Complicated Surgery: Crash course in God’s Love
This one I must begin at the beginning but the fact that I am writing about my weakest moment which actually turned out to be my strongest one, shows that I am doing fine. It was a crash course in knowing God’s awesome love for me. Now I do not remember the pain, the three months of trouble, all that is a vague memory. What I remember is how God taught me so much about his character and how he fulfilled his promise made to all of us actually….. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Recently I underwent a complicated surgery to remove a gastric band (it’s a band tied to the stomach surgically which reduces your stomach size and therefore reduced your consumption so one loses weight, or so the theory goes…because it did not work for me.) I had this surgery seven years ago in Ahmedabad. I was actually the first one to have a gastric band installed in my stomach at the first ever obesity surgeon’s conference in India held in Ahmedabad in 2003. I got operated by an Italian doctor. My dad did tell me that I was being made a guinea pig but it was a free surgery and the band alone cost Rs 1.25 lakhs at that time so I thought it was a great opportunity.
To get back to the story, my gastric band eroded, meaning it cut into my stomach lining and caused a lot of abscess. I had inflammation in my stomach since December but the doctor I was seeing then was not able to detect what was wrong. I had a small operation in Ahmedabad by the Indian surgeon who was part of the team to install the gastric band 7 years ago but he only removed part of the band which was imbedded superficially which is called the port of the adjustable gastric band. He removed it through local anesthesia and left the wound open since there was infection. He said it would heal eventually. So we keep bandaging it for two months yet it did not close completely and oozed pus. Abigail, my elder daughter, was the one who did the dressing daily. I was consulting a surgeon in delhi who was known to the Ahmedabad doctor. He said the wound would heal.
Meanwhile another swelling I could detect deep inside my stomach near the wound. I showed that to the doctor but he said it was just edema and would eventually subside. Instead slowly that swelling erupted on the surface, very near the first wound. It was a very large boil with many heads. It was very painful. I couldn’t sleep on my sides. I could only sleep straight which also gave me a back ache. Again I showed the doctor and we decided to drain the pus in Fortis Jessa Ram. We decided to claim my medi-claim so though it was going to be done under local anesthesia the Hospital made a Rs 55,000 bill. But since it was a Saturday evening we were not able to get approval for the small surgery and I returned back home.
I was so disappointed and in lot of pain. I wondered what was God’s plan in this. But it was a blessing that the approval did not come on that day or else I would have been operated to drain the pus and the larger problem would have remained undetected. Maybe it would take another eruption of abscess before we could have figured out that there was a much larger problem inside. So one of the lessons I learnt was that sometimes God does not answer our prayers because he knows the truth. We can only ask him from the little knowledge we have of the situation but he has the whole picture.
Okay, so that was March 6. The doctor was going off for a wedding to Ludhania. He would only return on Tuesday evening. I returned back and just took some antibiotics to keep the abscess in control. Again this was also a blessing or God’s way of directing me to the right direction. On March 8, Women’s Day we (meaning members of the India Women’s Press Corps) went to Rastrapathi Bhavan for tea since the President had invited us. I talked to the press secretary of the President and asked her to recommend me at AIIMS so that I could get treatment swiftly. I knew that to just get an Out Patient Department card made at AIIMS people line up from the previous night. The press secretary talked to the director of AIIMS who asked me to come the next day, so on Tuesday, March 9th I went to AIIMS bypassing the long lines. I really feel sorry for all those sick people who come for treatment at AIIMS and have to wait for days to just see a junior doctor. I also had to wait but mostly hours outside the doctor’s room, not days.
The doctor looked at my stomach and immediately said I should get an upper abdomen endoscopy since it looked like a case of band erosion. That was the first time I heard about band erosion. I learnt that the band can cut inside the stomach lining and get really entangled inside. I went for the endoscopy and sure enough the band was visible from inside my stomach. So the doctor asked me to get a private room at the hospital so that he could operate me. I went for the room to the medical superintendent. The date given to me was April 28, almost a month and a half away. Again I went to the director and got a recommendation letter and was given March 19th as the date when I could get admitted. I informed the doctor; he told me they would operate on me on Monday or Tuesday so I got admitted a day later on Saturday, March 20th.
Let me tell you something here. I have been a journalist for a long time so I am used to being in a position of power, but these days I do not have a job so no power. I started a new media and communications company in November, did one assignment only and since December I was sick and unable to concentrate on work to a large extend or pitch for new projects, therefore I was practically jobless and without money. That is a real tough situation to be in especially if you live in a rented house with two children to support singly in a city like Delhi. I was praying about deliverance. I kept asking God that now I am weak and Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12: 10b. “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” I asked God now I am weak so when will I be strong or when will I feel strong.
