Crisis, Compassion and Committment

Introduction
We are living in a world of abundance. God has given us natural resources to enjoy every day of life in this world. Though the whole world has its own kind of dynamic structures the ingredients of people and nature are the same and the cooperation and interdependence between these two maintains the cycle of life. However, the dominant ideology of human which presupposes that humans are superior has led to the consequence that human beings believe that all things in this world are subject to human consumption, thus favoring the idea of consumerism into human minds. This manner of greedy consumption leads to crisis, hunger and poverty. In this essay I make an attempt to explore how society can recover its wellbeing amidst contemporary consumption based food and energy crisis.

 

Consumption with compassion

1.6 billion people – a quarter of humanity, live without electricity and approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished (http://www.globalissues.org/). However, the basic truth lies that every human in this world has the right to live with sufficient food. In reality, the majority of the world population is seen to have been always living in poverty and hunger, and ironically, this majority does not have any right to alter their destiny amidst the suppressing global economic orders. On the other hand, the remaining minority of the world are living in abundance, enjoying everyday life amidst unimaginable luxury. If one tries to decode this mystery of imbalance and inequality, one would eventually be thrown out the dominant system of global politics. Everyone knows the reason of this inequality and nobody really seems to be wanting to change the existing system. None of us dare to think beyond money.

 

In this context, it is our duty to ensure good life to our neighbors and the remaining creation. Compassion for neighbors and the remaining creation can be viewed as one of the solutions to resolve this crisis. We have realized that compassion is one of the powerful forces driving human beings to experience one another’s pain. When one feels the pain of one’s neighbor, what automatically follows, is an action to resolve the crisis. A compassionate heart is the source of goodwill and the cradle of positive change. Contemporary world has lost the value of compassion and is thriving in selfishness. Here we are discussing about the need for an attitudinal change in each and every person of the world to help one another and to share what we have with others in need. Compassion initiates transformation in a person, and continuous transformation results in the embellishment of the quality of life in society. Compassion is the prerequisite for being called human. Any human without compassion is not a human and whatever political, economical or social order without space for compassion is like vacuum. Be compassionate, consume with compassion, consider everyone in the world while laying development agendas, and lead the change.

 

Policy making with commitment

Policy makers are more responsible for global policies. Commitment of policy makers is the backbone of the world since we live in a political world. They should be committed to the welfare of people. They should be away from vested interests, political agendas and power clashes. The main cause of the current crisis is selfish policies of policy makers. Because uncommitted policy makers come to power for name and fame with great scholarship, family background and political influence, many of them never have experienced, or are ready to understand the real pain of any issue they are dealing with. Therefore, it is quite clear that the education, experience and achievements are an additional qualification where commitment is the prerequisite of policy making. When they commit themselves to the ideals of a just world in which all are living with peace, justice and equality, the world will live in peace and prosperity.

 

I have a fine illustration to quote. The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh wanted to sign a nuclear deal with the US to meet the energy needs of India. However, majority of the political parties opposed the deal as part of their trivial politics in the name of “saving fraternity of India”(some criticisms are valid though). At the end of the high drama, Dr. Singh’s coalition government was ready to face the challenge and he even took up the risk of losing power to sign this agreement. In the Parliament, before the vote of confidence he submitted his response to the house (since the members did not allow him to read it), in which he stated, “Every day that I have been Prime Minister of India I have tried to remember the first ten years of my life which were spent in a village with no drinking water supply, no electricity, no hospitals, no roads, and nothing that we today associate with modern living. I had to study in the dim light of a kerosene oil lamp. This nation gave me the opportunity to ensure that such would not be the life of our children in the foreseeable future.” His personal commitment for the welfare of people single handedly made the agreement. And the not-so-good example from the US is the unwillingness to implement Kyoto protocol clearly depicting the selfish mentality of US policy makers. What a terrible example of their being uncommitted to humanity!

