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ST thesabhaA geographical narrative

GREEK HOSPITALAND NEWSPAPERUNDER COMMUNITY

CONTROL

A public hospital in Greece hasbeen taken by doctors andhospital workers who run it on avoluntary basis demandingdecent salaries, equality andparticipation.

The Kilkis hospital, which hasattended 22.000 visits in twoyears, offers free treatment andmedicines, claiming that it is “aquestion of solidarity, notcharity” to help those affectedby the economic crisis, which iskeeping

Greece under a dark shadow.The hospital is part of a Greeknetwork focused on the sanitarysystem which now consist ofmore than 50 self-sufficientwalk-in clinics scattered all overthe country. This is part of theresponse of the Greek people,who have also taken control ofthe Eleftherotypia Newspaper,now renamed The Workers,which is distributing more than65 thousand copies and hasreached record sales.

A(n)GRINDIAVIDHARBHAFarmers are not able to die in large

number to become news in some media.

So farmers are migrating to cities to die

slowly in homelessness and unhygienic

working colonies but still media are

struggling to find them near their offices.

Farmer suicides: 60000 (1995-2014) inMahrashtra;

(Source : National Crime records Bureau of India )

CHATTISGARHCoal Satyagraha in Gare village, Raigarh

district ofChattisgarh questions the

ownership ofmineral resources of the

community. They are working on to give

equivalent power from renewable

sources or mine their own mineral and

sell it. Is it about COAL or It is about

who will mine it? Is it about profit ?

Coal India Limited (CIL) still runs SECL

in Rajgamar, an underground mine, a

subsidiary which is loss making,

everyyear causing deaths of few mining

workers. So Watt !

LADAKH--TOSH--PUSHKARSome Israelis have found a way to keep

bombing by getting cheap marijuana in

India and South America, as they are

much stressed after shooting missile, and

completing their mandatory army

training while serving their nation.

A few were really annoyed in Diwali in

Rishikesh. For once they thought they

were in Israel. Oh No!Since, it was

different than when some of them were

enjoying beer sitting on hill watching

Palestine getting bombed. But they love

Peace here for sure. Marijuana and Hash

Farmers are happy though.

(source: jewishpost)

I, Mithun Kumar, on14/11/2014-did one drama anddance rehearsal on dalit people-did not know what is SAARCmeeting-had to go to kathmandu-

before going we did program ingandhi maidan near gol ghar-thensame night at 8pm we went tonepal by bus.--we crossed border--took bus to kathmandu--wherewe stopped was lalitpur (donbosco institute) .

then we took out rally for dalits--same day we did one play-thename of the play was about (dalitchild)- i realised that day- todayalso dalit people are backward--

same day one boy whose namewas shivam (General) had hisbirthday---then we had bon firethat night and we were told to goto one school and to go there andplay--cont..in last page

LokSabha passed a billamending labour laws onNovember 28th, which willexempt establishmentsemploying up to 40 workers(initially 19) from filing returnsand mandatory registers.

Factory management will notbe the principal employer andwould not be under any legalobligation. The employer andcontractor will not be requiredto file several returns to theLabour authorities.

So, more workers will beINVISIBLE to the State withuncertain red, blue or greenwatch showing working hours,living happily at the heavenlymechanical love of contractors.REFORM!! (details on Pg.10.)

HAWA HAWAI REFORMLABOUR LAWS AMENDED to relaunch Mr. INDIA

MUMBAI : RAY of Housing, survey started in Mankhurd.

INDIA : COBRA EFFECT-Policies for rich lungs and liver.

SOUTH ASIA : A Chinese villager's story, who works for APPLE.

WORLD : DISAPPEARADO in MEXICO.

01­15 December 2014

Mumbai English Fortnightly

A

letter

from

achild

who went

to

attend

PeopleSAARC

meet

(translation in

English below)

ANNA CHAIDIMAAG

KAGINGER HILA DE

FULL POWER

Near BARC- TISS-Sion

Panvel higway junction,

Deonar

F

r

e

e

ADA sadhu reading newspaper in Rishikesh at Kashi

food junction, near Geeta Ashram.

