Kategorie: Stimmen aus dem Globalen Süden

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Dear fellow humans.

My name is Dara Prasad, born in what used to be one state (it is now two states), Andhra Pradesh, India. My age is 54. I have no family. I am working in a restaurant. From 24th of March onwards, all restaurants and most other places were shut but our restaurant could still offer take aways and delivery service so I was very lucky that I did not lose my job as it happened to millions of people in India and also elsewhere.

Just before the lockdown, I had an accident. To get my wounds treated, I needed to go to the hospital but it was difficult to get there and to come back because all traffic was stopped, so there was no public transport and no autorikshaws. Although it was strictly forbidden to leave the house I did take the chance to go without authorisation. Luckily the police did not stop me.

During the time of the lockdown, I had, originally, planned to go to south India to continue searching for my family. I had run away 39 years ago, at the age of 15, because of the poverty we were living in and because of all the pressures that came along. Also, my father was very abusive. From then on I don’t know what happened to my family. I don’t know where they are today and even whether they are still alive. My family was from a Dalit community so we lived on the outskirts of the village. As migrant labourers my parents used to work at various places. Last year, after years of searching, I eventually found the hamlet where I grew up but no one seems to know where my family had moved on to. So all the time, be it lockdown or not, my mind and heart would be busy with that.

It is very difficult to put in words what I experience with regard to the pandemic people all over this planet are going through (which differs very much, depending on the surrounding one lives in). It feels more like survival than life. And it is sad to see why, during the lockdown, people are responding so differently to the lockdown and to the social distancing orders. Where people have a certain level of financial security both measures may work but for so many others – those millions and millions who lost their jobs, their income, often also their accommodation, and who are either being stranded on the streets of the places they had worked in before or are trying to make their way back home on foot, sometimes hundreds of kilometres away – it means to make a choice between fighting for their daily survival and protecting themselves from the virus. Others, living in crowded conditions, don’t even have that choice. Within a few hours, they have been left without any means for survival and are stuck in surroundings in which distancing is no option.  

What I wish is that we, as responsible humans, should not think about countries, continents or races. We all should take individual responsibility to protect the person next to us and we should respect all people on this earth and also care about future generations.

Bericht erhalten durch Tamara Enhuber, Fachpromotorin für Global Verantwortliches Wirtschaften, MehrWert! e.V.

Umesh B. Nooralakuppe, Social Activist, Karnataka/Indien

My name is Umesh. I am a social activist. I work for the abolition of the bonded and child labour system. Also, I work with agricultural labourers, daily wage labourers and workers in the unorganised sector.

During the lockdown of the covid-19 crisis, in my area many labourers are suffering [because of] food problems and [because of not being able to satisfy their] daily needs. When Corona affected my area, it meant no work, no wages, no benefits [that is, social security]. And also, everybody has been afraid of the corona virus:[1] agricultural workers, daily wage labourers, street sellers, autotaxi drivers, plumbers, painters, and also construction workers – [all] mainly Dalit and tribal people. Everyone is suffering [because of the lack] of food and [of any means to cover one’s] daily needs and hospital expenses [that is also medical expenses].[2] Our government is giving 40 kg rice, 1 kg dhal.[3] What about other things, like oil, sugar, tea powder, onions, masala powder, vegetables and other cooking items? If people want to purchase [these things], they don’t have money. How to manage life? [These are] very very bad conditions. But, by the time, some of the NGOs and political leaders are giving some donations for food packages. It is very good but not sufficient. But even today also many village labourers, [that is] agricultural and daily wage labourers, are suffering for food [from hunger] and [so many other difficult life] conditions.

I demand from our government, it should take full charge of [maintaining/restoring the full life security of] our agricultural workers, daily wage labourers and Dalit and tribal people (…). It means food package for one year, monthly honoraria,[4] free children’s education etcetera etcetera and also [free] hospital [treatment, this is, medical service].[5]

Thank you.

[1] Besides being afraid in health and economic terms, particularly poor people also fear other effects of getting diagnosed with Covid-19 such as being put in quarantine in public badly equipped hospitals and also getting ostracised afterwards in their workplaces as well as socially. Therefore many people shy away from getting a check-up done in the first place.

[2] This is particularly hard for people with chronic ailments, e. g., malaria, diabetes, heart problems, kidney failures (dialysis patients).

[3] This was a one-time provision by the government.

[4] Honoraria, in this case, means some income support / social assistance for ongoing bills to be paid such as for rent, water and electricity, and so on until people will have regained some source of income.

[5] Another demand, which Umesh B. Nooralakuppe added in a phone conversation, aims at a special package for people who were infected by Covid-19 and may, due to social ostracisation, not be able to return to their workplace. This entails economic assistance, free access to medical services (“regaining physical strength”) and mental/moral support for those who have been affected. This has, however, also to be linked to educational and awareness programs for the general public.

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Transkription/Textedition sowie Ergänzungen und nachträgliche Erläuterungen (Klammern und Fußnoten) in Absprache mit Umesh Nooralakuppe

Bericht erhalten durch Tamara Enhuber, Fachpromotorin für Global Verantwortliches Wirtschaften, MehrWert! e.V.