Recently in Gravity Category

I started out writing this along with a previous post but thinking about it made me so mad that I had to start a different entry.

India has it's own Robert Moses--demolition man Vijay Kalam Patil. A man who believes that "development always follows destruction". The article goes on to describe his noble deeds as he 'frees city land from the clutches of illegal occupants.' even justifying this with words from the Gita. All this in an effort to become Shanghai!

Noted journalist P.Sainath calls him a "Man-made Tsunami".

Anirvan and I on our recent trip in India visited Sahyog--the school in Mumbai that I steward for Asha for Education. The school is located in the Jari Mari slums in Mumbai. Sahyog originally started in Jari Mari but then an initial round of demolitions took place right after 9-11 and a significant population was "relocated" to Din Doshi.

What was Din Doshi like for these people. It was atop a hill. There was no access to public transportation. A bus that had been arranged cost Rs.10 each way- a significant portion of the income of people using the service. There was no water. People were not alloted flats based on there needs. In a multi-storey building without an elevator, older people were put in upper floor flats.

Even when we were there this time we heard about how families were returning to the sites of demolition because they had no where else to go--this was home, their community. The edges of the slum are bursting. It creeps slowly over landfill towards the airport wall.

But demolition without insightful rehabilitation isn't the solution. There are people dying, losing livelihoods in this man-made disaster and even as we raise money for the Tsunami, another disaster unfolds before our eyes.

"Born into Brothels" won the Oscar. This was quite amazing but it made me think of lots of other things.

We got to see the documentary when it opened in Berkeley. Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman were both present. It was a moving and inspiring film. The kids were incredible and talented. Zana impressed me with her courage and perseverence. There has been criticism that the film is self congratulatory and that the kids are worse off now than before the film was shot.

I was disturbed by the perception of absence of NGOs that do work in the red light district. I am aware of Asha's work in red light districts in other parts of India. I didn't find anything in Kolkata but it might be that these organizations appear under the guise of adult education or street children rehabilitation. It does leave me conflicted--knowing that there definiteley exists discrimination against prostitutes, but having worked with Asha for Education and seen the grassroots work that goes on in India, it seems to me that the discrimination exists less among grassroots workers and more among donors. It also seems to me that there does exist some sort of "white" savior mentality in those that do work in Kolkata. Inspite of all this controversy, I hope that all this does actually benefit the kids. Note to self: Read Christopher Hitchen's The Missionary Position.

When we were in India, there was a news article that caught my eye. Carlos Duran--founder, director of Sabera Foundation (Kalitala) had been deported without any kind of notice. The Sabera website is "under construction". He was married to a young Indian girl who he met when she started working at the foundation. At the time he was deported, she was pregnant. She couldn't leave the country as someone had to be there to take care of the girls at Sabera. There was no reason reported for the deportation.

There was a note about conflict between the US and Kolkata braches of the Kalitala Foundation over which branch should control the money. Carlos wanted Kolkata to control the money. Money became a bigger issue as bigger and bigger names became supporters of Sabera--including Melanie Griffith, Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin. The Spanish connection going back to Carlos and renowned Spanish singer/songwriter/producersinger Nacho Cano with whom he founded Sabera.

It seems like a lot went down in 2002.

The Telegraph reports that "Following a rift, Cano and Duran split, after which Griffith and Cruz allegedly snapped ties with the foundation."

The Sabera Foundation is the same organization that the kids were all taken to in the documentary. Carlos is the man in the documentary telling the mothers that they should send their kids here only if they were serious--no funerals, no festivals. But that is not why the name caught my eye. When I was looking at the kids with cameras website I saw Lina Srivastava's name and noticed that she had been CEO of the Kalitala Foundation's office in the United States prior to joining Kids with Cameras. Lina is (?) also on the advisory council of Asha for Education's NYC/NJ chapter.

We come a full circle but questions still remain unanswered. What I am most curious about is the deportation. I haven't been able to find further news coverage about it. I wish I knew who to ask for the truth. I wonder how his wife and Sabera are doing?

One word, thousands of lives. Being here so far away from the destruction it feels almost unreal.

The death toll ranges anywhere from 24,000 to 50,000.

Please consider giving to the disaster relief fund for the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. Please keep in mind that in situations like this monetary donations are the most helpful.

A good place to donate directly is UNICEF.

There are reports that one of every 3 victims were children. Also children, so many of whom have been orphaned need the most help and care to survive.

If you would like to donate to a different organization go to the links below to see a list of the numerous organizations that are leading relief and fundraising efforts and will benefit from your donations.

http://www.cidi.org/incident/tsunami/
http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/

For relief in India I recommend donating to Asha for Education OR AID
both are teaming with grassroots organizations leading relief efforts in the Tamil Nadu region.