201­15 December 2014MEDIA ANALYSIS The Sabha

There are diseases and then, thereis AIDS. It is difficult to think ofany other disease wh ich takes asmuch a psychological and socialtoll on its victim as a physicalone. The first two factors assumegreater importance in light of thenature of the disease itself:everything depends upon thenature of rehabilitation post theonset of the disease. Often, thesocial stigma associated withAIDS is enough to block any fur-ther inquiry (let alone care andrehabilitation) or even counten-ance the victim any further. Thisis especially true of a country likeIndia, with its unique, rigid socialstructures.

Inquiries into the nature of thedisease ,along with preventiveand palliative measures, havebeen covered in dime-a-dozendocumentaries, social awarenessshorts and Government healthministry advertisements over theyears since the late 80’s. It’s asign of how inept they were intackling the social and psycholo-gical fallout of the disease thatthese ads invariably provokednervous and salacious gigglesamong viewers.

The first piece of work this writerremembers that tackled the sub-ject in a consciously dignifiedway was the TV series ‘Lifeline’(1991), by Vijaya Mehta. A high-light of this series was the guestappearance of Shabana Azmi as asocial worker who sensitizespeople in the hospital to a littlegirl who is an AIDS patient.Clearly explaining the causes bywhich the girl contracted it (bornof an AIDS patient), she emphas-izes the fact that AIDS does not

spread through contact or socialinteraction like sharing food andbeverage. The Government, tak-ing a cue from this, created apublic service announcement rep-licating the original ‘Lifeline’scene almost shot for shot.

The Hindi film industry tookmuch longer than Hindi televisionto overcome its diffidence in thismatter. Mahesh Manjrekar’s‘Nidaan’ (2000), by no means aniche film-in aesthetic terms, atleast-had a release befitting oneowing to its subject matter and thelack of stars, that can again be at-tributed to the subject matter. Ex-ploring the devastating conse-quences of an HIV positive dia-gnosis on an ordinary, middleclass family, the film sidesteppedthe more uncomfortable questionsabout how AIDS was transmitted,by having the patient contract itthrough blood transfusions.

In 2002, Doordarshan beganscreening a TV series named‘Jasoos Vijay’, an episodic seriesof criminal mysteries solved by aSherlockian sleuth. There were afew notable features however: thestories had exclusively rural set-tings, the prota gonist (played bya then-unknown Adil Hussain)had no last name, and the end ofeach episode had a segme nt byOm Puri, disseminating informa-tion about the nature, modes ofcontraction and prevention ofAIDS. The producing credits ofthe show read the BBC WorldService Trust, a long with theNational AIDS Control Organisa-tion (NACO) and Doordarshan.Not content with having AIDSawa reness talks as a separatesegment at the end of each epis-ode- people often skipped theboring bits- one of the stories hada primary murder suspect who

was an AIDS patient. Owing tohis condition, he is ostracizedfrom his village and lives in anabandoned hut on top of a smallhill in a desolate stretch. When amurder occurs nearby, he be-comes a de facto suspect, amerely short stretch from hisalready existing ignominy. Whileit serves as a usual, clichéd redherring, what it deftly underlinesis the senseless and hostile biasAIDS patients have to face daily,fueled by superstitious beliefs andpernicious concepts of purity andpollution.

If ‘Jasoos Vijay’ portrayed howmuch it took to change mindsetsand create awareness about AIDSin rural areas, Revathy’s ‘PhirMilenge’ (2004) showed howclose urban areas were to ruralones in that regard. Ostensiblyinspired by the Tom Hanks starrer‘Philadelphia’ (1993), ‘Phir Mi-lenge’ tells the story of an em-ployee terminated from acompany due to no apparent reas-on. This lack of reason onlymasks an irrational prejudiceagainst her as an HIV positiveperson. The person who happensto be a homosexual in ‘Phil-adelphia’ is replaced by a personwho happens to be a woman in‘Phir Milenge’, thus adding an-other layer of prejudice againstthe employee. The rest of the filmis a courtroom drama fought overher claim to damages from the

company. For the first time inHindi cinema a woman wasportrayed to have contractedAIDS from an HIV positive malelover and had to fight against thedouble victimization with dignityand due process of law.

