Save the world from Iran !!!

very free media....

We all know by now about Noushad. It’s all there in the Media for last few days. He is an Indian (a keralite to be specific) in Riyadh found guilty in a crime by a Saudi court and therefore according to Islamic laws ordered to gouge his one eye out (in medieval times these laws had its validity but in the contemporary world it is nothing short of barbarism. But then that is a different issue, we can take up later). The family of Noushad is now in Delhi to plead their case with the king of Saudi Arabia, who is to be in Delhi as chief guest of Republic Day parade. That seems unnecessary since it was reported yesterday that Noushad has been pardoned by the Saudi court, offcourse that doesn’t mean he is released and therefore might have to serve the sentence in prison…..we might say ok that is where it ends. Well no. There seems to be a conspiracy angle to the issue or better still the incident was bogus, unnecessary breast beating by the family. …
The esteemed readers of a south based “traditionally concerned” newspaper had reported as early as December 2005 that Noushad has been released, on the front page with photos of parents hugging the man (see the accompanying snap).

It had all the ingredients of a touching story, a sure shot copy seller or TRP buster as the case may be. Or probably this was not fake, it was a case of clairvoyance!!. An added attribute in journalism. Few days back I saw in one of the TVchannels an anchor being asked from the studio about a politician “what do you he might be thinking??!!!!” (well if cricket pitches can “behave” then we can know what other people are thinking verbatim live on TV. That is the job of the journos!!. Aint we in post modern world. Who said humans are not catching up with technological innovations?!!). As it turns out in the case of Noushad being “released”, the reasons are far earthier than otherworldly winking. Apparently our saviors in the media got confused. When kids go for entrance exams they sometimes get confused answering from four options, so don’t get the job. Here our crusaders in the media were faced with two nail crunching options. One was Mr.Noushad in Riyadh another was Mr.Sijo Jose in Baghdad. Sijo was taken by American invaders in iraq on some suspicion and later released. Probably both being keralaite was the confusing part. Well Riyadh could be Baghdad!!. This is about competence!!. I reckon this is something more than glorious heights of competence. This is plane arrogance of the Indian elites, which we have been experiencing for decades now. All these immigrants to gulf countries are mostly from lower middle class family. Despite the fact that their contribution to Indian economy has been substantial since early 60s they have been treated quite roughly. The facilities provided for them are substandard whether it’s the flights to gulf or support by the Indian government for the needy through embassies. There has been cases of hundreds of people going missing, some duped. Infact such is the case that there is a weekly TV program in one of the channels dealing with the issue(I personally know people who were involved in the business of duping youngsters. In fact in 70s and 80s it was as much a cottage industry. I also know lots of people who wanted to go to gulf but got duped and ended up settling in Bombay-the shame of coming back, as also those who went and made big, some brought gold in toothpaste!!! and offcourse fancy toys and then made extrabig palatial houses). The government's and media's role has been that of apathy. In such a scene getting the names wrong is not at all surprising. After all they are just numbers. So a sijo can be noushad. Ditto vice versa. The anglicized czars in media cannot “stoop”, I guess.
Apart from these glaring mistakes we come across on daily basis in Media -print and visual, the prioritizing of news by marketers on its saleabilty is a serious threat. The news in common peoples domain get trivialized or sometimes sidelined- the issue of people protesting against coca-cola pepsi factories around the country as it takes away their basic needs is an example in this context. The glamour and sensationalism is defining moment for TRP. This is not to deny that there are some spectacular and very responsible people in the Media but they have become very defensive and in most cases doing a tight rope….more on this sometime later.

Although we have serious concern on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, a case of narrow and selective interpretation of religion, a misuse I guess. I do admire the concept of burying the dead from royal families in anonymous graves. Recently it was done to King Fahd-who incidentally was a very nice man. I have interacted with people who had spend time in Riyadh (also with a shiekh who had come for Ayurvedic massage). It's very sad, sometimes religion doesn't give much space for common people. Rather than catering to need of the situation in its context and specificities the response is sometimes robotic...
Talking of leaders from this region who recently expired but were admired was the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum. He was very much liked by people of Kerala. When monarchs of Saudi shifted into anonymity of after life the pharaohs in ancient Egypt were scared of afterlife anonymity!!!. They did everything to carry the grandeur to next world. What is the case in India??. Well there are many contradicting theories and practices and so much chaos. That makes us very funny people. A case: It was reported in a TV channel that monkeys are creating nuisance in court premise in Delhi’s lower court. The monkeys were stealing files and food, generally scaring people. The Delhi HC asked the MCD to take action. The MCD’s reply was typical: We are not into monkey catching!!!. Some of the people who talked to media had their own take. They say it was the soul of dead lawyers that has entered into monkey’s body to finish some task left incomplete when they lived!!. Considering the number of cases pending in the courts all over the country the monkey menace is just going to increase!!!!!!.

wow...

