but you can't make it to complicated because someone will have to translate for you. 

And after being here a month I have picked up enough of the context clues to realize that most translators never take the time to say exactly what you said. They summarize, saying only what they think is important and add their own points to explain what you said. 

 The kids always ask the same questions: "Where are you from?" "What is your name?""What is your father's, mother's, brother's, sister's name?" and "What are your hobbies?" These questions make up the few english phrases that they have learned in school. 

 For some reason another favorite request of the people here is to hear me sing. I am not a singer. I will join a chorus happily, but singing solo is not something I am particularly keen on doing. And honestly every time I am asked to sing, every lyric and song that I have ever learned seems to temporarily leave my memory. Its almost as if my brain shuts down at the idea of singing in public, at that point I normally just turn the tables and get the kids to sing for me. Having 80 to 120 buddies to sing with seems to be a little easier, then just me alone in front of all of them. 

I figure by the time I am done here I will be used to presenting in front of crowds no matter the size or the language barrier, which can only help me with my work in the long run. Especially since I will be presenting the Environmental Issues Campaign I am spearheading for Navsarjan at their strategic planning conference in September to their 150 employees. 

Learning how to talk at a moments notice in front of crowds of various sizes, backgrounds, and with language barriers is just one more thing I am learning from this wonderful experience. And so far I have come to realize that the people who ask me to speak have an honest interest in me and the work I do. So as long I am passionate about what I am doing it will come across in what I say even if I may stumble at first to find the right words, eventually I know they will come. 

Getting to the Heart of Field Work

I went out into the field again today...I left DSK campus at 8:45a.m. and returned at 8p.m. 

It was an especially long day...but every part of the day reaffirmed my passion for this work. 

The last day I spent in the field was documenting environmental issues, today I saw the human side of the issues we work with here at Navsarjan.

It started with a visit to meet the survivor of gang rape...She was 11, though she didn't look older then 8. On June 28th three men saw her walking from her school to the well to fetch some water. They offered her 20 rupees (28 cents) to sweep their house. Once she was inside, one of the men held her arms, another her legs, while the third had his way with her...then they switched positions until all three had their chance with her. They gave her 200 rupees (less than 4 dollars) not to tell anyone.

Have unconscious and profusely bleeding, she was too scared and traumatized to tell her family what happened. It wasn't until the next day, after she visited the doctor, that her parents found out she had been raped and they were able to file a police report. 

I sat in the room as Manjula and four of Navsarjan's field workers discussed the case with the girl's family. They were also speaking in Gujarati, but it wasn't hard to get the gist of what they were saying. The entire time they were talking I was watching the little girl hold back tears. She was on full time bed rest being still weak from the experience and healing from the injuries they had caused her.

My heart was breaking...I wanted so badly to talk to this girl... tell her it was all going to be ok...that the people I was working with were going to make sure something was done. But I didn't have the words, so I just sat there until they were finished talking. Manjula started showing the little girl some pictures on her phone, and the girl started to smile. I had brought my camera and had some cute pictures of the monkeys at our campus. I went and sat next to her and started showing her the photos, and when she looked down at the baby monkey her eyes light up, she smiled, and said monkey in gujarati. She wanted to see more and more photos, it made my heart melt that I was able to do something to bring a smile to her face once again.
 When we finally left she was sad to see us go and really wanted to see us off but could not leave her bed.

After that visit we went to another girl's house who was 16 and had survived a gang rape by four men. Her case was scheduled to go to trial within the next couple of weeks.
 From there we went to one of the poorest Dalit villages in all of Ahmedabad to talk about the discrimination they were experiencing and the water scarcity/pollution that was affecting them because of the discrimination.

As I said it was an incredibly long day and emotionally tiring...but overall I felt inspired to act, Now I have seen the human faces of human rights violations, I know there names, I have shared tea with them...and I will do as much as I possibly can to help them. 

My Work with Pollution

So far my Blog hasn't really mentioned much about the work I am doing here but that is because up until now my internship/research has been kind of slow going. But yesterday I had a meeting with the Director Manjula Pradeep and the organization's lawyer to discuss the cases I will be working on while I am here. For the most part I will be looking into environmental issues (aka various cases of pollution) that affect the people Navsarjan aims to help. 

I am not going to go into to much detail cause frankly I do not want to bore you, and for most of you the details would be insignificant because you're not familiar with this part of India. 

But today I went on my first official field visits to document pollution in the area and take some water samples. I was honestly shocked, saddened, and appalled at what I saw. Below are just a few of the pictures I took today to give you some idea to what I am talking about. 

No I did not alter this photo in any way... the water was really that pink. And in rural India most people do not have access to  water filtration systems. They drink water from wells, which tape into the local ground water or water tables.  That means this water is mixing with the water the locals are drinking causing them all sorts of health problems such as birth defects.

