Winding Down

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I am now in my final days of work at People's Watch, and as I'll explain, things are starting to get pretty exciting just as I'm leaving. From a work perspective, I find myself wishing that I had more time in Madurai, although I'm also extremely excited to be a tourist again.

First, I received a comment asking if there are any good jokes regarding the Indian police and their foibles. As it turns out, I do have a good joke, as told to me by my friend and colleague Subhra, so here goes:

An international panel is formed to study police search methods. As part of their study, they request three police contingents to participate in a study: an American contingent, a French contingent, and an Indian contingent. They bring these three police forces to the edge of a forest. They release a fox into the forest and request the American contingent to recover the fox. Using the most updated in GPS technology, the American police capture the fox within an hour. The panel then conducts the same experiment with the French police. The French use fox calls and capture the fox within an hour. Finally, the panel conducts the experiment with the Indian police. The police head off into the forest, but an hour later they haven't returned. Two hours pass, three hours, and eventually two days, and still no sign of the Indian police. So the panel, beginning to worry about their safety, sends a rescue team into the forest. After some time, the rescue team finds the Indian police. They have tied a bear to a tree and are beating it mercilessly, shouting, "Admit that you are a fox!!!"

...haha...

Unfortunately, the joke wouldn't be funny if it wasn't true. I recently watched a documentary produced by People's Watch in which they interview the Special Prosecutor in Kerala State, who adamantly holds that it's necessary to torture 3 or 4 innocent people in order to find the real criminal. The disturbing thing is that not only do they feel that torture is necessary to extract a confession from the actual criminal, but they openly accept and promote the collateral damage involved in torturing innocents. It's truly crazy. Beyond that, the entire philosophy of the police is to create fear among the general populace. I've spoken to friends who know policemen personally, and they have told how their first lesson on the job was to learn to create the presence of fear.

India is faced with a difficult situation at the moment because they are reaching for a major spot on the world stage, yet they patently fail to meet international human rights standards. In fact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is presently in the US, ostensibly negotiating a nuclear deal, but rumor has it that he's also lobbying for a permanent spot on the UN Security Council. Because India is seeking this status, it is particularly important to the leadership that human rights violations remain under wraps. But despite rampant violations of human rights, India proves to be a particularly slippery ground for human rights defenders for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that pretty much all of India's problems in this area relate to enforcement. India has a liberal Constitution and solid statutory regime for preventing torture (although, as People's Watch often points out, there is no law specifically against torture). This allows India to point to its laws as proof that it has no human rights "problem". In fact, a Dutch donor who recently attempted to come to India to visit People's Watch was denied a visa on the grounds that India, "has no human rights problems", hence there is no need for a human rights donor to visit the country. The basic stance of the government is that because India is a democracy, there is clearly no human rights problem. It's actually an impressively clever system of avoidance. Meanwhile, the poor enforcement never comes to light because the national data collection agencies consistently fudge data or just do really lazy work. For example, the National Human Rights Commission didn't even release an annual report in 2003-2004. It's accepted knowledge that the commission was formed basically to deflect international scrutiny, and they've shown an appalling lack of commitment to their mission.

So this tangent aside, I'll get down to what I've been up to recently.

As I mentioned, things have gotten much more exciting at work recently, and this has a lot to do with People's Watches' bi-annual Review and Planning Meeting. The meeting itself is pretty boring, but it draws international donors and human rights defenders from around India, so I've made really interesting contacts in the last few days.

