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Namaste!
I have been in New Delhi for nearly three weeks, and already I am starting to envision where I will live and travel- when I finish school and come to stay permanently.  Sitting here to write this, I am having difficulty sorting out the flood of memories, thoughts, and excitement about the rest of my internship into a coherent entry.

This afternoon, Marie (the other intern) and I had our first semi-formal Hindi lesson- finally! I proudly ordered doe (two) bottles of panni (water), this time able to specify the size I wanted (barra)! The gentlemen at the counter all gave a friendly chortle when I delivered my new vocabulary, as they have been witnessing the development of my (so-called) Hindi over the past few weeks.

I have not yet experienced Delhi Belly, but I am pleased to say I have experienced chole, gobi paratha, aloo naan, and paneer- all examples of my tasty dinners in New Delhi!

The NGO with which I am working is great.  The Human Rights and Law Network (HRLN) is bursting with interesting characters, and I feel so lucky to have met these human rights superstars who have such an inspirational commitment to human rights. HRLN works in a number of initiatives, including Women’s Justice, Disability Rights, AIDS/HIV, Child Rights, and the Environment.  I am currently ‘officially’ working in the Environment Initiative, though I still have the opportunity to learn about other initiatives as well.  My day is usually occupied with research- most recently on the Canadian Judiciary and recommendations for improvements, in order to contribute to India’s National Campaign for Judicial Reform.  I have learned quite a bit, in a way that falls under the saying “The more you know, the more you don’t know”.  I am learning about things that I didn’t know I didn’t know!

Tomorrow is Dussehra, and there will be celebrations of Good over Evil with the Burning of the demon Ravanna.  It is extremely risky for me to be writing about religious holidays since I’m certain to get storylines, names, and meanings all wrong.  It is also difficult for me to keep track of them all; there are many religions that peacefully coexist all at once! Nonetheless, I’m happy to learn that Shiva is the lord of destruction, and Vishnu the lord of preservation; that Lord Rama is returning from 14 years in the forest, and that he defeated Ravana and took twenty days to return- the 20 days of Diwali!

Before I left, many people asked me “Are you scared?” They were probably referring to my leaving family and friends, being in a new environment, or even traveling alone at night.  Not everything has been saffron and rainbows. Often I feel isolated, have difficulty sitting in the office for 9 hours, and feel a host of other frustrations.  But scared? Truthfully, the only thing that makes me nervous is with regards to my usefulness to HRLN as a 3-month intern.  I want to be as valuable as possible and have quickly realized how busy everyone already is without having to additionally deal with a new kid on the block.  That being said, my current strategy is to commit to the following: be fearless about asking questions, participate in everything, and read everything in sight.

I love this.

Victoria

P.S. There are sounds of cannon-fire, children’s laughter, and Indian music outside my window in the park.  WAIT- Timbaland’s song Way I Are is now blasting!  It is now 11pm and this has been happening for the last two nights. Very thorough preparation for Dussehra, it appears. The music has stopped. And the children’s laughter has turned to crying.

As I sit here in the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and write my blog, I cannot help but wonder how fortunate I am to be able to observe all this and work here.

The legal aid lawyers that are present, Seema and Jacob, are preparing for their cases. The legal aid centre here is set up in a way in a square shape where the JJB is on one side, the legal aid centre is on the other side, and the centre consists of the private lawyers and the juveniles that have charges against them with their families. I’m looking out at the centre and I see parents standing, pacing or sitting with their children waiting for the next thing to happen: to be called by the Board for their matter. It’s quiet busy, more than usual so the cause list that contains all the cases right outside the JJB must be full and interesting. I usually look at the cause list when I come to the JJB to see how many cases have been pending, for how long and what charges the adolescents have been charged.

There is boy, with his mother, that are here who had a theft charged laid against him. The next day of being released, he had two more charges against him for petty theft. He and his mother are now moving 30 km away from their home to be away from their current police district. It’s not uncommon for a child to be laid similar charges against him by the police as soon as they are released even if they have not committed the crime. Apparently, some police here are known to place charges on innocent juveniles in order to close the case matters quickly. It’s frustrating and I can not imagine how the process of rehabilitation comes in to play when a juvenile has actually committed one crime and then attempts to reform after his first offence.

