Horizons - Filled with Hope

If I have to state my “Resolution for 2010” in one word it'l be Prioritize. But that's not really measurable, is it? Elaboration time.

One: Spend Less time in the Online world...

... and more in the real world.

How?

• Fewer blog posts (this is my 62^nd post for the calendar year 2009 – that's too high don't you think?)

• Less time on Facebook – no, I'm not one who spends endless hours playing Farmville or Mafia Wars; or taking “What-kind-of-extra-terrestrial-creature-are-you” quizzes. Yet, I think I spend way too much time updating my FB status. So gotta keep a check on that. BTW, did I mention how much I had to shell out for GPRS and for the SMS'es which I use for updating FB from my mobile?

• More tweets. Twitter is the perfect tool for people who want to voice their opinion but still want to keep it short!

• More posts on SCSB.

• READ MORE!

Two: More outdoor activities

• Travel more

• Take more photographs (and spend less time processing them :)

Three: Be Healthy, Stay Healthy

• GAIN WEIGHT :D

• Be regular in some physical activity like sport/gym/cycling – anything.

Four: Learn more household tasks

Currently I'm only good at washing utensils, or operating the washing machine. This year I want to learn cooking, cleaning, shopping, provisions, grocery – basically contribute more towards running the house!

Five: More dedication to my Social Responsibility

I want to take any one cause (like TeachIndia) and make a more meaningful contribution to it in 2010 than I have been able to do all these years. This is opposed to what I've been doing so far – dipping my fingers in everything and not making a meaningful impact in any!

Six: WORK-LIFE BALANCE

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. This point, in conjunction with the five above will ensure I get myself a life in 2010, which is more then just work and a good virtual presence!!

I came across this talk by Sunitha Krishnan at TEDIndia through this post at IndiaUncut. Sunitha, who was gang-raped at the age of 15, now works towards rescuing victims of sex slavery; and she has rescued more than Three Thousand girls and women till date, often at great risk to self and colleagues in the form of violence from traffickers. This talk is about her fight against this lowest form of human abuse. I'm embedding the video here.

WARNING: This video has a few graphic slides and is Not Safe For Work. Moreover, it is pretty hard-hitting.

The take-away for me from the speech was the point that Sunitha put forth so forcefully towards the end of her talk – and that is this: The biggest hurdle to rescue and rehabilitation of people who have been sexually exploited; is the so-called “Civil Society”. A society which, keeping with it's notorious trend of hypocrisy, refuses to accept a victim of sexual abuse. A society that completely cuts itself off from a victim of sex slavery. A society that only further victimises the victim.

Is it so hard to realise that the girl was raped, trafficked or enslaved for no fault of hers? Is it so difficult to digest the fact that she has as much a right to lead a normal life post the incident as any of us? Is showing some compassion for such victims really such an unthinkable proposition?

I've written a couple of posts previously on this topic, but I have only been harping on the “raising awareness” part, but not been doing anything. Here is my chance to really do something about this. I have decided to implement what Sunitha appealed to us to do in the video – talk to people about this; get them to change their mind-set, get them to accept rescued women in mainstream life – in jobs, as household help.

Supporting Sunitha in this fight does not necessarily mean going out and rescuing girls. What she needs from us is a far more challenging task and that is to change the way our “civil society” treats the victims. Let us resolve to start sowing the seeds of change in this regard.

Looking forward to a society where the victims; not the criminals; feel safe and welcome!

************************

Edited to add:

My previous posts on this topic:

• Minor Victims in Open Courts
• Poland to Castrate Paedophiles
• Book Review: "Bitter Chocolate - Child Sexual Abuse in India" by Pinki Virani
• Innocence Snatched

This is the highest partnership for the third wicket, screams [insert-the-name-of-your-favourite-commentator-here]; and it gets me all excited...

.. for India against [insert-name-of-opponent-team-here], he continues ..

“Oh well, that's still good”, I say to myself ..

