Roaming in Rameswaram (April 20-25)

Driving away from Rameswaram on the 25th I felt a horrible sinking feeling in my heart. We had just spent four days exploring the struggles faced by the fisherfolk in the Ramanathapuram district near to the southern tip of India and the outlook for many of these people looked grim.

Ever since the introduction of motorised boats and fishing trawlers to the region in the 1960s the daily catch of fish has been diminishing, ultimately deepening the poverty of many of the marginalised fisherfolk and placing their livelihoods at severe risk. Their situation has been exploited by middlemen, boat owners, and loan sharks whose selfish interests have stripped many fishworkers of the pay which they deserve and critically need in order to sufficiently provide for their families and to lead lives which they deem meaningful. Moreover, these fisherfolk also face the threat of being apprehended by the Sri Lankan Army when they drift over the international border. The consequences of being caught by the army are terrible! In some recent instances bacteria have been injected into the fish-worker's legs.

The government's response to their plight has not only been unsatisfactory, failing to uplift them, but it has also been unacceptable, selfish and careless. Through talking to a number of villagers and union workers it became clear to us that the government has made many grossly misguided policy decisions and in a number of instances have been lead astray by greed and corrupt selfish interest all of which have had severe adverse effects on these marginalised peoples. The consequences of all of this are many. For instance, the conditions in which the fisherfolk work has created a culture of alcoholism among the male fish-workers, having disastrous effects on their communities and their families. Furthermore, a number of people explained to us how this has lead to a horrible cycle of poverty and a lack of social mobility in their communities. Covering over all of this are issues of caste which are holding the most marginalised in society under the grip of extreme poverty with little hope of escape. The critical nature of their situation became palpable to me when a couple of people with whom we spoke said that if nothing changed in their situation then within ten years many fish-workers and their families would be displaced from their communities and from the sea, tearing them apart from their traditional home and from where their traditional livelihood is found. Ultimately corruption in the government and greed throughout society needs to be swept away in order to liberate these people from their bonds of poverty. 

Despite the apparent hopelessness of their present situation, every now and then during our visits to the various villages in Ramanathapuram I would get small sparks of hope. For instance, in one village one particular woman exclaimed to us that she and many others in her community would die for the survival of their community. That is, out of her deep love for her people she would sacrifice her life so that justice might be realised and that they might have life. Moreover, we heard many stories of unexpected unity and peace. It is here where I believe hope can be found.

Random Note on Cricket:

Cricket is life here. I've heard more than one sermon when cricket is mentioned and almost everywhere you look there is a group of boys playing cricket with a raggedy cricket bat and ball. During the week that Jesse Ryder was horrifically beaten up, whenever I told people that I was from New Zealand the first thing that anyone mentioned was Jesse Ryder. It was literally front page news here (not even the state where he was to play in) which shows just how big cricket is in this part of the world. So far i have succesfuuly managed to fudge my way through many conversations about cricket, trying to make it sound like I know a lot about cricket in New Zealand. The best tactic that I've found is to name drop Ross Taylor, Brendan Mccullum and Daniel Vetorri and then talk about the good days of NZ cricket of Chris Cairns. Little do people know that I know almost nothing about the game and that my ability to play the game is in an even worse state.

Chilling in Challenging Chennai (April 12-15)

Chennai Trip (April 12 - 15):

I have been finding it absolutely fascinating to learn about Christianity in India. That is, its history, how it is organised, how people live out their faith, how it fits into a multi-faith society, what are they doing in terms of social justice, and how things are different or similar to New Zealand (TIM is almost a 'geographies of Christianity'). Did you know that Thomas the apostle (doubting Thomas) is hailed by many Indian Christians as the person who brought Christianity to India? One tradition says that he arrived by boat to Kerala in southern India and planted churches throughout Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There are even people called 'Saint Thomas Christians' who trace their ancestory back to when St Thomas apparently came to India. However, these theories and traditions are heavily debated as the evidence is very sketch so no one can tell for certain that he came. During our time in Chennai we visited St. Thomas Mount where it is said that St. Thomas suffered martyrdom, getting speared to death. After this we visited St. Thomas Basilica under which they say that St. Thomas' body lies. Getting to see his tomb was a very bizarre experience.

Ever since Christianity has been present in India, Christians have experienced a lot of conflict - both inflicting and receiving. The Roman Catholic Church, for instance, is guilty of being the instigators of terrible violence during the 18th century, committing mass killings of Hindus. A more recent conflict erupted into violent riots in 2008 in Kandhamal, Orissa between Christians and Hindu extremists - you might remember it from the news. During this period many churches in the region were burnt to the ground by Hindu extremists who want to make India a Hindu nation, meaning no Christians, no Muslims, etc. would be allowed within the country's borders. Scarily, one of the guys on our team was seriously and mercilessly attacked during this violent period and was in hospital for a month because of the severity of his wounds. From what I understand there is still a significant amount of conflict in this region with tensions between the two peoples remaining high.

One of my highlights of our stay in Chennai was our evening trip to the beach. After spending almost two months away from the beach it was great to finally feel the sand of the beach between my toes and have my feet feel the seawater, even though I accidentally saturated my pants in the process. Observing the life on the beach was also terrific, seeing people from all different walks of life enjoying the sand, the sea, and each others company.