The dogs skin turned green from the air pollution admitted by the plant located behind them. Thankfully the plant was closed two years ago because of a petition filed by Navsarjan. But unfortunately the land is now unusable but families still live within a hundred yards of the plant, and nothing is being done to ratified the damage they have done. 

The one thing about India that really bothers me (beside the way people treat animals, especially dogs), is the littering. The is an overall lack of education and a dependence on plastic that leaves much of India looking like this. This photo was one of the local village's pond which fed write into the water pump that the entire community drank from. 

More polluted water... : (

We actually caught this truck/company in the act of dumping waste right next to one of the villages we were visiting. He was essentially dumping it into the waterways. Don't worry I took plenty of pictures and got the license plate number. 

We took water samples from all of the villages we visited to send off to the lab. Below is a picture of the lake we took this sample from. 

The trees turned black and died because of all the chemicals in the water. Even sadder then this is the fact that a family that lived right next to this site, had a water pump they used for drinking water that drew directly out of this lake.

The entire time I was documenting the pollution, Sushma was documenting me. She says I need pictures of myself and that she is going to make a documentary about my trip. This was taken in the Industrial Corridor, where the corporations who are responsible for the pollution are located. I am taking a photo of a pump that was hooked up to a truck dumping stuff into the lake behind me. 

Here I am video tapping this gentleman's comments about the pollution. 

(Side note: Like me new Indian outfit? I know you were looking at it...haha! I am not so sure about the pants but the dress part is nice)

But I will keep you updated on my work and research as things progress. 

Now more then ever I feel blessed to have been born into the life that I was...where I never had to worry about the essentials...where my drinking water was not only safe for me to drink, but some of the best tasting in the country. (Thank you Washington) So this is a thanks to whomever or whatever gave me the life and opportunities that I have. 

Snow White

Something you may not know about India... is that it is currently monsoon season where I am and incredibly hot. This means that temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and it dumps rain. While I was lucky enough to miss the hottest part of the season (which occurs in May and early June) the monsoon rains are particularly late this year, making temperatures still on the hot side. 

You are probably wondering what this has to do with Snow White...don't worry I will explain it in a second. 

Needless to say the extreme heat and lack of air conditioning, plus incredibly modest clothing, means I'm definitely not looking my best these days. That said, I am not here to look good, I am here to work. But despite being drenched in sweat majority of the day, I have never been told more how beautiful I am by the young girls taking classes here. They are enamored with the color of my skin, which to them is quite fair (despite a tan that I was pretty proud of before I left). A few of the girls have even started referring to me as Snow White... a nick name I never thought I would get. 

To me they are the beautiful ones.. for as I sit here unaccustomed to the elements, dripping sweat... they seem quite at ease in some of the most colorful and beautiful saris and dresses I have ever seen. 

But here light skin is something to be revered...the color of one's skin became a part of the caste system when the light skinned Aryans conquered India. They used the caste system to help keep themselves in a higher position, and the Tamil people, a darker skinned people below them. 

That's why today the Dalit (the group I am specifically working with here) are traditionally some of the darkest skinned people in India. 

The Caste System is often referred to as Varna which means color, and sadly the color of one's skin often dictates how one is treated. Unfortunately, this statement has been true the world over. 

But the fact is the world would be boring if everything and everyone was all one shade. It is my hope that one day people everywhere will realize that true beauty comes from within, and that the skin we wear is nothing more then the shell that our soul resides in for this lifetime. 

Reason for the Title and the Blog

Two days ago I arrived to India for the beginning of a four month research trip. While here I will be working with several different organizations. My internship for the next few months is with a wonderful NGO (Non Governmental Organization) called Navsarjan. (Don't worry I will go into extreme depth about the work they do later) The internship and research project I am currently involved with are requirements for the completion of my Master's in Peace and Justice Studies.

I am creating this blog both so that my family and friends can keep track of the work I am doing, and so that I may have a space to reflect on my experience here.

I decided to title this blog "Cultivating Compassion"because of the book I am currently reading, a book by His Holiness the Dalai Lama called Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World. The book speaks of the difference between empathy and compassion. While "empathy is characterized by a kind of emotional resonance--feeling with the other person, compassion, in contrast, is not just sharing experience with others, but also wishing to see them relieved of their suffering." 

"Compassion means wanting to do something to relieve the hardships of others, and this desire to help, far from dragging us further into suffering ourselves, actually gives is energy and a sense of purpose and direction." 

This is what I am seeking to do with my time here. It is my hope that my work here will help relieve the  Dalit "Untoucables" of a little bit of their hardships, and will help me feel secure in the direction my studies and life have taken me thus far. I want my work to be filled with purpose, and for my own circle of concern to be broadened so that I may leave here one step closer to a sense of universal compassion. 

So for the next four months I will be working towards CULTIVATING COMPASSION.