The year 2005 saw ‘My BrotherNikhil’, a film that was un-abashedly, angrily emotionalabout the social stigma attachedto AIDS patients, particularlywhen they happens to be homo-sexuals. Based on a true story of aswimmer in Goa, the film showsthe physical and mental degrada-tion that Nikhil faces as a result ofthe disease and at the hands of aconservative, ritual bound society.

In the years since, barring a pat-ently misogynist episode of San-jay Gupta’s ‘DusKahaniyan’(2007) or a drollyironical instance in VishalBharadwaj’s Kaminey (2009)there have not been any furtherinterpolations in this regard.Dylan Mohan Gray’s searing‘Fire in the Blood’ squarelyblamed American capitalist phar-maceutical companies for thou-sands of AIDS related deathsowing to their rapacious profit-making proclivities that guidepricing policy. One can only hopethat the Hindi film and TV in-dustry do not take leaves out ofthe pharmaceutical industry’sneoliberal book.

Imagining AIDSon The Screen

BISHALDEBAlumni, Mumbai University

She is a self-employed freelancejournalist now living in Navi Mumbaiwho used to work for DNA over a yearago. She had baby by cesarean and asshe needed rest for longer time, hermaternity leave lasted 90 days. But, ather office her bosses forced her toresign. They did not even encouragework from home, as it was mostly fieldwork. In her words :

“If you are not married and not pregnantyou get a good payment, depending onthe word count and number of articleyou contribute with. There is a big

gender bias both in print and digitalmedia. Maternity leave should becompulsory and should be extended oncase to case basis. At least they shouldgive leave without pay, or assign tasksto work from home. Most of the womenin the profession are single. Accordingto male mentality, children reduceefficiency at work. There are manyunions in Navi Mumbai, but they hardlyrepresent the problems of freelancersand issues of women. These unions arefor namesake and there are lot ofgroupings in them. They shoulddissolve all of them, and make fresh

ones, with regulation.

Journalists are not getting offered lettersor media cards, and are getting hiredand fired at management will.Journalists for tier two cities are notconsidered to be part of theorganisation, as they work forsupplements. The number troublesomecases between union and managementare increasing. But journalists do notopen their mouths, as there are limitedmedia houses which they can go towork for.

NAVI

MEDIAARCHY

301­15 December 2014Pyjama Narey The Sabha

The 36th Havana Film

Festival, is dedicated to

Colombian novelist Gabriel

Garcia Marquez, a passionate

supporter of the festival since

the very beginning, and

president of the New Latin

American Cinema

Foundation as of the mid-

1980s.

Documentaries related to his

life and work, including Luis

Fernando “Pacho” Bottia’s

Buscando a Gabo (“Looking

for Gabo”, Colombia), Yves

Billon and Mauricio

Martinez-Cavard’s La

escritura embrujada

(“Haunted Writings”,

Colombia-France-Italy), and

Holly Aylett’s Tales Beyond

Solitude – Cien Años de

Soledad (USA), will be

screened.

Argentina, Brazil and Cuba –

which will be screening five

new releases this year-, are

among the countries with the

most films this festival. The

traditional international

screenings will include

independent films from the

United States, Spain,

Germany, Japan (animation)

and experimental African-

American pieces.

HAVANA FILM FESTIVAL : 4­14 Dec 2014

HORNBILLFESTIVAL1-10 december 2014

The cultural extravaganzashowcases the vibrant andrich culture and traditionof many naga tribes in asingle platform. Thisfestival includes colorfulperformances, crafts andfood fairs, fashion shows,

traditional competitionssuch as Archery, Nagawrestling, Chilly eatingcompetition, Indigenousgames and musicalconcert.