Actually I was struggling with finances big time and paying bills and taking care of my wounds, I was just not prepared for a major operation. I just had no money of it. I was probably down to my last Rs 1000 with the rent and the car loan not paid, fees of both the girls not paid and many other things like my insurance, and an insurance which I took in Abigail’s name not paid, I was wondering where I would come up with the money. I told God that he has to do something. I did not take up a full time job as a journalist because I could have more time to serve him so I started a company but then I was waylaid with this infection in my stomach.
The bottom just fell off my world when I knew I would have to go in for a major operation…. I just went lower than where I was already and I had thought it couldn’t get any worse than this. But God was working all the time.
My mom was not able to come since she has just had a pace maker installed in her heart and would not be of help in Delhi. My younger sister who is very resourceful was eight months pregnant so that ruled her out, my brother was just recovering from a major illness so my mom sent my elder sister who is not so resourceful but can manage the house and take care of my younger daughter Sera. Mom told me not to worry about money. We even contemplated selling some of my gold. My brother sent me Rs 20,000 so I had some money to atleast get admitted to AIIMS. I estimated that I would need around Rs 35,000 but eventually we needed Rs 50,000. But family, friends and many totally unexpected sources gave or lent me money.
But the amazing part is not just finances, on the day of the surgery; I was totally calm, though I knew that it can be dangerous, getting operated in general anesthesia since I have hypothyroid and also high blood pressure. But all my parameters were normal. I learnt another verse first hand on the day of my operation, March 22, Phil 4: 7 “And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” When I went for the operation, I had a Christian friend with me, as Abigail (my elder daughter) had gone with Sera (My younger daughter). Sera had to appear for an entrance exam at Carmel Convent. My friend prayed with me. When I went inside, I did know I would live after the operation but I also knew that anything can go wrong in a surgery. Amazingly, I had the peace of God and I knew that if anything happened to me, God would take care of my daughters. So I went for the operation with a great peace of mind, no tension.
Just then my doctor, Sandeep Aggarwal came. I told him not to mess up my stomach with scars but he told me the greater worry for getting the band out which is a very complicated operation. He told me that they were lucky that they had an Australian doctor which them who was experienced in band surgeries and their removal and that he would be also helping them in the operation. So God was planning for me way ahead. How could I know I needed a more experienced Australian doctor for my surgery? I knew that Dr Aggarwal had done only two previous surgeries where the band had eroded. Before the anesthetist could knock me off, I told her I needed to pray so I prayed loudly and committed the whole team, the instruments, their hands, their wisdom and my body to God. At least some ten doctors including residents were present there. After the operation I was just fine, lots of pain but fine. Doctors told me I would be okay though the operation was complicated. They told me the operation would take about 45 minutes to an hour but it took three and a half hours.
I discovered what God was teaching me all along that He alone was enough. It was like He was saying to me, “I alone am enough… You do not need anyone. I learnt the meaning of another verse from Isaiah 49: 15, “Can a woman forget her nursing child. And have no compassion on the son of her womb. Even these may forge, but I will not forget you.” I used to wonder how a mother can forget her children. Being a single mother and spending all my time, effort and money on my children I used to wonder about this verse. But I learnt it firsthand during my surgery. My mother was not able to come but God was there for me. I had so many women from the Apostle’s Methodist Church come and support me that I am totally overwhelmed. I mean women from the church who I do not know so well came and did intimate tasks for me. They took me to the bathroom, helped me gargle my mouth and spit in a kidney tray which they had to throw away. They had to measure the urine for record…. Things I would not expect even some of my family members to do but they did it. I was overwhelmed that Jemila ( a lady from the church) came despite not having a car and a driver, she had to travel by two buses back to her house. Shreedevi (another church member) came when I was still not able to go to the bathroom on my own and Kamla Prabhakar (another church member) took leave from her government job. My dad was a government officer; I know that one does not take leave just to look after some person in the hospital who you do not even know well. Pastor’s wife Mrs. I C Singh also came and so did many others. Also Rina (another church member) for making such a wonderful chicken soup as such short notice. I found that though the women of my house, my mother and sister was not able to come, I found for the first time what it means to be a part of the family of God in AMC. I really want to thank the women of Apostle’s Methodist Church, some of my other friends and the pastors for visiting me and giving me confidence and all the other my friends and family praying for me.