 

Conclusion
Compassion and commitment is the need of the day. Whether an ordinary man or a powerful policymaker, all are required to touch their heart and check whether they have compassion for the starving child in Africa and the dying people in Asia? These two binding qualities are the basics in order to contribute to the well being of life in the society. We have adequate money, multitude of resources and millions of people, yet no heart to help one another. If people and policy makers work together with commitment and compassion, then the crisis-free, human-centered development is possible with equal sharing and joy for all amidst this entire crisis because ALWAYS WE CAN

 

Forests: thrillers, martyrs and healers

Introduction

Forests are a treasure of tranquility, a symbol of integrity, a source of diversity and a place of unity. We can find plenty of flora, fauna, trees, animals, birds and species living together with abounding love in the forest. Mixed fragrances, pure air, healthy herbals, roaring streams, descending falls and moving beings make a forest a lively playground of peace. Above all, its serene presence always leads into a celestial experience of all who enter and experience it. This essay is an exploration of the contribution of forests to the welfare of humankind, and human response to forests in order to understand the present scenario and reflect on the future of the human-forest relationship.

 

Forest as thriller

From my childhood onwards I was indoctrinated about forests through various ways. Most of my childhood bedtime stories started with, “There was a deep forest in which…” In addition, heroic adventures and especially movie thrillers were often shown as taking place in forest settings. Christian missionary organizations often portrayed forest and tribal people as individuals who were in danger from evil beasts, living in a threatened environment. In addition, Indian literature mostly portrayed forests as places for hermits and areas for divine mediation to escape from the chaos of the world.

 

Being fed with this kind of imagery, I was led into believing that people who lived in forests, particularly tribes, lacked culture. On the whole, I was educated that forests are dangerous places and the people who were living in forests were also dangerous.These kinds of notions and inputs led me into antiforest sentiments until I undertook intensive fieldwork in Similipal forest range in Orissa in August 2007. The 25-day stay at Similipal forest range, living in the forest with the people of the forest, changed my perception about forests and helped me to live and experience the real situation, rather than living in a strange imagination.

 

Forest as martyr

Forests always stand for human welfare and benefit. Everything found in the forest is used by human beings for sustaining their lives. For example, major deforestation took place in India beginning from 1853 to start railways; numerous trees were cut down to make “sleepers” and simultaneously used for fuel. Flowers, fruits, roots, leaves, stems, and seeds, everything has been given to humans, but the question persists as to why humans are concentrating on cutting trees, and destroying their lives? Trees have lives of their own; they live, bloom, and grow. How unethical is the human attitude towards trees in the forests! We, who call ourselves educated people, need to learn something from the people living at the grassroots.

 

The Dheevar caste of Bhandara district of Maharashtra never catch fish going upstream on spawning migration, although they are exhausted and easy to catch. There are entire sacred groves and ponds in which no plant or animal is damaged. (1994. M. Gadgil and K.C. Malhotra. The ecological significance of caste. In: Ramachandra Guha (Ed.) Social Ecology. Oxford University Press, Delhi, p.36).  During my fieldwork with tribal people in Similipal forest range and throughout our stay, we could not get milk for consumption, though there were numerous cows around. Once, we asked a lady who owned two cows, “Did you get milk from the cows?” Immediately she replied, “How can I get milk from the cow? Cow’s milk is the life of its calves and it is unethical to suck one’s life to nourish ourselves.” I then understood why they didn’t drink cow’s milk; they were only using cow dung as manure in their fields. It is very important for us as a literate human generation to ethically look into the issue of deforestation. We have been taking each and every product of the trees; we have been cutting the generous friend – the God-given gift that is the tree itself – out of our utter selfishness.

 

Certainly, we should regard all the trees as martyrs as we get rains through them, we get good air through them, good food through them, and so on. On the whole, when we acknowledge the sacrifice of trees simultaneously, it is our commitment to save and sustain their life in order to create a greener and healthier world.