On this ground.. By now I feel the excitement draining ..

...

under Dhoni's captaincy ... WHAT??..

since P Chidambaram took over the Home Ministry from you-know-who (hey, wasn't this soon after 26/11?)!!!

And I scoff at those cricket statisticians who can make even the most mediocre achievement seem like a “record”.

Then I tell myself: But isn't this what life is all about? Making the best of each situation – seeing it from an optimistic viewpoint?

And then I answer the question myself: Not Always. Many-a-time, I try to find solace in fabricated so-called-positive-sides of the matter when in fact, none exist. Why should I try to falsely convince myself that a situation has a sunny side to it? Who am I kidding and WHY? This is more harmful than a purely pessimistic dissection of the issue at hand!

I conclude with a quote that I came across in Rashmi Bansal's book, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. It quotes Anand Halve of chlorophyll:

“Define your Do's and Don'ts before you start. Post-facto, any act can be justified”.

Dealing in drugs, liquor, adulterated food, pirated media, porn, flesh is all passe. What's the latest? Dealing in babies. How any human might want to sell her own baby is beyond me.

• Perhaps it is the poverty?

• Is it because of too many children? (this opens the topic of awareness about family planning – but that's taking this post off-track)

• Is it because of the demand for baby BOYS? (so people who have a girl child sells her – which they perceive to be more humane than killing the foetus or the new-born infant; and people who don't have a baby boy are ready to pay for one)

• Where do childless couples come into the picture?

Whatever the reason, baby trafficking is a HUGE blot on an already blotted society. The fact that it is a booming business speaks volumes about our character and our humanity. What can WE do about this?

Looking forward to a society which treats its children better than mere commodities!

Dear Indian Mediarazzi,

During the past few weeks, you have raised a big hue and cry; wasted newsreel by the kilometers; (and tripped and fallen over each other in a bid to prove your one-upmanship) regarding the following matters:

• 25^th “anniversary” of the Bhopal Gas Tradegy

• 25^th “anniversary” of Indira Gandhi's assassination

• 1^st anniversary of 26/11 (if you remember – you started hyping this up more than a week in advance)

• Liberhann committee report.

... and the list goes on.. and on .. and on..

Now, if you could be kind enough to publish the results. What did you achieve by doing this? What improvement/betterment has your several-pages-long worthless junk on these topics brought about?And oh, how come you have already forgotten about the incidents now that the “landmark date” has passed?

Waiting to hear from you.

Yours Sincerely,

Disgusted Consumer of your Disgusting Sense of “Reporting”

The year is 2200 A.D. There has been an outbreak of nuclear war. An overwhelming majority of the world's population has been wiped out.

There's destruction and desolation everywhere. Buildings have been razed to the ground.

Mega-cities have been become mega-cinders.

Forests have disappeared.

To top it all, global warming has taken its toll on the earth.

Islands have submerged.

Several species of animals have become extinct.

In short, the earth has been reduced to ashes.

And from these ashes, rises the phoenix – A New World, New Order.

A world free of religions, unaware about “races”. People are divided only by their geography and culture. There is nothing to die for or kill for.

Boundaries there are, none political – only those created by the topography - rivers, mountains and seas.

Vehicles they have – only those which run on solar energy. No petro-wars, no pollution.

Banks exist – only those that serve the needy. Sub-prime lending is not something they know about.

Competition lives, and the competent thrive. There is no room for corruption.

Inequalities exist – but only in small proportions. The majority work towards wiping out the inequalities of the few (not the other way round).

Children have a future, a world to look forward to – the world which they will inherit from their previous generation.

Life in The new world is not a bed of roses.

There are problems, there are issues, and each one has to carve out a living. However; it is a world worth living in. It is not a doomed life.

Survival is not the primary objective – continuous improvement; and conservation of the earth, the world for the next generation are.

Looking forward to The New World, The New Order?? Or looking forward to preventing the Doomsday in the First Place??