Often referred to as theWoodstock of North East,Hornbill is held at theNaga heritage village,Kisama, about 12 kms

from Kohima.Amidst all the daily chaosand subjugation of our dayto day life and societaldifferences, a festival likethis can truly bind thepeople from differentregions and origins.

( With inputs from KiteManja, which is setting upcamps there 100m away)

AB KI BAAR

HUMARAADHIKAARA rally to defend propeople acts.

2 December 2014, NewDelhi

Thousands of people marched in

the heart of India in Delhi

chanting AB KI BAAR

HUMARA ADHIKAAR, also

reminding the government of their

slogan and duties

The adhikar rally marched from

Ambedkar Stadium into a public

meeting at Jantar Mantar. It was

a,elody of farmers, workers from

all over India singing and chanting

for their rights under the banner of

'National Alliance's of people's

movements'.

They came for their rights. Their

right to receive services from

government which comes from the

taxes paid by them to government

in their day to day activities,

urging government to not dilute

the laws made for them such as

land acquistion law in the name of

reforms.

The protestors wanted the

government to respect the

power of GRAM SABHA,

which can only decide about the

future of the villages in terms of

setting up of industry in their

areas.

They also asserted their rights

on land, work, forests,

infomation, food, health,

education, pension as well as

women's right, marching in

Delhi on their own money,

leaving their daily wages. They

were not tourist but citizens.

Fidel Castro and Gabriel Garcia Marquez

401­15 December 2014MUMBAI The Sabha

(Translated from hindi by ST)I'm Tukaram and I have been working inTISS as a gardener since 1995. I used to drinka lot, everyday at least two packets of Bristoland whatever alcohol from Desi to Angrejiwas my consumption. I went to many peoplelike Maulana, Bhagat and Saints to help meleave it, but it did not work out.

On February 24th 2012, I went to meet VijayVankade Sir in the Krunja village ofVikramgarh Taluka, in Palgarh district. Hehas been a high school teacher for more than20 years. He was an alcoholic too, but he leftit when he came across Ganpad ji fromGujarat. He took out a loan from a bank and

built a hall in his village.

In this hall, everything is free. The onlyexpense is to take people from here. So I dosome shaving, work here and there, and savemoney to take people along. Around sevenmonths after I managed to stop, I started to dothe same as Vijay Vankade Sir, by takinggone or two people every Sunday.

They give some Ayurvedic medicine, whichis taken in the form of chai, and is supposedto be good for the liver. Every Sunday for thepast ten years people from Andhra, Odishaand Karnataka come here to quit alcohol. Atleast 35000 people have left alcohol since

then. Two years have been passed since Istopped drinking. I don't earn much money,but I do manage to save some. .

Till now the members I took who have leftdrinking are around 200. On November 4th, Itook 45 people there, and 35 of them werefrom TISS, some were staff, but no students. Ihope they will join soon. I used to drink withmany of them and now they ask me how did Ileave it, after I say no to them. Then theyjoined me.

This place is just 100 km from here. One ofthe people who stopped drinking there alsopublished a book about it :”Daru shoda sansarjoda' Leave alcohol and connect the world.

TISS GARDNER HARVESTING DETOXIFICATION

Phd. Scholar , IIT MumbaiSarathya@gmail.com

Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwidepandemic and the leading cause ofdeath among HIV-infectedpeople, says World HealthOrganization (WHO). CurrentlyIndia's DOTS (directly observedtreatment-short course)programme is the largest andfastest expanding initiative in theworld, in terms of patientsinitiated on treatment; and thesecond largest, in terms ofpopulation coverage.An emerging threat to TBeradication is multidrug-resistantTB (MDR-TB), a life threateningdisease, which is a result of poorTB control programmes. But,through “STOP TB” strategy,WHO has given a vision to

eliminate TB as a menace topublic health by 2050. WHOassures that the number of MDR-TB cases among new andpreviously treated TB patients isgreatest in the South-East Asiaand Western Pacific Regions.Sarathya, an NGO based outsideMumbai is closely working withCHAI (The Catholic HealthAssociation of India) in extendingaccess to TB treatment andawareness in the M East Ward ofMumbai, which mostly consistsof slums. This initiative serves assupport to the Revised NationalTuberculosis Control Programme.M East Ward has the lowestHuman Development Indexaccording to the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation’s Humandevelopment report of 2008.Sarathya, while implementing this