After the operation I was not allowed to drink water for four days since they wanted to check whether there was any leakage in my stomach wherever they had stitched all the ruptures caused by the band. So after four days when Jemila was with me, we went for Gastrography test which showed that I had not leakage and that now I could drink water. Actually God was working every step of the way. First we did not get the date for the Gatrography test and it would have been done on Friday but God intervened and despite everyone saying it was not possible, the test was done on Thursday and from that day onwards I could drink sips of water…
When I couldn’t drink water, I learnt the meaning of another verse from Mathew 4: 4, “Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” When I could not drink water and therefore was not able to talk due to the dryness in my mouth I thought of this verse and understood. Doctors would say I was on IVs so I was well able to survive without water but the dryness in my mouth was another thing altogether.
Despite all that God was doing I still showed little faith. I was scared when doctors did not come to find a new vein so that they could give me injectable medicines on the fifth day and I behaved rudely when all I needed to do was just ask God. Even on the day I was being discharged I thought since it was Sunday we would not have enough money to pay the final bills but we had enough money.
On top of it, my younger daughter Sera who performed badly in her entrance exams which she gave on the day I got operated was given admission in Carmel Convent despite her poor scores and we again had enough money to pay her fees. We paid two rents, the car loan, the insurance, fees of both the girls and all other bills. My sister told me that God sometimes had amazing ways to help us. I went through the surgery where I learnt so much about God and how much he cares for me. I knew that he is always in control, but I experienced in first hand in his very interesting ways of solving my problems. So now I am rid of the band, most of my debts are paid, I do have some new ones though to family members and I know God will be there to guide me in the future also.
My mom also had any amazing vision while she was praying for me during my surgery. She said she saw Jesus along with the doctors peering into my stomach when they were performing the operation. She said she saw that vision for one whole hour with her eyes open. From that time onwards she knew I would be fine and nothing could harm me. And I am fine. No post operative complications.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Activists urge Centre to decriminalise sex trade
Activists urge Centre to decriminalise sex trade
By SONAL KELLOGG
Pune, Feb. 18: Social activists working with sex workers want the government to decriminalise the trade as they feel this pushes the trade underground and prevents the sex workers from seeking health services. It also has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers.
Explaining the complexity of the situation, social activist Meena Seshu, who has been working with sex workers for 15 years, said in a talk on "Between Vice and Victimhood" here, "Sex workers are asking for their ‘services’ to be recognised as work allowing individuals involved in the trade to demand their business rights, human rights and occupational health and safety regulations. Most of them do not want to be thought of as victims who are in need of being rescued."
This is where the situation gets caught up in the myriad complexities. This is true even of the government position. The Human Right Watch’s report on "Epidemic of Abuse: Police Harassment of HIV/AIDS Outreach Workers in India" said: "In practice, one branch of the government, the public health service, relies on the non governmental sector to provide condoms and information to persons at high risk, another branch of the government, the law enforcement establishment, abuses those who provide these services."
The problem stems from the stereotyping of sex workers, said Ms Seshu. She said, "Either sex workers are perceived as social outcasts, exploited victims or as vectors of diseases like AIDS and STD. The popular belief is that no women wants to be in this profession and that the only way to give them their rights is to ‘free’ them of their trade." But she said that after working with sex workers for years, she has learnt that they want their sex work to be recognised as work and that it should be decriminalised.
She said that this perspective helps sex workers articulate the violation of their rights as sex workers and helps them claim worker’s rights.
Government policy is also not cohesive, she said. "The Immoral Trafficking Protection Act," said Ms Seshu, "is largely used to abuse sex workers and the backlash of this is that it threatens HIV prevention efforts and forces people underground. It halts work and discourages people from accessing services. Also, it has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers."
However, being outcasts and not being recognised is not just an Indian problem. Increasingly, this language is being seen in international discourses on sex work, specifically in the US HIV strategy and the UN policies, said Ms Seshu. She said that the US anti-trafficking lobby has institutionalised this claim by linking it to HIV funding. The Prostitution Pledge, as it is called, of the US has to be signed by all those who want to have access to US funding to fight AIDS.
The pledge is: "Prostitution and other sexual victimisation are degrading to women and children in the sex industry, trafficking of individuals into such industry and sexual violence are additional causes of and factors in the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic."
Brazil as a country refused to sign this pledge and refused $40 million of US funding for AIDS. Ms Seshu said the problem is that this makes it appear that sex work, trafficking and sexual violence are one and the same thing, which is not true. It is difficult to work with sex workers if one is going to equate sex work with sexual violence and consider it degrading, which is not how sex workers see themselves, she said.
She said, "We ask sex workers to form a collective so that they have a voice and can ask for what they want and what the government can do for them. They can get out of being marginalised and exploited if they get organised."