 

Forest as healer

Human atrocities over nature have increased, and consequently human beings and the earth have both become ill. Climate change is one of the worst effects in this regard. It is the time to heal our earth as well as the human generation. When the tsunami devastated South Asia in 2004, one of the major reasons for the damage was the eradication of mangrove forests and coral reefs in the shore area by the shrimp industry. Now governments and NGOs are planting mangroves and nurturing coral reefs in the sea shore. From this example it is very clear that trees are not only martyrs, but also healers. If we grow trees we will enhance water resources; perhaps we may be saved from tsunamis and save the world from climate change. Trees and forests are the hope of the world; they heal the human spirit, enrich life’s experience and give people peace. Poet and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh from Vietnam, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr., in his book Touching Peace, Practicing the Art of Mindful Living, describes a human-nurturing tree-ritual: “Ten years ago, I planted three beautiful Himalayan cedars outside my hermitage [in France], and now, whenever I walk by one of them, I bow, touch its bark with my cheek, and hug it. As I breathe in and out mindfully, I look at its branches and beautiful leaves. I receive a lot of peace and sustenance from hugging trees. Touching a tree gives both you and the tree great pleasure. Trees are beautiful, refreshing, and old. When you want to hug a tree, it will never refuse. You can rely on trees. I have even taught my students the practice of tree hugging … In the same way we touch trees, we can touch ourselves and others, with compassion. Yes, trees are our friends. They listen to us, care for us, speak to us through their soft leaves, kiss us with beautiful flowers and feed us with kindness through their fruits. How sweet it is!”.

 

Conclusion

The main challenge is to connect humans and forests. The social understanding and the so-called development theories have clearly divided people from the forest. It is very important for people to understand that forests are part of our world and that they should be taken care of by us. For example, my stay at Similipal forest range in August 2007 was quite strange and scintillating – in the deep forest with no mobile phone tower or television, low voltage power – just a transistor  radio which received programs from All India Radio, and only a few people. Every night when I went to sleep, I checked my bed and nearby places fearing the presence of snakes. So much did I feel uncomfortable, and filled with hatred towards the forest. However, after 25 days, I realized that it was the most peaceful place in the world; a pure world of nature, and people with nature, and this learning experience led me to care for trees, because of which I am now concerned about nature. This is the real scenario of 75-90 percent of the population of India towards the forest.

 

It is my sincere suggestion that the Government and institutions should concentrate on the youngsters and teach them the reality of the forest and its life and work for humanity. If they witness this truth, no one would harm trees and they would promote forestation and also begin to nurture nature.

 

Practically speaking, school and college children should be taken into the forest and given a chance to explore its beauty and appreciate its nobility from their childhood, through excursions, study trips and picnics. Misinterpretations and wrong indoctrinations about forests need to be stopped.

 

The tourism department of India is advertising Indian forests to foreign tourists only to generate wealth, but local people are poorly aware or misinformed of forest tourism. This has to be rectified. Media, such as newspapers, radio, television, and so on, promote the importance of forests throughout their programs. Tribal people and their good social values and practices need to be imparted to the mainstream. Philosophical and religious understanding of forests should be reconstructed with optimism and hope.

 

Above all, as committed human beings we should spend much time in promoting forestation and eradicating deforestation collectively. I believe that these things would create a greener environment and help us to enhance the existing forests and to create more.

 

To conclude, I would like to say that when we enjoy forests and their resources we should always remember our responsibility to care for forests and pass them to the coming generations, inviting them to express their solidarity with us in this noble mission. The idea of forest as a thriller should be enjoyed, forest as martyr should be remembered, and forest as healer should be practiced.

 

Climate change as a chronic disease: research challenges for the health of vulnerable communities

Climate change is a global chronic disease that erodes everything. The ultimate losers, owever, are vulnerable communities, such as the poor and marginalized, and women and children who predominantly depend on nature and natural resources. Climate change damages the environment. The damaged environment negatively impacts people’s health and their economic growth, further contributing to their vulnerability and marginalization. In this context, this essay explores the research challenges for the health of vulnerable communities critically and constructively.