Congratulations to Mr. Evo Morales – spectacular happening in recent times, culmination of five hundred years of resistance by Indians. Hopefully Bolivia is only a beginning and inspiration to Indians in American continent as also to "aboriginal" population in Australia,Polynesian islands,the adivasis in Asia…
We bloggers also extend our congratulations to the Ms.Michele Bachelet the first Latin American woman to be elected president. Also to Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf the first woman President in Africa. This is not only a matter of pride to Chile and Liberia but to the whole world. Absolutely incredible!!!…..

Dust bin India

A ship named Clemenceau is heading towards India, Alang in Gujarat to be specific. To be dismantled and sold as junk. Alang as some of you will know is Asia’s largest ship breaking yard. For two decades ships are coming here to “die”. It is a hugely profitable business but working condition as well as environmental degradation is significant. Many hundred of workers are injured and deaths go unreported. Things have improved after 1998 Green peace came out with a report titled Steel and Toxic Waste of Asia. But the situation is far from ideal.

These photos from http://www.greenpeace.org

Workers still die and environmental standards are not adhered to. They still use primitive technology and almost obsolete safety standards. Most of the workers in Alang are migrants from poor regions of UP, Bihar and Orissa. An article by Dilip Dsouza nearly an year back was an eye-opener. Visit www.greenpeace.org/international/news/ghost-ship-121205 for more on Alang.

This is what William Langewiesche wrote about Alang in the article titled The Shipbreakers:

"Alang is a wonder of the world. It may be a necessity, too. When ships grow old and expensive to run, after about twenty-five years of use, their owners do not pay to dispose of them but, rather, the opposite -- they sell them on the international scrap market, where a typical vessel like the Pioneer may bring a million dollars for the weight of its steel. Selling old ships for scrap is considered to be a basic financial requirement by the shipping industry -- a business that has long suffered from small profits and cutthroat competition. No one denies that what happens afterward is a dangerous and polluting process. Shipbreaking was performed with cranes and heavy equipment at salvage docks by the big shipyards of the United States and Europe until the 1970s, when labor costs and environmental regulationsdrove most of the business to the docksides of Korea and Taiwan. Eventually, however, even these entrepreneurial countries started losing interest in the business and gradually decided they had better uses for their shipyards. This meant that the world's shipbreaking business was again up for grabs. In the 1980s enterprising businessmen in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan seized the initiative with a simple, transforming idea: to break a ship they did not need expensive docks and tools; they could just wreck the thing -- drive the ship up onto a beach as they might a fishing boat, and tear it apart by hand. The scrap metal to be had from such an operation could be profitably sold, because of the growing need in South Asia for low-grade steel, primarily in the form of ribbed reinforcing rods (re-bars) to be used in the construction of concrete walls. These rods, which are generally of a poor quality, could be locally produced from the ships' hull plating by small-scale "re-rolling mills," of which there were soon perhaps a hundred in the vicinity of Alang alone. From start to finish the chain of transactions depended on the extent of the poverty in South Asia. There was a vast and fast-growing population of people living close to starvation, who would work hard for a dollar or two a day, keep the unions out, and accept injuries and deaths without complaint. Neither they nor the government authorities would dream of making an issue of labor or environmental conditions...". (Please visit www.wesjones.com/shipbreakers.htm for full text)

Evidently when it is high profit- I read they make profit worth crores of rupees, human life is cheap commodity. It needs an outside vigilance to make these people respect life and environment. Otherwise it’s open loot. This is not about India it could be anywhere. Its been reported that improving safety and environmental standards has meant that India is loosing business to other poorer societies like Bangladesh!!. That is what we call competition!!. In this demented world India and poorer part of the world have an “advantage” since the labour is cheap. Any Marketeer worth his salt will vouch for this. This “advantage” is about more profit for few. Making rich richer at the expense of human life and environment. There will also be “intellectuals” who will fill up newspaper columns by painting a rosy picture of workers grit, earning for family and other “touching” stories. The mantra of “employment generation” at any cost. And anyone protesting will automatically be a communist!!. By choice off course. Choice is the keyword here. Choice of Coca Cola or Pepsi. Thanks to some brilliant self serving policy makers and elite cronies who squat around these power centres India is slowly but surely turning into international favorite dump yard destination. No glossy ads needed!!. Clemenceau issue is nothing new in this series but thanks to some vigilant International organization particularly Greenpeace the gravity of the problem is now mainstream. We should be grateful to Greenpeace. Clemenceau incidently is a decommissioned French aircraft carrier and was turned away by some countries from its coast because of the hazard. It is reported that the decontamination of Clemenceau wasn’t properly done as was agreed although the French Government maintains the contrary. The ship therefore contains tonnes of asbestos-a carcinogen, much beyond the acceptable limits. So breaking the ship posses serious human and environmental threat. It will be a violation of National Laws and judicial verdicts as also International Agreement on toxic waste- the Basel convention.

This is a request to bloggers to spread the gravity of threat ships like Clemenceau pose. Also are we such “cheap” people that richer nations (and elite of this country) can flaunt all safety and environmental standards. We saw this in case of Coke-Pepsi. These double standards. What we need is a stricter regulation. Profit “opportunity” cannot and will not be allowed to bypass worker safety and environmental sustainability.