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By SONAL KELLOGG
Pune, Feb. 18: Social activists working with sex workers want the government to decriminalise the trade as they feel this pushes the trade underground and prevents the sex workers from seeking health services. It also has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers.
Explaining the complexity of the situation, social activist Meena Seshu, who has been working with sex workers for 15 years, said in a talk on "Between Vice and Victimhood" here, "Sex workers are asking for their ‘services’ to be recognised as work allowing individuals involved in the trade to demand their business rights, human rights and occupational health and safety regulations. Most of them do not want to be thought of as victims who are in need of being rescued."
This is where the situation gets caught up in the myriad complexities. This is true even of the government position. The Human Right Watch’s report on "Epidemic of Abuse: Police Harassment of HIV/AIDS Outreach Workers in India" said: "In practice, one branch of the government, the public health service, relies on the non governmental sector to provide condoms and information to persons at high risk, another branch of the government, the law enforcement establishment, abuses those who provide these services."
The problem stems from the stereotyping of sex workers, said Ms Seshu. She said, "Either sex workers are perceived as social outcasts, exploited victims or as vectors of diseases like AIDS and STD. The popular belief is that no women wants to be in this profession and that the only way to give them their rights is to ‘free’ them of their trade." But she said that after working with sex workers for years, she has learnt that they want their sex work to be recognised as work and that it should be decriminalised.
She said that this perspective helps sex workers articulate the violation of their rights as sex workers and helps them claim worker’s rights.
Government policy is also not cohesive, she said. "The Immoral Trafficking Protection Act," said Ms Seshu, "is largely used to abuse sex workers and the backlash of this is that it threatens HIV prevention efforts and forces people underground. It halts work and discourages people from accessing services. Also, it has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers."
However, being outcasts and not being recognised is not just an Indian problem. Increasingly, this language is being seen in international discourses on sex work, specifically in the US HIV strategy and the UN policies, said Ms Seshu. She said that the US anti-trafficking lobby has institutionalised this claim by linking it to HIV funding. The Prostitution Pledge, as it is called, of the US has to be signed by all those who want to have access to US funding to fight AIDS.
The pledge is: "Prostitution and other sexual victimisation are degrading to women and children in the sex industry, trafficking of individuals into such industry and sexual violence are additional causes of and factors in the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic."
Brazil as a country refused to sign this pledge and refused $40 million of US funding for AIDS. Ms Seshu said the problem is that this makes it appear that sex work, trafficking and sexual violence are one and the same thing, which is not true. It is difficult to work with sex workers if one is going to equate sex work with sexual violence and consider it degrading, which is not how sex workers see themselves, she said.
She said, "We ask sex workers to form a collective so that they have a voice and can ask for what they want and what the government can do for them. They can get out of being marginalised and exploited if they get organised."
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Activists urge Centre to decriminalise sex trade
Activists urge Centre to decriminalise sex trade
By SONAL KELLOGG
Pune, Feb. 18: Social activists working with sex workers want the government to decriminalise the trade as they feel this pushes the trade underground and prevents the sex workers from seeking health services. It also has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers.
Explaining the complexity of the situation, social activist Meena Seshu, who has been working with sex workers for 15 years, said in a talk on "Between Vice and Victimhood" here, "Sex workers are asking for their ‘services’ to be recognised as work allowing individuals involved in the trade to demand their business rights, human rights and occupational health and safety regulations. Most of them do not want to be thought of as victims who are in need of being rescued."
This is where the situation gets caught up in the myriad complexities. This is true even of the government position. The Human Right Watch’s report on "Epidemic of Abuse: Police Harassment of HIV/AIDS Outreach Workers in India" said: "In practice, one branch of the government, the public health service, relies on the non governmental sector to provide condoms and information to persons at high risk, another branch of the government, the law enforcement establishment, abuses those who provide these services."
The problem stems from the stereotyping of sex workers, said Ms Seshu. She said, "Either sex workers are perceived as social outcasts, exploited victims or as vectors of diseases like AIDS and STD. The popular belief is that no women wants to be in this profession and that the only way to give them their rights is to ‘free’ them of their trade." But she said that after working with sex workers for years, she has learnt that they want their sex work to be recognised as work and that it should be decriminalised.
She said that this perspective helps sex workers articulate the violation of their rights as sex workers and helps them claim worker’s rights.
Government policy is also not cohesive, she said. "The Immoral Trafficking Protection Act," said Ms Seshu, "is largely used to abuse sex workers and the backlash of this is that it threatens HIV prevention efforts and forces people underground. It halts work and discourages people from accessing services. Also, it has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers."
