Hope on the Margins

Country underwater

2010-08-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

It’s still an under reported tragedy. Over 20 million people in neighbouring Pakistan have lost all but their lives as flood waters continue to surge forth – even three weeks on since heavy rains hit the country.
The UN has called for a $460 million response plan to deal with this humanitarian disaster – far worse in its impact than many in recent times put together - the Haiti earthquake, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the 2008 Cyclone Nargis.
The UK has recently announced doubling its aid to meet this target. Others need to follow suit.

Chasing a tale

2010-05-13T05:02:00.000-07:00

It was in spring this year that I went to Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh – India’s largest and one of the poorest states – to oversee a photo-shoot.
The subject was a nondescript van (see above) that ferries pregnant women across rocky terrain to the nearest health facility. Its remarkable drive lies in achieving this safely and in time.
The van goes by the name of Janani Express – janani means ‘mother’ in Hindi – and is run by the government to promote safe births in rural India.
Spurred by news of its success in the state, we landed at Shivpuri (a district that has one of the worst indicators on maternal mortality) to record its winning run. And in the process, I uncovered the personal struggles and joy of Asha, Kiran, Anita and Rekha – women I met in this chase for a tale. Meet and read their stories here.
The 24X7 service will now expand to 50 districts in the state – bringing hope to more women in need. Incidentally, in India, a woman dies in childbirth every 7 minutes.

Sign up!

2009-11-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

1.02 billion people live on this earth in chronic hunger. If this shocks you, sign up at www.1billionhungry.org! FAO’s new online anti-hunger petition will send out a strong message to world leaders.
But a new report launched ahead of the World Summit on Food Security starting early next week offers some hope. Thirty-one countries have noted success in halving the number of hungry by 2015 or are on track to meet this goal.
India regrettably does not figure on the list…

In pursuit of peace

2009-11-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

I was away attending the Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace, I mentioned at work today. ‘Power of peace… I thought it was spam,’ a colleague remarked referring to a mail she had got on the same.
A similar thought was shared at the forum last week. People do mistrust ‘peace’ or ‘unity’ messages as bugs ready to spam their inbox. In a world ridden with conflicts of all nature, isn't it ironic the way our minds function?
I am back from a quick trip to the steamy pulsating city of bright pink cabs – Bangkok, where I was invited by UNESCO to share some thoughts with young peace advocates from different corners of the world. As with most conferences of the kind, this too was a space for people to mingle, connect, and learn a few things.

Readers, hear the voices of women on Peace X Peace online network where dialogue aims to build peace. Be part of a global family and learn of a new peace initiative by the New York based We are Family Foundation. Learn to transform conflicts with the help of NGO Search for Common Ground. Participate at the Global Peace and Unity Event at Excel London in April next year. Read the poetry of Palestinian poet, lecturer and fellow speaker Saed J. Abu-Hijleh.
The forum highlight was the launch of the new Power of Peace Network that would bring to light responsive practices in ICT in conflict reporting among other quests for peace. In times of chronic cynicism, such endeavors are worthy of thriving hope in the hearts of men and women.

G20 Recap

2009-10-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

While I took a respite, the world has been pretty active.
Two rounds of global talks on economy recovery: the G8 summit at L’Aquila, Italy, pledging (mere?) $20 billion to boost food supplies (it’s a ‘moral obligation’ to help poor countries, says Obama); and the G20 Pittsburg summit in US last month where leaders met to follow up on their London pledges. (Check out the last five months’ action on the BBC pledge tracker).
China, India become the new caretakers of the global economy; but the communiqué is panned by the anti-poverty UN Millennium Campaign. New voting powers to emerging countries do not help the poorest in smaller economies driven to debts.

Two more stocktaking planned next year in Canada and Korea: will words translate to action?

Freedom March

2009-08-20T23:51:00.000-07:00

Even as India completes 62 years of self-rule, hundreds and thousands of its men and women carry on a fight to claim their rights. This inspiring profile in a national magazine captures some of the people who are leading the march towards freedom.

Green philosophy

2009-06-25T03:38:00.000-07:00

Spurring production, making jobs and caring for the environment – this ‘wise and sound’ project has been launched early this month in Gujarat, western India. The proposed Green Economic Zone, ideated by NGO Bhasha Adivasi Academy and with local capital, will boost agriculture and local industries without harming natural resources. Will this dream development model get the legal nod?

Listen to the radio…

2009-05-27T00:19:00.000-07:00

Working in an organization that uses radio to impact people’s lives, it is but natural such stories catch my eye. I came across this report on how radio is making women in Pastapur, Andhra Pradesh, confident and vocal. Hear the song being recorded by the older women of the community, it’s lovely.

Toilets for brides

2009-05-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

An interesting thing is happening quite close to the Indian capital. Women are expressing their desire for a clean and safe toilet as a condition for marriage. I came upon this news on a global blog. Once again we are made to realize what the humble toilet truly entails for women’s rights in the developing world.

Of tweets and flies

2009-04-27T02:28:00.000-07:00

We get 10,000 mosquito nets more to fight malaria thanks to a bet won by Ashton Kutcher over media legacy CNN by attracting a million followers to his tweets. This event is newsworthy for me from two points.
I have recently been exploring how social media is transforming the way traditional media operates. This event tells how the individual can have a wider never-before outreach.
Second, that Kutcher decided to use the World Malaria Day as the peg, thus drawing global attention to this vector-borne disease that continues to claim millions of lives in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Meanwhile a new malaria strain, resistant to Artemisinin – the drug used in combination therapies treatment, is posing to be a new threat, says the WHO.
Now that Kutcher has won a million fans, how about a million mosquito nets as well?

