NGO hustle

Initially that was NOT supposed to be a blog post in itself. I had been waiting (for 3 hours!!! hence the original title: "Indian (and other variations of) Time, to be continued another day) to go visit some of the projects that an NGO was running and just as I started a blog post (I had run out of other Internet-time-wasting things to do), the director finally called me into his office.

So. . .I met someone who was a business partner with my friend and was impressed that I seemed to genuinely want to work in human rights/social justice issues without any concern for advancement of my career/finances (apparently that's NOT like everyone. . .!) so he introduced me to someone he knew who is a coordinator for some different NGOs (who will remain nameless, sorry for the suspense), who introduced me to a specific one in Delhi where I went today. I had been to the office on Friday to meet the director and find out what kind of situation I was potentially getting myself into.

The director explained that they did nothing related to human rights or the environment, so I wasn't a good fit for the organization. Fair enough. I certainly prefer honesty over exploitation. Then the conversation shifted to the prospect of fund-raising. . .uh oh. "I could put together a team for you and you could come up with some fund-raising strategies, after of course you know everything about the organization, how transparent we are, what we are doing, how sustainable we are. . .you know, sustainability is the key these days, how much money we need, etc." Ok, not ideal, but of course every organization has to do at least some form of fundraising. . .right? "For now we can pay you 8000 rs for trial but after a few months, depending on your skills and ambition, there's no limit. . .we don't have a problem in this area." ummm. "You could set up an office for us in Canada, be the face of the organization there, find Canadian donors there and have the funds transfered to our account.". . . .right. . . .something about that seems somewhat unsustainable to me. . .

Not to mention that they are already getting funding and support from their "Mother NGO" and the government. AND that he failed to acknowledge that corruption was happening with respect to entrance to government schools. Provided, perhaps this doesn't apply to the particular ones that they are working with. . .(possible?). When I was working for a week at NCDHR the people living in the slums straight up told us that their children rarely got into government schools because, although entrance was supposed to be based on a lottery system, in actuality, it was often based on how much you were able to pay the administration. Dalits and other people living in the slums didn't have much opportunity. Ok, so Dalit rights aren't an issue you're working on. Fine. That doesn't mean it's ok to be unaware or dishonest about a huge problem affecting the demographic you largely work with.

Sometimes I think I'm being way to critical and will never be able to do anything. . .good or bad, because of it. Nothing will ever be 100% good (the rule of the yin yang?) Sometimes I wonder if it's more a fear of involving and investing myself in something that will inevitably have some negative aspects. I prefer to dwell in the grey>leading white as much as possible. . .but the black is also a necessary part. . .Maybe if I actually took the position and invested myself I could help them do things in a better, more sustainable way. . .not because i'm a foreigner, thus automatically more knowledgeable or because i have a hero complex. . .but simply because i'm critical and trying my best to be honest with myself about the situation.

In this particular situation though, I think I will decline. Some people just make you feel uneasy. . .

Field trip to Baljeet Nagar with NCDHR

The last couple of days I've been going to the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) office to learn more about their campaign and see if I could do anything useful for them and if it would be something I would like to be involved with for the duration of my stay in India.

I was connected to NCDHR through one of my contacts at the Indian Formation Research Society who I met at the Study Circle I went to in Assam. They are working for the rights of Dalits, members of the lowest caste, who are also referred to as the "untouchable" caste, in India. Dalits make up about 17% of the population of India which equates to almost 200 million people! Dalits are discriminated against and suffer huge violations of their basic human rights by upper castes and government systems/policies simply because of their birth into the Dalit caste. As a result, they often live in slums, are refused education, especially post-secondary education, are not given the privilege to choose their work and are confined to labour that is both ill-paying and considered to be demeaning by most of Indian society (street cleaners, devadasis (temple prostitutes), cobblers, leather workers, etc).

Dalits, especially women and children are also very vulnerable to violence from upper castes. Because the idea of caste is so deeply ingrained into many members of Indian society, when Dalits try to speak out against violations to their rights or injustice, they will often suffer more violence at the hands of the authorities or retribution from aggressors they complain about for not "accepting their fate as a Dalit", which they think is necessarily equated with discrimination and atrocities.

The NCDHR is trying to make practical changes to this horrific historic problem with a number of campaigns they are working on. Due to a seeming "lack of interest" and a visible lack of action (or rather, invisible action?) in addressing the problem from many national agencies, the NCDHR has been forced to take the issue to an International level.

Yesterday, as part of a training process at NCDHR (a number of students are interning here for a few weeks and I happened to come during their orientation), we took a field trip to Baljeet Nagar, just 10 minutes by cycle-rickshaw from the NCDHR office in Delhi. The settlement in Baljeet Nagar is located behind a large sports ground, Ramjas Park, and residential area. It was created 25 to 30 years ago when immigrants, primarily from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar, moved to Delhi in search of better opportunities. Since that time the number of jhuggis (shanties) erected has reached around 4000 and it is estimated that approximately 80% of the people living in Baljeet Nagar are Dalits. Although the settlement is technically illegal, the residents have been paying bribes for many years in order to stay on the land.

On March 23rd and 24th 2011, without doing any of the mandatory surveys and without any prior notice given to the residents as per the supreme court guidelines, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) arrived with 5 bulldozers at Baljeet Nagar and proceeded to illegally bulldoze around 600 jhuggis. 8 residents were informally arrested and detained for several hours. The residents had no opportunity to remove or salvage their belongings and many official documents, ration cards, voter ID cards and other belongings of the residents were stolen or lost in the rubble. The government has not yet offered any remuneration for the people who have lost their houses nor has any plan for the relocation of these residents been presented as yet.

From a publication at NCDHR:

Though the demolition received formal sanction from the Delhi Government and was scheduled by local authorities, just the day before the bulldozers razed their homes, residents of Baljeet Nagar were allegedly forced to pay huge amounts of money to the DDA and Delhi Police officials.

Since the demolition, the NCDHR has been involved in stopping further demolition of the Baljeet Nagar settlement and has thus far warded off further destruction. The situation is still not good though. People living in Baljeet Nagar have no water or toilet facilities, they are gravely under served in terms of health facilities. Women venturing into the nearby wooded area for their bathroom needs are in danger of sexual assault and violence.

We talked to the residents of Baljeet Nagar for about two hours about their experiences with the demolition and also the struggles that they face in their daily lives. Many people in Baljeet Nagar have to fight every day for things that so many people take for granted; a home, food, water, access to education, safety, and medicine. Yet, they are happy to talk to us, to share their stories. They have been through such injustice and cruelty in their lives and yet they are still fighting. They are passionate about their rights, they are not giving up. Children are running around smiling, playing and laughing; excited to see foreigners in their settlement and just being children. People are cooking, preparing food, washing clothes, talking, taking care of babies, living.
The residents offer us all samosas and soft drinks before we go as a sign of hospitality and appreciation for coming and hearing their stories.