A week ago, I was in Punjab with Seema. It was wonderful and the wedding was impressive. I had such a great time with her and her family; they were so kind and warm. I truly felt included in their family. She lives in a joint family, which was something very new to me. Although, I was aware that this was practiced in India, I never have known an extended family personally that lived under one roof. Seema, her father, his immediate family, along with her paternal uncle and their children and her paternal grandparents all lived in one large house.  At first, I thought how exhausting it may be and difficult to keep your privacy, but then I slowly became to appreciate it, as it must feel nice to live in a big family and to have a big strong social support system. Going out with her, her sister and her cousins, a total group of 8 or 9, was the most fun and lively time I had being in India

I was able to go to the Golden Temple in Amritsar as well, which was also a wonderful experience. Coming back to Delhi was difficult for me. We left Punjab at 4 am and arrived in Delhi around 10 am. Entering Delhi I felt somewhat tired and also distressed while in the auto because of the constant honking, traffic blockages and the pollution.

On the positive side, now that I’m back I can get back to my work here and also have a chance to see Delhi…we’ll only if there is time of course.

Samaneh

I think I’ve finally have adjusted into daily normal life in India and feel a lot less homesick and much more comfortable. I have made a few friends here, which helps and I have been busy with work and my projects. I’m also a lot more aware of my surroundings and can go places with Delhi without the presence of someone else.

Last week, I was fortunate enough to go out with Feruz from Alternatives who is responsible for internships in South Asia to ‘Humayun’s Tomb’. It’s the earliest temple of Persian influence and is a world heritage monument-the architecture is beautiful with the red sandstone and marble. Apparently it was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. The stories behind these rich architectural structures are so romantic that even bollywood could not compete with such romance. Humayun’s Tomb was built for Emperor Humayon by his grieving widow, Hamida Banu Begum and contains four gardens. Now that’s what you call love! Note to self: Next time don’t be content with just bouquet of flowers, expect a monument.

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WOW, what can I say…It’s my first 11 days in India, I arrived on January 20th and I feel like I’ve experienced things I probably would have been sheltered from in Canada-experiences in which some are good and some are not-so good. 

It began on our way from the Delhi airport to the HRLN guest house on our first day. Our cab driver was pointing to places, « here is this and here is that », he would say and at first it was amazing, I naively thought that I would be exposed to such wonderful things all the time…little did I know, five minutes later he pointed to a young boy either in his late teens or early twenties who sat in the middle of what was in between a highway and a road, with his friends trying to pick him up so that passing cars wouldn’t hit him…When I asked why he would do that, the driver told Shayla and I…he wants to die because of his life…We were both shocked and saddened! That image will forever be engraved in my mind, however, I realized that if felt such emotion seeing this, imagine the person who felt that way and felt so low that he chose that way to die.

The shower situation at HRLN was also one of our first experiences…hot water was hard to comeby…we had to heat it up first and the shower head…we’ll lets just say we opted for the bucket method….I will never again waste so much water and remember this when I take my time when attempting to sing in the shower back in Canada.

We were also able to go to the Supreme Court of India, now that was amazing. It was the day before India’s republic day so security was heightened and the flowers were out. I saw the head of my organization, Colin, argue against the demolitions of slums. He won his case, which I found very inspiring as I was able to see something concrete unfold before my eyes, knowing that the organizations hard work had paid off and they were making a difference. There was also another case in which the lawyers of accused terrorists were beaten and so Colin won the right for the accused terrorist to have the right of having lawyers defend them without fear of punishment.   

I was able to go to the Juvenile Justice Board I, JJBI, – essentially it’s for children below the age of 18 who have been accused of committing a crime and now have gone a few times and saw some disheartening, shocking and also good things there. I am actually doing a report on the implementation of the amended Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000…This report will require me to do a lot of research on India’s laws and international conventions concerning child rights, as well as a lot of field research conducting interviews with families of accused, probabation officers, child welfare officers, lawyers and visiting the observation home-in simplistic terms this is known as the children’s jail…It’s been great exposure.  