Architects/ designers can also consider donating to the rebuilding of the affected areas.

For regular updates, including first hand accounts go to:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/001814.html

It's the day before the elections and it's my last chance to say what's on my mind. After this none of this might seem relevant. In Berkeley, are people talking, not about whether to vote for Bush or Kerry but whether to vote for Nader, Cobb, Kerry or Leonard Peltier.

This is tough time for liberals. You know you don't want Bush in the White house for 4 more years but is Kerry going to be any different? The man seemed to have a integrity in his past but as the campaign proceeded he morphed into something that didn't look very different from Bush even saying that he would find the terrorists and KILL them!? Well, we say atleast he is better than Bush in terms of abortion and gay marriage. Is he doing this just to win the election? If he is, is he going to be carry on being this way to win a second term? None of this bodes well for the American people.

And then there is Nader. I saw him speak on C-Span the other day and it was refreshing so see a candidate not speaking in sound bites or playing a political game but actually genuinely saying it like it is. My global vote goes to him! Kerry had said at one point that he would take votes away from Nader by taking his issues but that obviously hasn't happenned. It is ridiculous that people say that he should not be allowed to stand for election. Getting rid of the electoral college would make this less of an issue but as long as there are the two parties of the system benefit from it that will not happen.(Jon Stewart did say though that someone who does not have a chance of winning has the luxury of taking straight. I can't believe I am quoting Stewart! But did you see the guy on "Crossfire" or hear his less dramatic appearance on Charlie Rose. He is becoming a serious presence outside of his show.)

I mourned the fact that Nader wasn't part of the debates. Now that would have been interesting to watch. No bull**** would be allowed to go on. Watching campaign speeches or any kind of election coverage has become an absolute bore. Same old "facts" repeated a million times, false ads, accusations and spins. Osama really put the spin masters in a quandry though. Some said that this was a Kerry endorsement. But what if Osama knew that people would hesitate to vote for his choice of candidate and Osama did all this to get people to vote for Bush. One camp spinned it saying that people would look at this as a reminder that terrorism was very present danger but the other camp saw it as a reminder that it had been three years and that Osama was still alive and well!

It is scary to find oneself agreeing with the terrorist. What was it that Osama said about Bush's " tyranny and suppression of freedom" or about Bush "still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason." Hearing the piece about rampant voter fraud on "This American Life" and seeing "Control Room" only made me more uneasy.

Inspite of all this it seems like a lot of people are doing there part to get the vote out. Here on affluent 4th street, even the store dedicated to selling high end pet products pet is endorsing Kerry. Another poster in a fancy clothing store says "Let's Kerry Bush back to Texas".

Anirvan and I called South Asian voters in Florida for SAKI. Though I got a lot of people who supported Kerry I also got a few people who hung up, one who said that he was going to vote for "Mr. Bush" and another who wouldn't tell me who he was voting for and instead put the question to me. When I said Kerry he sarcastically congratulated me in a tone that sent shivers down my spine. I guess it was ok to call people to ask them to support Kerry.This last Sunday we called voters in Ohio to remind them to vote. In swing states I wonder how would asking people to vote for Nader work?

One of our friends put it really well. She said that it was, after all Halloween season and that we were all Liberals dressed up as Democrats. Come election day no matter who wins we will take to the streets in our true colors for there will be work to be done.

Being confronted by death is never easy. Having it be the death of a person you respected and whose presence you knew could be life-changing is even more distressing. Irene Pijoan died yesterday morning.

She was an amazing artist who was working with us to develop the art component of Soma Park. More than a year back, when I first saw Irene's art I felt really emotional about it. Her art conveyed a certain flow of spirit. Her designs had a strong aesthetic but the medium, which was paper gave it a fragile quality that brought to surface unspeakable emotions. It's a cliche to say this probably but she was also this amazing person. Creative, spirited, strong and beautiful. She had been suffering from cancer for the last five years. But when I first met her I could not tell that she had been through so much. The last few times that I saw her, her cancer seemed to be more of a reality for me. But there was nothing that could have prepared me for this. This is the time that I wish I had done this or that. I wish I had had the opportunity to speak to her just one more time. I wish that the project had gone ahead more smoothly and that she had had the opportunity to see her work being realized.

It is difficult to put into words what this all means. It is strange how death often puts life into perspective.

I hope I have the strength to take her work and do my part to enable it's realization. She would have wanted it that way. I know this because last week, even as she was wasting away she met with her assistant so she could give her complete instructions on how to proceed so the project could be completed.