On the day that I returned from Kerala, a woman named Barbara Wilson arrived with her husband Steve. She works for Holdeen India Project in Washington, DC. The organization was formed after a rich donor opened a trust specifically for the purpose of helping India's poor. He also stipulated that the trust should be administered by the Unitarian Universalist Association, an extremely liberal and open denomination. The joke is that UUs pray "to whom it may concern". This fund generates anywhere between $500,000 to $700,000 in interest per year, so the organization never has to do any fundraising. Barbara and Steve are on sabbatical, and they came for PW's ReaP meeting. Their arrival allowed an opportunity to go to dinner with the leadership of PW, a rare occurrence. They're fascinating people themselves. Steve, who now works for the FDA, served in the Peace Corps in India in the 60's. He worked in Andhra Pradesh training science teachers. He also had tons of crazy surfing stories. He's surfed all over the world, including India, Kenya, and Costa Rica. He used to surf in California with the first generation of surfers (which apparently includes Clint Eastwood). Anyways, it was great hanging out with them while they were here. Henri sent the four of us (Barbara, Steve, Andrew and myself) to Thekaddy, which is an animal reserve in Kerala's Western Ghat mountain range. We spent the night and then went on a boat tour in the morning. From the boat we saw wild elephants, boars and bison. It was pretty cool.

Upon returning, we went directly to Pillar House, where the 5-day ReaP meeting took place. Pillar House is located in a remote area outside Madurai, surrounded by plains with really crazy rock outcroppings jutting out of the earth. The house itself was created as a hostel for organizational meetings and such, and it has a heavily Christian bent. The place is adorned everywhere with bloody (and in my opinion rather creepy) images of Christ. The rooms are quite nice, though, and on the last day I went for a hike with a fellow intern named Riskhan into the surrounding area.

The first two days of the meeting were committed to review of the work done by each unit during the previous six months. I learned a lot about some of the work being done by other units. For example, the Tsunami Legal Action Committee has been providing legal support to tsunami victims in Tamil Nadu who have encountered legal problems in obtaining compensation, etc. They've also set up a development fund from which people can take small loans (an odd venture for a human rights organization). The Human Rights Education Program is one of the coolest ones they have. Their mission is to "create a human rights culture" in India, and I think this program is particularly relevant in this regard. They've created an entire curriculum around human rights to be taught in schools. This curriculum is being taught all over India, with the government's consent. The modules are built around asking questions of students and prodding them to question the behavior around them. It is also designed to undermine the prejudices of the caste system by appealing to the common humanity of all people. One of its coordinators is an older woman named Vasanti Devi, who I only met at this meeting, and who is really an inspiration for the work that she does. She's incredibly competent and isn't afraid to talk in really revolutionary terms. I happened to catch the tail end of a speech that she gave to the PW Women's Committee in which she talked about redefining gender roles in India. I thought she was quite impressive. So anyways, that's the story of the review session.

After that, there was a day in which each unit talked about their "dreams" for the next 3 years. This was more an exercise in creative thinking than in practical planning. I have to commend Henri for always keeping the "why?" in the forefront of PW's work. They're very committed to the emotional aspect of the work that they do.

Finally, there was a session for planning for the next 6 months. At this point I was quite bored and I did a lot of reading. However, I will say that I was again impressed by PW in their commitment to financial sophistication. Most NGO employees don't want to touch finance, because it's easier not to worry about it, but Henri insists that every employee become familiar with the budget for their project. His philosophy is to always connect the work with the funding that sustains it. Watching, I could tell that this is a work in progress. For example, they've had to institute a new policy that if anyone doesn't pay back an advance within 30 days, they will not receive a pay check. Some people in the organization have had advances pending for 2 or 3 years without settling. But their attitude is good and they really are light years ahead of other Indian NGOs. Henri himself always promotes a culture of openness and accountability (probably the most common phrases in his speeches are "I want to place on the record..." and "I think it should be said in public..."). What's most impressive is their commitment to leading by example. By holding themselves to such a high standard of accountability, they can always maintain the moral high ground in their struggles against torture.