However, being outcasts and not being recognised is not just an Indian problem. Increasingly, this language is being seen in international discourses on sex work, specifically in the US HIV strategy and the UN policies, said Ms Seshu. She said that the US anti-trafficking lobby has institutionalised this claim by linking it to HIV funding. The Prostitution Pledge, as it is called, of the US has to be signed by all those who want to have access to US funding to fight AIDS.
The pledge is: "Prostitution and other sexual victimisation are degrading to women and children in the sex industry, trafficking of individuals into such industry and sexual violence are additional causes of and factors in the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic."
Brazil as a country refused to sign this pledge and refused $40 million of US funding for AIDS. Ms Seshu said the problem is that this makes it appear that sex work, trafficking and sexual violence are one and the same thing, which is not true. It is difficult to work with sex workers if one is going to equate sex work with sexual violence and consider it degrading, which is not how sex workers see themselves, she said.
She said, "We ask sex workers to form a collective so that they have a voice and can ask for what they want and what the government can do for them. They can get out of being marginalised and exploited if they get organised."
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By SONAL KELLOGG
Pune, Feb. 18: Social activists working with sex workers want the government to decriminalise the trade as they feel this pushes the trade underground and prevents the sex workers from seeking health services. It also has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers.
Explaining the complexity of the situation, social activist Meena Seshu, who has been working with sex workers for 15 years, said in a talk on "Between Vice and Victimhood" here, "Sex workers are asking for their ‘services’ to be recognised as work allowing individuals involved in the trade to demand their business rights, human rights and occupational health and safety regulations. Most of them do not want to be thought of as victims who are in need of being rescued."
This is where the situation gets caught up in the myriad complexities. This is true even of the government position. The Human Right Watch’s report on "Epidemic of Abuse: Police Harassment of HIV/AIDS Outreach Workers in India" said: "In practice, one branch of the government, the public health service, relies on the non governmental sector to provide condoms and information to persons at high risk, another branch of the government, the law enforcement establishment, abuses those who provide these services."
The problem stems from the stereotyping of sex workers, said Ms Seshu. She said, "Either sex workers are perceived as social outcasts, exploited victims or as vectors of diseases like AIDS and STD. The popular belief is that no women wants to be in this profession and that the only way to give them their rights is to ‘free’ them of their trade." But she said that after working with sex workers for years, she has learnt that they want their sex work to be recognised as work and that it should be decriminalised.
She said that this perspective helps sex workers articulate the violation of their rights as sex workers and helps them claim worker’s rights.
Government policy is also not cohesive, she said. "The Immoral Trafficking Protection Act," said Ms Seshu, "is largely used to abuse sex workers and the backlash of this is that it threatens HIV prevention efforts and forces people underground. It halts work and discourages people from accessing services. Also, it has been detrimental to the human rights of sex workers."
However, being outcasts and not being recognised is not just an Indian problem. Increasingly, this language is being seen in international discourses on sex work, specifically in the US HIV strategy and the UN policies, said Ms Seshu. She said that the US anti-trafficking lobby has institutionalised this claim by linking it to HIV funding. The Prostitution Pledge, as it is called, of the US has to be signed by all those who want to have access to US funding to fight AIDS.
The pledge is: "Prostitution and other sexual victimisation are degrading to women and children in the sex industry, trafficking of individuals into such industry and sexual violence are additional causes of and factors in the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic."
Brazil as a country refused to sign this pledge and refused $40 million of US funding for AIDS. Ms Seshu said the problem is that this makes it appear that sex work, trafficking and sexual violence are one and the same thing, which is not true. It is difficult to work with sex workers if one is going to equate sex work with sexual violence and consider it degrading, which is not how sex workers see themselves, she said.
She said, "We ask sex workers to form a collective so that they have a voice and can ask for what they want and what the government can do for them. They can get out of being marginalised and exploited if they get organised."
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
58 child labourers rescued
58 child labourers rescued in Delhi raid
By SONAL KELLOGG
New Delhi, Feb. 8: Under the India Action Week against trafficking of children for forced labour, the labour department and the police conducted a raid in Delhi along with child rights NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, in which 58 bonded child labourers were rescued. This is the third such incident in less than a month.
Sub-divisional magistrate L.R. Meena said that the raid was conducted on the basis of the complaint filed by BBA. The case is registered under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Assistant labour commissioner S.C. Yadav told that case will also be filed on the owner of the house in which these illegal manufacturing units were running.
