Brutal violation of Human Rights
Our events in October have brought a real shocking feeling among our team. Evictions are becoming a norm across the Globe, due to development and beautification of cities. Development is important and so is beautification but we needed to ask deeper questions?
Who benefits from these projects and who pays the price? Why do 'city makers' have no right to live in the city? As we have been advocating for their rights and lobbying for rehabilitation, the administration does not like when we ask these questions.
I write this to you, joined by all of us at JKGVS with a heavy heart. In all our years of work with the homeless community, it is the first time we were faced with a very brutal act of the police and the administration.
The community at MalaaiPakkdi, are under the open sky. The bulldozer has been after them. Twice we as team were able to oppose the demolition.
Then on
05, October 2021, there was a merciless brutal attack on the community. electronic lathi’s (huge batons) were used by men police to attack people, women and children were not spared. More than 3 women were badly injured by the police. One of the vendors who ran a tea shop was hit badly on the head and began to bleed profusely. In the night he shouted with unbearable pain, while he was being taken to the hospital, he breathed his last. He has left behind a 35-year-old widow and five children, the eldest being a boy of 15 years.
People are left in the open sky, hungry and without any belongings, their belongings were crushed by the bulldozer and they have nothing only the clothes they are in. In this pathetic situation,
I called up Sr. Lizzy and appealed for funds to feed the hungry- when we visited the site they voices of children kept disturbing us: Didi we are hungry, we have eaten nothing”. Immediately funds were released and we moved into action.
I would like to express our gratitude to the Province Leadership on behalf of our people for responding with such emergency. We decided as team to cook lunch and dinner and serve them for four days.
It was such a joy to see the children gather together as soon as we reached with the food. The first day we made them wash their hands after that they would come and say, we washed our hands. After finishing they threw the plates in a nearby pit. The elders watched us and said serve them less; if they need more they can take. Food was not wasted as the women and men educated the children to eat only as much as they needed. To witness such profound values in the midst of their misery has touched our hearts, the vulnerable communities have not lost the true values of life.
We are getting legal help and are in touch with the wife of the deceased. It will be very tough as we have taken on the administration and the police. Kindly hold us in your precious prayers. We also wish to express the prayerful support and phone calls we received during this tough time. We do experience the presence and strength of our God at all times.