programme observes a lethal gapin providing the patients withaccess, especially for the mostvulnerable, the MDR patients.The donating agencies focus onthe numbers of patients connectedto the DOT centres. The work ofSarathya consists of identifyingthose patients with TB symptomsor patients who have discontinuedtheir medication. The workerswho identify the patients arelargely untrained and are directlyexposed to the infected patients,which involved a great risk.Moreover the social stigmaattached to disease, hinders theperson affected to disclose thecondition or even be ready to getdiagnosed. This issue puts at riskboth the patient and the surveyor.In one of the stark events, Mr.Atul, a Sarathya team member,

extended his support inaccompanying a TB patient to thehospital. While travelling, thepatient, who was in a drunkenstate said: “I had earlier takenmedicine but nothing happened”.This is when Atul realized thatthis patient had a TB history. Ondiagnosis he turned out to be anMDR patient.Current government health-careneglects such patients. Like in thiscase, many discontinue takingmedicines. This is a threat, notonly to the patient but also to theirfamily. One of the key factors isthat there is no food supplementalong with the medicines. In areaslike M East Ward, the process ofaddressing MDR issues needs asevere overhauling, as socialproblems like poverty and socialstigma make the situation evenmore challenging.

GarimaAlumni: Garhwal University

“Mera baccha apang hai. Na hi toh wo boltahai na apne haath pair hila sakta hai. Kamreke ek kone me pada rehta hai, kai baar wahipeshab bhi kar deta hai aur usi gandagi mechupchap so jaata hai agar main aas paas nahu toh. Meri nanad bhi hamare saath isi gharme rehti hai aur uske chote bacche hai. Unkeliye mere bacche ke shareer se aane waalibadboo asehniy ho jaati hai. Par koi kya karsakta hai, Samir hamara baccha aur hamarizimmedari hai jise hame marte dam taksambhalna hai ”……..

(My child is disabled (cerebral palsy). Hecannot do any movements with his hands andfeet and can barely engage in activities aroundhim. He lies in a corner of the room, oftenurinates and defecates on himself. If I am notaround he lies on his own urine andexcrement. My sister in law also resides in thesame house and has small children. For them,

the stench of my disabled child’s urine andhis immobility becomes irritating. But whatcan one do when Samir is our child and theresponsibility which we have to take care oftill we die.)

-Rehana, mother of 12 year old SamirMohammad, residing in Shivaji Nagar,MumbaiUnfortunately, the disability for any person orfamily is exacerbated by the cramped livingconditions for people like Rehana and otherfamilies, who have to cater to the needs of adisabled child along with the congestedspaces where often families are jointlyresiding.

Contemplating over the same milieu ofcongested living situations, matters ofsanitation and use of public toilet accessibilityare even worse for people with disabilities.People have no choice but to use public toiletsin slums, so handicapped people are the worst

affected by the state of public toilets in theseareas, which are poorly designed. Moreover,these bathrooms fail to address the needs ofdependent users (elderly, children and peoplewith disabilities), who are often seen scuffingtheir bodies on the steps and floors of thetoilets to reach the latrines.

Sheikh Yasmin, the mother of 11 year oldRafat (suffering from intellectual disabilityand spinal problems) who resides in LotusColony of M Ward, emphasizes on the day today difficulties in bringing her daughter to thepublic toilet when she says, “me and myhusband often carry our daughter to the toileton our laps or back and sit with her until shehas finished peeing or shitting (translatedfrom Marathi).” This is an example of afamily who looks into the subtle needs oftheir disabled child, when there are manyothers who simply do not have a choice but touse their hands and bodies for chores inwhich, normally, people only have to use theirfeet.

MULTIPLY MARGINALIZED : Life of the disabled in the confined spaces of slums

TUBERCULOSIS IN M WARD: Between access and advocacy