The rescued children were trafficked from Sitamarhi and Dharbhanga districts. These are the core areas where traffickers are taking advantage of the poor condition of the parents and bringing children, said Mr Rakesh Senger, national secretary of BBA. He also said that BBA would write to the police commissioners of Sitamarhi and Dharbhanga districts to take action on this issue.
Prof. R.S. Chaurasia, chairperson of BBA, who led this raid, said that during the Indian Action Week, the BBA team was able to rescue over 500 bonded child labourers from different states within seven days. Over 130 children were rescued from Delhi alone.
Recounting his story, Mirza (name changed), a child who was rescued, said he brought to Delhi by a person whom he had often seen coming to village and would take some children with him in a bus. He didn’t realise that one day he would also be going with this man and end up in Delhi. He, along with 57 others, was rescued from Khumara Mohalla, Old North Ghonda in the New Usmanpura police station premises. He also told the activists that the trafficker gave his father Rs 700 and his father agreed to send Mirza to Delhi.
Mirza said he used to work from 10 am to 1 am in the night and was given Rs 20 per week and this money was added to the "expenses" incurred by the employer on the children.
The room in which they were working was just in the middle of cattle shed so that nobody could know that there was a manufacturing unit. In one room there were 10 people working, including adults and children. Their working area and sleeping area was the same, with no source of ventilation, the smell of cattle dung all around and filthy rooms. Most of the children hadn’t even had a bath for days, they had dry itchy skin and some were also showing the signs of bacterial infections on their tender skin.
http:\\www.asianage.com\archive\htmlfiles\India\58 child labourers rescued in Delhi raid.html
By SONAL KELLOGG
New Delhi, Feb. 8: Under the India Action Week against trafficking of children for forced labour, the labour department and the police conducted a raid in Delhi along with child rights NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, in which 58 bonded child labourers were rescued. This is the third such incident in less than a month.
Sub-divisional magistrate L.R. Meena said that the raid was conducted on the basis of the complaint filed by BBA. The case is registered under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Assistant labour commissioner S.C. Yadav told that case will also be filed on the owner of the house in which these illegal manufacturing units were running.
The rescued children were trafficked from Sitamarhi and Dharbhanga districts. These are the core areas where traffickers are taking advantage of the poor condition of the parents and bringing children, said Mr Rakesh Senger, national secretary of BBA. He also said that BBA would write to the police commissioners of Sitamarhi and Dharbhanga districts to take action on this issue.
Prof. R.S. Chaurasia, chairperson of BBA, who led this raid, said that during the Indian Action Week, the BBA team was able to rescue over 500 bonded child labourers from different states within seven days. Over 130 children were rescued from Delhi alone.
Recounting his story, Mirza (name changed), a child who was rescued, said he brought to Delhi by a person whom he had often seen coming to village and would take some children with him in a bus. He didn’t realise that one day he would also be going with this man and end up in Delhi. He, along with 57 others, was rescued from Khumara Mohalla, Old North Ghonda in the New Usmanpura police station premises. He also told the activists that the trafficker gave his father Rs 700 and his father agreed to send Mirza to Delhi.
Mirza said he used to work from 10 am to 1 am in the night and was given Rs 20 per week and this money was added to the "expenses" incurred by the employer on the children.
The room in which they were working was just in the middle of cattle shed so that nobody could know that there was a manufacturing unit. In one room there were 10 people working, including adults and children. Their working area and sleeping area was the same, with no source of ventilation, the smell of cattle dung all around and filthy rooms. Most of the children hadn’t even had a bath for days, they had dry itchy skin and some were also showing the signs of bacterial infections on their tender skin.
http:\\www.asianage.com\archive\htmlfiles\India\58 child labourers rescued in Delhi raid.html
Women lobourers run Andhra periodical
Women labourers run Andhra periodical
By SONAL KELLOGG
New Delhi, Feb. 11: Illiterate farm labourer women of Chitoor district in Andhra Pradesh have been instrumental in coming out with a monthly newsletter, Navodayam, all on their own for the last seven-and-a-half years.
The all-women team of the magazine earlier worked in farms in rural Andhra Pradesh but now they are empowered women who question government schemes in their district, expose corrupt government officials and government project which are not working. They are the women who have successfully brought out more than 65 issues of Navodayam.
The all-women team of reporters, circulation manager, editor and illustrator report, edit, make the layout, print and circulate the magazine all by themselves. The magazine, which began on August 15, 2001, was initially published as a quarterly newsletter of the Indira Kranti Pratham, a state government of India programme for the upliftment of rural women of Andhra Pradesh.
