Celebrating international Human Rights
As a country, we are going through one of the most difficult times in our history. How can we celebrate Human Rights day when there seems to be an outright violation of our freedom of speech. Anyone who dares to oppose the government and its policies are looked upon as traitors.
These days very few CSo’s are speaking up as everyone is afraid of the consequences. In such a scenario, I keep wondering how will those who are really struggling to find someone sense of human dignity be able to speak up. There is always a feeling of uncertainty.
One of the sectors who are the most badly hit are the construction workers. They remain most lost with a loss of livelihood. So this year we organized a signature campaign with the demand to have at least 200 days of guarantee for their work.
We began the signature campaign in the morning around 11.30 at the famous Gandhi Maidan ground and got the passers-by to become part of the campaign. It was an opportunity to interact with the general public, raise their awareness of the construction workers who do not get work for the whole month. Some of the general public willingly signed while others had questions to ask and we were happy to respond to their queries. It was quite an experience as we met people of all walks of life. A young little girl was so keen to sign and she joyfully signed the sheet, with a joy in her heart.