I met more interesting people throughout the week. For example, Sister Serena, a nun who runs a school for girls in Rajasthan. Again, a remarkably strong woman who is really trying to change the entire dialogue in India over women's rights. Everyone says that her results have been remarkable. People remarked that it is difficult to believe that her girls are from Rajasthan, one of the most repressive states for women. Father Thomas, from Andhra Pradesh, is an incredibly gentle man who holds a leadership position in the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights. I had the pleasure of talking to him about his work, and he spoke very openly and frankly about his inability to accept any ideology (Hinduism) that preaches inequality and "treats human beings like animals". I also met a Dutch human rights defender named Friedrycka, who has found a pretty interesting niche in her job in which she works both with local communities in South Asia and Eastern Europe and with policymakers in the EU and UN. Last night, a group of us went to dinner and were joined by a guy named Tony Fernandez, who now lives in the Netherlands but seems to have grown up in India. He is an old friend of Henri's from their social work in college (although he's 15 years older than Henri) and he now does freelance work with human rights organizations. His basic specialty is microfinance, but he's currently organizing a report on persecution experienced by Dalits and its causes. He's an endearingly jovial person who has an encyclopedic knowledge of India (and, it seems, everything else).

So this is one aspect of why work has become suddenly more exciting. The other is that I'm starting to get a real window into the intrigue and emotion involved in this line of work. The history of this organization and of Henri and Cynthia's lives is filled with stories of mythic proportions. For example, we had a breakfast at Henri and Cynthia's house in which they told some stories of relationships in People's Watch. Basically, a large number of employees here are torture victims, and many have problems as a result. They've had employees commit suicide, leaving behind entire families. As a result of one such incident, they created a pension fund for all employees to cover families. One of the maids at PW is the widow of one such person. She and her daughter live in the Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims, and PW will put the daughter through school. At one point, Henri and Cynthia secretly housed an employee who was writing a subversive magazine from their home. A man named Arun Das has moved into RCTV recently. He actually runs the RCTV in Mettur, north of here, which is located in the area where the Special Task Force went on a torture rampage trying to catch Veerapan, the forest brigand. He's been sick recently so he's taking a break to recover. He was falsely accused by the STF and was taken to a torture chamber where they crammed 60 people into a room fit for 15. He was kept there for 18 days, where the police tortured him by sticking nails into his heels and electrocuting his ears and nipples. The victims had to sit naked and the police would occasionally rape the women. After this, he was imprisoned for 3 years. He had heard that PW supported torture victims, and from prison he organized victims to write postcards to PW explaining their situation and requesting legal representation. This is how PW got involved in legal interventions on behalf of STF victims. After his release he was employed by PW and he now runs a rehabilitation center. A younger worker named Prabhakar was falsely accused of murder by the STF and the charges are still on his head. Another young worker named Karuna was taken in by PW after his father was imprisoned for 8 years by the STF. At PW's annual summer camp for victims of torture, he approached Henri and said that he wanted to be a human rights lawyer. He moved into PW's office and studied non-stop for law exams, learned English from scratch, and has gotten into law school. I've only learned about most of these stories in the last week or so. It leads to an emotional attachment within the organization that creates a real family atmosphere. Henri and Cynthia see many of these people as their own children. The result is victories and betrayals (few and far between but they happen sometimes) on a Shakespearean level. They really view their work as a "movement" from which you can't just leave once you've shown a commitment.