Magazine editor V. Mallika said they have been training literate rural women for the magazine and over 100 poor women have learnt reporting, writing, editing and layout with the newsletter in the seven-and-a-half years of its existence. The circulation manager of the magazine, Ms K. Manjula, who also doubles up as a reporter, said that the initial issue has 750 copies printed but today the newsletter has become a monthly and they print nearly 15,000 copies due to increase in demand.
At present, 12 women are working in various capacities for the magazine, which also has Ms E. Bharati who doubles up as writer and illustrator. The women who work for the magazine have encountered opposition from various men especially from the liquor lobby and those whose corruption the women have exposed in their newsletter. The magazine focus on development, self-help groups, rural credit and rural banking. It carries news and analysis of poverty eradication and other development work in the district.
The first issue of the magazine has eight pages but it now have 20 pages and when it began the newsletter covered news from 10 mandals, now it covers news from 65 mandals, which is nearly half the district.
These women have undergone basic training in journalism and have improved their language, writing and editing skills. They have learnt that it needs courage and integrity to deal with consequences of conscientious reporting and critical writing. Ms Mallika said, "These women have grown with the magazine. Six of us are now in the editorial board of the newsletter."
Two of the women in the editorial board are graduates from the Open University and the other four are pursuing their graduate studies. Some mainstream regional dailies are willing to take these reporters as stringers for their newspapers also.
All of them faced severe opposition from their families. Ms Mallika said that when her husband deserted her when she refused to leave her job she choose to keep her job despite the stand her husband took. Some of the women who faced severe opposition and were not able to withstand the pressure even quit but the twelve who have decide to remain, including Ms Mallika, Ms Bharati, Ms Manjula, the circulation manager, Ms M. Ratnamme, the former editor, Ms V. Jayanti, who is a sub-editor, and D. Chandrakala, a reporter, who are all in the editorial board, feel empowered.
Ms Mallika said, "Villagers are now scared of us as we are journalists. Also, we are not scared of interviewing the DSP and even the collector. Earlier, I was scared of even policemen."
Inspired by their success story, self-help groups under Velugu, an NGO, have started eight newsletters in eight different districts of Andhra Pradesh but they have not been as successful as Navodayam.
http:\\www.asianage.com\archive\htmlfiles\India\Women labourers run Andhra periodical.html
By SONAL KELLOGG
New Delhi, Feb. 11: Illiterate farm labourer women of Chitoor district in Andhra Pradesh have been instrumental in coming out with a monthly newsletter, Navodayam, all on their own for the last seven-and-a-half years.
The all-women team of the magazine earlier worked in farms in rural Andhra Pradesh but now they are empowered women who question government schemes in their district, expose corrupt government officials and government project which are not working. They are the women who have successfully brought out more than 65 issues of Navodayam.
The all-women team of reporters, circulation manager, editor and illustrator report, edit, make the layout, print and circulate the magazine all by themselves. The magazine, which began on August 15, 2001, was initially published as a quarterly newsletter of the Indira Kranti Pratham, a state government of India programme for the upliftment of rural women of Andhra Pradesh.
Magazine editor V. Mallika said they have been training literate rural women for the magazine and over 100 poor women have learnt reporting, writing, editing and layout with the newsletter in the seven-and-a-half years of its existence. The circulation manager of the magazine, Ms K. Manjula, who also doubles up as a reporter, said that the initial issue has 750 copies printed but today the newsletter has become a monthly and they print nearly 15,000 copies due to increase in demand.
At present, 12 women are working in various capacities for the magazine, which also has Ms E. Bharati who doubles up as writer and illustrator. The women who work for the magazine have encountered opposition from various men especially from the liquor lobby and those whose corruption the women have exposed in their newsletter. The magazine focus on development, self-help groups, rural credit and rural banking. It carries news and analysis of poverty eradication and other development work in the district.
The first issue of the magazine has eight pages but it now have 20 pages and when it began the newsletter covered news from 10 mandals, now it covers news from 65 mandals, which is nearly half the district.
These women have undergone basic training in journalism and have improved their language, writing and editing skills. They have learnt that it needs courage and integrity to deal with consequences of conscientious reporting and critical writing. Ms Mallika said, "These women have grown with the magazine. Six of us are now in the editorial board of the newsletter."
Two of the women in the editorial board are graduates from the Open University and the other four are pursuing their graduate studies. Some mainstream regional dailies are willing to take these reporters as stringers for their newspapers also.
All of them faced severe opposition from their families. Ms Mallika said that when her husband deserted her when she refused to leave her job she choose to keep her job despite the stand her husband took. Some of the women who faced severe opposition and were not able to withstand the pressure even quit but the twelve who have decide to remain, including Ms Mallika, Ms Bharati, Ms Manjula, the circulation manager, Ms M. Ratnamme, the former editor, Ms V. Jayanti, who is a sub-editor, and D. Chandrakala, a reporter, who are all in the editorial board, feel empowered.