The first and main research challenge is to find out how the global health research community understands their research activities for the health of vulnerable populations. The United Nations (UN) predicts that climate change will sweep people’s lives through unpredicted weather conditions. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that food security is threatened and famine will increase, with the food crisis potentially leading to civil unrest. The World Health Organization (WHO) prophesies that populations in developing countries will be easily subject to vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, because of increasing heat and immune deficiency. It is very clear that global institutions should look into the issues, research, analyse and predict future impacts to some extent. Unfortunately the need of the day, however, is not just prediction but an effective prevention strategy that will save people. Contemporary health research is very much concentrated on finding the problem, scaling up the problem, analysing the problem and making policy recommendations. Is it appropriate? I strongly believe that health research is the hope of the world and good research starts with people and ends with people. Research that starts with people, but ends in paper is dead. Living research is initiated directly from people’s problems, processed in the academic arena and ends with finding a solution to clear or decrease the effects of the problem. Now the global health research community should test out their conscience. Are we researching to merely predict what is going to happen to people or really striving to save people’s lives through our preventive research? Since climate change is an unavoidable and invisible enemy it is not easy to root out, but it is possible to prevent future chaos through our collective research and participatory action.

The second main research challenge is how the global health research community proceeds in their research for the health of vulnerable communities. Most of the research that is focused on climate change, as well as its effects on humankind, concentrates on numbers rather than answers; it is confined very much to statistics and not really moving towards solutions. I personally feel that it is not important to know how many might be affected, but rather how we are going to save them using our action-based research. Our research is technically fit, academically sound and globally valid, but what is the use of research that does not even propose an answer to the problem? Research claims that it has a “thesis” of how our findings are really worked out with people. For me, however, solutions are not superlative ideas but transformative actions that empower people. For example, Professor Mohammed Younis, who started his microfinance venture with one rupee in a small village in Bangladesh, transformed the whole world through his action-based thesis. When we start to count heads it becomes a kind of academic exercise, but true solution seekers are committed to their cause and passionate about people. On the whole, it is very important to focus our research on solutions rather than statistics that merely understand the number, difference of percentage, proportion of the problem and the timeline of the process. Billions of people are on the fray of climate change and every one speaks about it, writes about it and thinks about it. We, the health researchers of the world, however, are expected to deliver solutions to save vulnerable populations from climate change.

The third main research challenge for the health of vulnerable populations is how global health research is going to reach those vulnerable populations. Closing the gap between researchers and people is important. Climate change affects everyone but only a very few people have the rationale to understand that they have been affected by climate change. In this context, how are we going to make vulnerable populations realize that they are the real victims and ultimate losers of nature’s politics. It is not important how much we know through our research, but how much our people know through our research. Contemporary research is too often dwelling in the academic forts of scholars and policy-makers; it is living far away from ordinary people. So it is our commitment to carry our research to the people to make them understand the reality because people’s problem can be solved only by people. Policies, working papers, status papers and research reports are good, but the findings and solutions should be communicated to the other end. For example, at the time of the south Asian tsunami, a warning message was communicated to the Indian Government, but they did not take it seriously and the result was terrible. If they had communicated effectively to their people they could have saved thousands of lives in India. I feel it is a kind of crime to restrict knowledge and confine it at policy level. Breaking papers and sharing it with people is the ultimate need of the day. We have knowledge, brilliance of research and enormous capacity to execute solutions through our findings, but unfortunately everything is stored in one place and becomes static and unusable. Contemporary research on this basis is creating more complicated policies on the issues and never allows people to come forward and live with it. Our research should be people-centred and policy-focused and not policy-centred and people-focused, because ultimately we need people-centred policies that ensure life and dignity to all.

Climate change and the health of vulnerable populations are intertwined. The hope is that the international health research community is doing many things to save the health of vulnerable populations. In this context, I propose some ideas to enrich contemporary health research to maintain the welfare of vulnerable communities from the evil effects of climate change. Dissemination of knowledge is important; research findings and solutions should be communicated to every one by using modern information and communication technologies (ICTs). Students, and especially youth, should be informed well about these emerging challenges. Creating health clubs in schools and colleges will be helpful. Since the fight against climate change is global, language monopoly should be removed and all information should be translated into all major languages at least in brief. Population is power, so if we reach more people then we get more action. We need more action from all parts of the world to fight against climate change. In addition, grass-roots level research should be given importance. It should not only be the think- tanks and policy-makers who are involved in research, but indigenous people, social activists and passionate students who make a difference.