Other than that, I’ve had some experiences with people thinking that they can trick/intimidate me as I am the « foreigner », especially the issue with my landlord. For instance, without going deep in the story… my landlord and her friend are trying to get there way and thinking that because they want something for their own benefit than I should do it because ultimately I’m the tenant…I can’t help but laugh. I’m realizing that these things are making me a more experienced person, so I should step back and take it for what it is…the good and not-so-good experiences.

Samaneh

Within a few days of my landing in Guwahati, a few
weeks ago, a « Bandh » was initiated by the United
Liberation Front of Asam (ULFA). They demanded the
release of a man who was held by the police on charges
of being linked to them. From 5AM to 5PM, businesses
were forced to remain closed, traveling by car or
by bus was forbidden.

From Assam

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En Inde, 70% de la population vit en milieu rural. Vivant près de rizières et récoltes de caoutchouc, j’ai la chance d’enfin vivre le rural indien et faire quelques rencontres. Ces fermiers qui pour la plupart ne savent ni lire ni écrire sont remplis d’ingéniosité. La preuve m’a été démontrée lors du « Rural Inventor Meet » à IRTC du 11 au 13 février 2008. La rencontre, mise sur pieds pour encourager la trentaine de fermiers inventeurs présents, avait surtout pour but de les guider dans leur approche scientifique.

« Since they don’t have that much education, we meet with them to introduce scientific input into those new inventors or correct their scientific approach. » -Prof. T.M. Sankaran, directeur d’IRTC. Lire la suite →

L’Inde a signé et ratifié la Convention relative aux droits des personnes handicapées peu après son adoption, en 2007. La législation indienne devra subir des changements majeurs au cours des prochaines années, passant d’une tendance fort inhibitrice à un régime qui prend compte des désirs, des opinions et des capacités de la personne inapte.

Un séminaire sur la capacité juridique des personnes handicapées en Inde a eu lieu le week-end dernier. Le Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), organisation indienne composée de juristes et d’activistes, et le National Trust, un organisme chapeauté par le Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment ayant pour objet d’assurer la mise en œuvre de la Loi sous laquelle il est constitué, en étaient les organisateurs. Huit avocats et spécialistes abordèrent les enjeux légaux entourant l’inaptitude, dépeignant la situation actuelle de la législation indienne et les modifications qui devront être faites pour le bien-être de ces groupes, et pour répondre aux objectifs de la Convention.

Nous donnerons donc un aperçu de la capacité juridique des personnes inaptes sous le National Trust Act, 1999, puis nous survolerons les apports de la Convention relative aux droits des personnes handicapées, 2007. Lire la suite →

J’arrive dans mon nouvel environnement de travail au bon moment; ici, à IRTC, un campus qui promue recherches et sciences en milieu rural, bien caché entre rizières et chaînes de montagnes, la formation de poterie commence. Tout au long de la semaine, on apprendra à une vingtaine de villageoises à passer au prochain niveau en poterie; la poterie décorative handmade.

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Il est 4 heure du matin, quelques milliers de familles se réveillent, les yeux qui picottent, la respiration lente, les poumons en feu et le coeur qui débat. On sort dans les rues, on court dans les bidonsvilles dans un sens puis dans l’autre sans avoir aucune idée de la situation. La plupart se dirige même en direction du drame; l’usine de pesticides The Union Carbide Factory, ou simplement appelée maintenant The Factory par les habitants. Nous sommes à Bhopal, en Inde, où le plus gros désastre industriel de l’histoire du pays vient d’avoir lieu. Nous sommes le 3 décembre 1984 et 40 tonnes d’isocyanate de méthylemethyl (MIC) viennent d’exploser dans l’atmosphère de la ville dû à un manque de sécurité, de supervision, de leadership.

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I flew in Kerala, south of India, a week ago to shoot
the cover for a book I’m designing. The book talks of
participatory democracy, self-contained economy and
decentralized governement – power to the population
in small pockets.

From Kerala

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