Ms Mallika said, "Villagers are now scared of us as we are journalists. Also, we are not scared of interviewing the DSP and even the collector. Earlier, I was scared of even policemen."
Inspired by their success story, self-help groups under Velugu, an NGO, have started eight newsletters in eight different districts of Andhra Pradesh but they have not been as successful as Navodayam.
http:\\www.asianage.com\archive\htmlfiles\India\Women labourers run Andhra periodical.html
Report on N-E girls sparks anger
Report on N-E girls sparks anger
By SONAL KELLOGG
New Delhi, Feb. 12: People of the Northeast are angry and agitated that a media report labelled north-eastern girls as "drug peddlers" and also "sex workers".
This was also reinforced by the Delhi police, which had even earlier issued guidelines to north-eastern people on "how to behave in Delhi" which also created resentment among them.
The matter caused so much of anguish that it was taken up in the Manipur Assembly by MLA O. Joy who moved a calling attention motion on the issue last week.
The MLA was angered by the appearance of a report that made sweeping slurs on north-eastern girls, expressed his extreme concern over the biased and predatory attitude towards women from the Northeast that appears to be prevailing in the national capital.
Mr Joy reportedly pointed out that only recently, there had been a case of sexual abuse and harassment of two girls from Manipur at Gandhi Vihar in Delhi by over two dozen people.
Many north-eastern groups and organisations both in Delhi and in the Northeast have taken up the matter and have asked for an apology both from the police and the media. Northeast Indians and others have posted their views on several blog sites angered by the very poor depiction of the north-eastern girls in the report, which said that now north-eastern girls are "peddling drugs" and they also "throw in sex as a bonus for a few thousand rupees more". It also depicted Africans as "drug peddlers".
The Northeast Support Centre and Helpline has, in its statement, asked for an apology to all Indians, Indian women in particular, and to African people for depicting them poorly.
Opposing the way north-eastern girls were depicted, the sixth conference of the just-concluded National Conference of Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), expressed deep concern over the portrayal of north-eastern girls as "drug peddlers" and "prostitutes" by a media report.
The statement said, "The report has not only shocked the people of Northeast India, but also raised serious questions about media ethics. Such irresponsible reportage will not only reinforce the already existing gap between the people of the Northeast and the rest of the country, but it will also divide the country further on the lines of ethnicity, community and sex."
http:\\www.asianage.com\archive\htmlfiles\\India/Report on N-E girls sparks anger.html
By SONAL KELLOGG
New Delhi, Feb. 12: People of the Northeast are angry and agitated that a media report labelled north-eastern girls as "drug peddlers" and also "sex workers".
This was also reinforced by the Delhi police, which had even earlier issued guidelines to north-eastern people on "how to behave in Delhi" which also created resentment among them.
The matter caused so much of anguish that it was taken up in the Manipur Assembly by MLA O. Joy who moved a calling attention motion on the issue last week.
The MLA was angered by the appearance of a report that made sweeping slurs on north-eastern girls, expressed his extreme concern over the biased and predatory attitude towards women from the Northeast that appears to be prevailing in the national capital.
Mr Joy reportedly pointed out that only recently, there had been a case of sexual abuse and harassment of two girls from Manipur at Gandhi Vihar in Delhi by over two dozen people.
Many north-eastern groups and organisations both in Delhi and in the Northeast have taken up the matter and have asked for an apology both from the police and the media. Northeast Indians and others have posted their views on several blog sites angered by the very poor depiction of the north-eastern girls in the report, which said that now north-eastern girls are "peddling drugs" and they also "throw in sex as a bonus for a few thousand rupees more". It also depicted Africans as "drug peddlers".
The Northeast Support Centre and Helpline has, in its statement, asked for an apology to all Indians, Indian women in particular, and to African people for depicting them poorly.
Opposing the way north-eastern girls were depicted, the sixth conference of the just-concluded National Conference of Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), expressed deep concern over the portrayal of north-eastern girls as "drug peddlers" and "prostitutes" by a media report.
The statement said, "The report has not only shocked the people of Northeast India, but also raised serious questions about media ethics. Such irresponsible reportage will not only reinforce the already existing gap between the people of the Northeast and the rest of the country, but it will also divide the country further on the lines of ethnicity, community and sex."
http:\\www.asianage.com\archive\htmlfiles\\India/Report on N-E girls sparks anger.html
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