Global institutions should concentrate on grass-roots level research and should promote it through their academic leadership, research expertise and seed funding. As I mentioned earlier, climate change is a strange phenomenon. To be realistic it cannot be cured but can be prevented, so we need to find prevention strategies to save people from this chronic disease. On the whole, global research institutions should reinterpret their understanding of health research and contextualize it according to local people and their health needs. Simultaneously, it has to move beyond existing procedures of research to focus on exciting statistics and innovating ideas with the aim of finding solutions for problems with great optimism. Then, what is the definition of solution in this context? To put it simply, solutions are activated ideas. We have plenty of ideas on paper, but it is time to activate all those ideas into action. To conclude, health research should reach people. It should not be conducted for the sake of funding, policy-making, politics or profit. It should be conducted for people by committed people who have great passion for human dignity and health justice. Ultimately, health research should drive people to save themselves from climate change through practical solutions and people-centred policies. When health research and people’s action merge together then it will become the vaccination of climate change, sustaining life for all, and for vulnerable populations in particular.

 

Why Water matters?

When I was working as student journalist, once I reported on “Selling of drinking water in a village(Surandai)”, it happened in 2002. After 5 years I have been looking into the same issue with a wider perspective. I could witness this growth of commercialisation or privatisation of the water is enlarged. Recently, Union minister for rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh assured that safe and potable drinking water to all people of the country by 2012. Is it really achieveable amidst commercialisation and privatisation ? Unfortunately, already the state has formed a policy to private urban water supply thinking of efficient and safe service. But people and social activists are worrying about this Government’s move towards privatisation which will commercialise God’s precious gift to the humankind.

The issues surrounding water is more poltical than social. For example, in my district, we have a dam with a solid irrigation facilities, but the whole agriculture field surrounding the dam is belong to a particular politician and it is very interesting, many of my village people are saying that this politician built this dam to harvest his own field. When Coca-cola tries to set up its bottling unit on the bank of Tamiraparani river in my district we protested and stopped that project in order to save ground water, that time I was serving as a ministerial candidate in Church.

After this incident, many of my congregation members questioned my inegrity and some openly asked us why did you oppossed Coca- cola? (One of the big contributors of the Christian church!!!) Then I shared this fact with them in detail. UN estimates, the total amount of water on earth is about 1400 million cubic kilometre However the fresh water constitutes a very small proportion of this enormous quantity. About 2.7 per cent of the total water available on the earth is fresh water of which about 75.2 per cent lies frozen in Polar Regions and another 22.6 per cent is present as ground water. The rest is available in lakes, rivers, atmosphere, moisture, soil and vegetation. What is effectively available for consumption and other uses is a small proportion of the quantity available in rivers, lakes and ground water. Among these 22.6 percent nearly 1% may be avilable in India for a billion people. If this is also taken away by MNCs for business, and contaminated by industries where will people go for life. So it’s our commitment to protect the natural resources.

Protect: As a community it is our commitment to protect ground water in order to live healthy from commercialisation as well as conatmination.
Share: As a community it is our commitment to share it justly, in order to all people live in abundance.
Celebrate: As a community it is our commitment to celebrate fullness of life to all by potecting and sharing water, the precious gift of God.

Protect! Share! Celebrate!