We also experienced a bit of intrigue at a public lecture that occurred on July 21. The lecture was held in the middle of Madurai, outdoors with big speakers, so it was quite high profile. The lectures were about communalism in India. They were really interesting. The first speaker, a professor from Bombay named Ram Puniyani, used historical fact to undermine the arguments of the RSS, a political organization that preaches "Hindutva", the idea that India should be a Hindu nation. They basically operate through hate politics, stoking communal discord as a way of gaining power. He talked about the destruction of temples, which is a real sticking point. Basically, the north of the country was run by invading Muslims (Mughals) for hundreds of years, during which time many temples were destroyed and mosques built on top. The most famous is Babri Masjid, a mosque that was built over a Ram temple on the spot in which Ram was supposedly born. The destruction of the mosque in the 90s set off a string of terrorism in Bombay, after which communal riots broke loose, resulting in unspeakable carnage between Hindus and Muslims. Puniyani pointed out that the destruction of these temples had nothing to do with religious hatred and everything to do with financial gain. He also talked about the Gujarat riots in 2003, in which a train bombing was immediately blamed on Muslims and huge riots broke out. He talked about a Christian priest who attempted to open a leper colony in the South but was brutally attacked for his efforts under the argument that he was proselytizing. Puniyani countered this claim by pointing out that the Christian population in India has actually fallen in the last 50 years (it's about 2.3%). The second speaker was fiery and crowd-pleasing, but I was only able to understand it through translation, as he spoke in Tamil. The speeches were interspersed with artistic performances, including traditional Tamil drumming and plays that touched on social issues. For example, one play depicted police torturing poor villagers. The police were portrayed as growling dogs on all fours. Another play depicted multinational companies using the Indian government like puppets for financial gain. Many Special Economic Zones have popped up in India to promote international investment. They're not a bad idea in theory but the government has gone way over the top, granting something like 500 zones to multinational corporations. This is a lot more land than necessary, and it has led to the eviction of tribals. Anyways, as I said there was intrigue involved. Cynthia was supposed to translate for myself and Andrew, but we got word that there were undercover intelligence agents in the crowd. Cynthia informed us that she could not sit with us because she is a "marked person". Someone else translated for us and everything went smoothly, but it was a reminder of the danger involved in the work.

I get the impression that PW has gained enough of a reputation that they won't get into trouble as long as they're careful. We had a meeting in Henri's office last night in which he described the situation. He said that their reputation allows them more slack than the average organization for criticizing the government, but they have to be very aware of where the limit lies, because if they cross it they'll be in trouble. For exmaple, Henri feels that they may have crossed the line in protesting the fire that recently took place at a local newspaper. In case you didn't read that entry, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is Karunanidhi, basically a thug. His sons Aligiri and Stalin are in line for his position. The newspaper (owned by Stalin) printed a poll putting Stalin way ahead. Shortly thereafter, thugs arrived and ransacked the building, lighting it on fire and killing three people. The police stood by and did nothing. Everyone knows that Aligiri ordered the action, and many people believe that it was done with Karunanidhi's blessing. PW led the protests against this action and released a pamphlet decrying political violence. They also had to audacity to name Aligiri by name. Apparently it's fine to call for justice as long as you don't name the perpetrator. For example, you could say "The perpetrators should be brought to justice!", but you can't say "Aligiri should be brought to justice!". Henri received some concerned calls from lawyer friends saying that the political powers-that-be were not at all happy. However, nothing happened and it seems to have blown over. In another incident in 2003, the police ransacked PW's office looking for 2 criminals. PW employees followed them around with cameras, taking pictures in order to document the illegal act. The police weren't happy about it but couldn't do anything about it. Henri said that he was extremely scared that the police would plant drugs in the office, because that is a method they commonly use to frame people. That could have landed him in jail for some time.

In short, I've recently come to understand better the sort of risks that Henri, Cynthia and all of PW's employees take in fighting for what they believe in. It's pretty inspiring work that they do. I've also had the privilege of meeting a lot of the biggest human rights leaders in the country, people with a mythic aura about them. I also became closer with a lot of PW's staff members. It's unfortunate that all this is happening right as I'm leaving, but it's wonderful that things have taken this turn, and I have some exciting traveling up ahead, so I can't complain.

I hope everyone is doing well.

-Aaron

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Photos

Thekaddy
An Ambassador and some priests examine a waterfall at the Thekaddy nature reserve.

Riskhan
My Sri Lankan colleague looking far too cool for school.

King of the Mountain?
Try as I might, I couldn't climb any higher.

Striking a Pose
Having finally reached the top of one of the rocks, I wanted to document the occasion.

Breakfast at the Tiphagne Household
From right to left: Steve and Barbara, Henri and Cynthia, Andrew, Father Arul Raj, who has done a lot of excellent work in tsunami-ravaged communities.

Near Pillar House
These are some of the cool rock outcroppings near Pillar House.

Pillar House
An aerial shot (sort of) of Pillar House.

Surrounding Village
Again, a shot from our hike near Pillar House.