Broadly speaking, our dominant focus in Chennai were the labour issues of the marginalised. We interacted with and visited pavement dwellers and street vendors, fish worker communities, exploited construction labourers and their families - both local and migrant, and members of the Unorganised Workers Federation who are working with these marginalised people. Due to a complex mix forces and powerful vested interests, many of these people are being robbed of adequate pay, education, shelter and ultimately their dignity. Some if these struggles have been going on for decades with very little positive change to their situations. It was deeply shocking to see how many of these people are forced to live. Before I came to India the image that I had of the country was that it was a rapidly developing as this is the image that the media appears to present. This image of a rapidly developing India is partially true - but it is only the wealthy elite who are benefitting from this so called development and the poor are seemingly left to the wayside. 

Visiting these communities and meeting with those involved in uplifting and empowering them had a powerful impact in me. The anger and determination expressed through their faces and their physical gestures was so clearly visible, getting a real feel of their frustration and pain. Moreover, I found it greatly inspiring and heartening to hear stories of their dedication, struggle and commitment for their people in the face of such powerful opposition and to also hear stories of their hard won victories. 

However, it still brought me tremendous anger that in many cases the rich were being favoured by the government and other influential and powerful organisations/institutions while the marginalised where being pushed to the side or knowingly exploited and oppressed. Moreover, in the case of the construction workers, decisions by the government and construction companies have resulted in a completely unnecessary conflict between the migrant construction labourers and the local Tamil construction workers both of which are marginalised peoples. am of the understanding that those in positions of authority and power in society, so the government and influential organisations, are the most responsible for the pursuit of justice but in these instances they are clearly failing t the task and these people are suffering because of it. They could learn a lesson or two from the Unorganised Workers Federation who are tirelessly and selflessly fighting alongside the marginalised so that justice can be realised.

What is Happening Hyderabad? (April 7-11)

As I mentioned last entry - India is incredibly complicated. One of the complicating factors about India is that it is a country of multi faiths. Yes, you could say that most countries are countries of multi faiths, but I think that India really deserves this title. This artificially constructed country comprises of Hindus (India's largest religion), Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, people who follow Jainism, the Baha'i faith and indigenous religions. How these interact with one another and with society in general has a huge impact, contributing to the complex nature of India.

On the 6th of April we left Visthar and ventured a little north, taking the overnight train from Bangalore to Hyderabad in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh (we traveled in the non-AC sleeper compartment... It was so insanely hot! We stuck to the beds - gross). The only thing that I knew about the city before coming on TIM was that it suffered a bomb blast earlier this year where 17 people lost their lives. This terrible act was allegedly committed by an Islamic extremist group whose primary aim is to create tension between Hindus and Muslims. 

For over a hundred years Hindus and Muslims throughout India have had a strained relationship, with many places experiencing violent communal riots. This conflict, like many other interreligious conflicts, is largely due to a struggle for power rather that religious difference. Hyderabad, consisting of 40% Muslims, is no exception. That being said, however, people generally live in peace.

During our five day stay in Hyderabad we were hosted by the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI), a NGO whose aim is to actively promote reconciliation between people of different religions and cultures. This institute is located in Old City where there is an even larger proportion of Muslims to Hindus than the rest of the city. A lot of the architecture around this area is what i would imagine it would be like in an Islamic country in the Middle East - the temperature was almost comparable - on one day the temperature came to 42 DEGREES! Without a doubt, during my stay 5 day stay here, I would have seen and spoken to more people of the Muslim faith than I would have seen in my entire life. So this was indeed a completely new experience for me. On one of our days off we visited a massive and impressive mosque - the Masjid mosque - where people have worshipped for well over 500 years. Coming from a city where people from other faiths are almost invisible, I found walking around the mosque absolutely fascinating, observing people going about their normal day.

(Being surrounded by so many different religion has really forced me to rethink my understandings of how Christianity should stand alongside these identities. I haven't drawn any conclusions yet and I probably won't but it is certainly sparking some ideas. Thank you Sophie Mccaulay for the Brian Mclaren book, it has been very helpful to me!)

On another day we visited one of HMI's Aman Shanti Community Centres (Aman is an Urdu word, which means peace, and Shanti means peace in Hindi) and talked with a number of the people involved with the running of it. This community centre was established in order to bring peace and reconciliation to the Hindu and Muslim populations of Hyderabad and to also address the social, economic and political needs of these two communities - one cannot be attained without the other. One of the ways in which the centre aim to achieve their goal is through their interfaith skills program. This program seeks to teach Hindu and Muslim men and women skills which will give them more opportunities in life and at the same time remove misconceptions about the other and form life giving relationships with the ultimate goal of sustainable peace - peace which is not born out of fear. I asked one of the program's coordinators how successful the program was at achieving their goals and he adamantly replied that it was extremely successful, with a long waiting list of men and women who want to join and a number of strong friendships formed between the two faiths. After having watched a couple of harrowing documentaries about communal riots in India (one on Gujarat and one on Hyderabad), visiting this centre and hearing their stories provided me with a spark of hope for the reconciliation of peoples of faiths throughout the world.