 

Food for All

“Let us  resolve we have taken, that with a decade no child will go to bed  hungry, that no family will fear for its next days bread……history will judge the adequacy of our policies and actions in relation to this pledge.” These were brave words from Henry Kissinger, the secretary general of UN in 1974.As of now, Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that around 840 million people (or nearly one in seven of the world population) are lacking access to food they needed adequate and regular nourishment. Chronic hunger defined  mainly in terms of calorific intakes whether people consume less than the 1710 to 1960 kilo calories needed each day to meet the  basic requirement for a healthy and active life. Many people facing hunger on a daily basis have to live on 400 kilo calories less than this. Developing and under developed world are the victims of chronic hunger. How can we resolve this problem and freed people from this bondage?  The right to adequate food and the fundamental right to be free from hunger is a matter of international law. The UN has identified access to adequate food as both an individual right and a collective responsibility. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: “everyone has the right to standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and his family, including food.” The International covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) stressed: “the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger.” UN, FAO and all States are taken innumerable initiatives to eradicate hunger. So far we did not reach any achievement as such which we were spoken in World Food Conference in 1974.After 22 years the world Governments agreed to cut world hunger in half by the 2015. But today still there are 840 million people in hunger. Over 140000 people die from hunger related disease each week.    Many innovations and initiatives failed so far to eradicate hunger. Some commercial producers claimed that Genetically Modified (GM) crops would resolve the problem. But the technology aroused fear and hostility in many countries. In this context what’s our response to fight against hunger? How will it be stopped? So many conferences, summits and symposiums on hunger eradication continue with lot of policy making in the national and international level, meantime the plight of hunger also continues. Begging children and foodless poor become the part of our society. Is it possible only by UN, FAO or the States to eradicate hunger? But I believe that Human will is greater than the policies of the world. If each and every human being conscious about this issue and share their food with their neighbor who are food less and hunger, it is possible. Human concern and compassion at large only can transform this world without hunger. I and You can change the world and make people free from hunger. Decide not to waste food anymore, Plan not only the quality of the food but quantity too. If food remains don’t throw it in the dust pin but give it to the needy. Don’t put it into fridge to use it for the next day. Share something in common. Teach your children to share food with other children don’t indoctrinate them to take food in isolation. We can change and feed the hunger, if we work together.

 

 

Crying gods and Careless people

I love to walk in silent, dark and cold night often in the queen’s road, Bangalore after 9p.m. It was amazing to me yesterday (21/01/07) is not just cold but it was cold blooded night, with chaos, cries and confusions. I was told that there was a clash between the people called themselves as “Hindus” and “Muslims” regarding their faith on the roads. They were trying to save their gods and scriptures through their omnipotent arms and arrogance. Queen’s road lost all its beauty and busy schedule on that day; there were no people, no peace except some dogs, cars and police. Shops were closed, the beauty of blinking lights and multicolored neons were missing. I returned dejectedly after seeing all these abnormal articulations of the world. The next morning I read in a newspaper that an 11 year old boy had been killed in last night clash at the result of Police firing. I shocked and enquired, there were so many stories came up, all too sad.

Why gods and his/her disciples are always in search of triumphalism over others? Is it a religious competition or a spiritual exercise of these “devoted divine communities?” What it tells us with regard to gods and these communities of faith?

India is known for its multi religious, multi cultural and multi lingual complexion. Social harmony and spiritual tolerance are the main keys in Indian spirituality. But recent changes are alarming us to look after the transition of the “terrorist divinity” which demolishes not only the beautiful understanding of God but people and their lives too. Basically all religion teaches us that human are sinful and the gods are the saviors of the human in order to provide them good life. Now an energetic generation rises up in order to “save” god from the people of other faith thinking that gods are in trouble. However, this is evident that formula is been changing; Christians are screaming that “India for Christ,” where Hindus are dreaming about “Hindu rashtra,” and the Muslims are craving for the “one divine rule.” All gods are watching this chaos and crying for their own people and calling them to live in solidarity and in peace. But who listens? They are much involved in the job of “saving god.” If one tries to save god he cannot save people; but if one save people he can save god. Humanity is the embodiment of divinity, if we cannot save our fellow human beings how can we save god and make this world as a better place to live! Don’t bother about gods they will take care of themselves; if needed they will take care of you and me too. Love people and reach peace to make a beautiful world with joy and justice.