Mera joota hai Hindustani…

2009-04-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

As I land home groggy and jetlagged, I learn of India’s new ‘shoegate’ status. A Sikh journalist expresses his anger over a recent political move by throwing his shoe at the Home Minister.
As the national media debates the rights and wrongs of the methodology used, the throw sure did not miss raising a public voice on the ’84 riots when 2,000 Sikhs in the Indian capital alone were killed in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her bodyguards belonging to the same community.
An issue that has oft been swept under the political carpet has now been kicked upfront by the humble shoe. A friend of mine, also friend to the new ‘betrayer of the journalistic fraternity’ says the 25-year old scars are hard to ignore. I say a billion pairs of shoes are even harder to discount.

Last words of two world leaders…in their own way

2009-04-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

We all waited in the true Indian spirit. The Indian Prime Minister was late. A compelling reason though – he was in conversation with the American President Barrack Obama.
After the ‘useful and productive’ meeting (in his words) that had covered issues of security and climate change, Dr Manmohan Singh spoke about the $1.1 trillion that will bring back jobs, growth and stability. “Recapitalizing the banking system is essential to normalise credit flows – mere fiscal stimulus cannot have expected results.” True enough?
What about the chronic poverty that ails millions in India? Not surprisingly, the subject was not broached even as the suave and soft-spoken PM admitted that there was still much more left to do while listing his government’s achievements. Indian journalists were more concerned about Pakistan’s terror antics and India’s response to it.
As I moved to the adjoining briefing room to hear US President Barrack Obama’s take, it was not difficult to figure his popular win last year. In his strong compelling voice, he was ably fielding queries being thrown by the crowding media. (With a dash of charm and wit)
While he admitted the G20 was not the panacea that would take care of the remains of toxic assets in US and European banks, he also claimed it had created a good foundation in boosting global demand and growth. But what really caught my attention was his view on the India-Pakistan terror issue, and here I quote, “In a nuclear age when the greatest enemy of India and Pakistan should be poverty, it may be more effective to create a dialogue between India and Pakistan.” Amen to that.

A trillion dollars for world recovery

2009-04-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

As I pick the communiqué the figure stands out. Breaking it up, its $750 billion to IMF (incidentally trebling their resources), $250 billion to support SDR (googling I discover the Special Drawing Rights was created by the IMF in 1969, a basket of currencies that works as an overdraft facility for member countries), a $100 billion lending to MDBs – that is Multilateral Development Banks – and $250 billion to boost world trade.
While IMF appears to be the biggest winner, I am interested in the $100 billion that would be lent to poorest countries. Wonder if the Indian PM has something to say about it in his briefing in a little while. I think I will go pay him a visit.

More voice to emerging countries

2009-04-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

After facing the bitter cold of a London morning, and being shuttled from one point to another, we are finally in the wide warm confines of the Excel Centre – the hotspot of global action that will unfold as the day passes.
I am no economist who can debate on the perplexing ways the economy functions. As world leaders debate on trade, market reforms and business regulations, I hope today’s agenda will also take care of the voiceless nations. Salil Shetty, global head of the UN Millennium Campaign says emerging countries like India still have limited voice. He believes it is time that there are policy changes to make them more pro-MDG and also a change in the global governance and voice structures. Both need to go hand in glove. I am watching the Indian PM Manmohan Singh on the TV screens at the Media Centre. Will he take the cue?

Agenda next?

2009-04-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally made it in time to London for the G20. As part of a group of 50 bloggers invited from across the world, I am fortunate to be a part of a unique exercise that hopes to carry the voice of civil society and people to governments. As accredited mainstream media, we would all be able to attend the summit up close tomorrow (so watch this space).
As we gather today in a beautiful imposing room in Westminster to know each other and discuss – to my mind, demystify – the issues of G20, I think of the less fortunate back home who have no access to the many virtues of new media technologies that we are using here. I share here a scene from a small government school in remote Bengal in east India, where we run an ICT program to assist rural teachers connect with education experts in bigger cities and help them deal with their daily challenges. Forget computers. The need for basic infrastructure is a higher call here and in the many hundred schools across the country’s interiors.
I hear the Indian PM does have MDGs on his agenda as flies down for his first meeting with US President Barrack Obama, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, among others tomorrow. Although conventional wisdom has shown all grand intentions of leaders remain that – mere intentions – I will allow myself the hope that perhaps, this time, there would be a genuine effort by world leaders to protect the interests of the poorest in developing countries.

The Medicine of Hope

2009-03-29T04:05:00.000-07:00

The beginning of this blog coincides with the G20 summit in London on April 2, 2009. The G20 is going to be a big event -- not the least because it will be the new US president Barack Obama's first-ever international summit -- but also because the expectations of the world's poor from such a gathering are naturally big themselves.

If history is any indication, then any gathering of or led by the world's richest and most powerful nations has largely gone on to disappoint the world's poor and needy. But then, as the Great Bard wrote, hope is the only medicine for the poor of the world.

So we hope. We hope that this G20 summit, where, finally, emerging countries such as India are being given a seat at the dinner table, will begin a process to practice what its members never tire of preaching -- the need to bring equitable prosperity and reduce the world's yawning disparities that are the biggest threat to world peace in the 21st century.

We hope that with their presence, countries especially such as India and China -- two countries where some of the world's richest share citizenship with the some of the world's most desperate -- will speak up front on the urgent need to bring succor to their more than a billion destitute.

This blog is committed to keeping a close watch on how the world's biggest nations at the G20 react to the agenda of the poor, and how far they go here onward to bring real change.