Peace Calls : 2023

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

It's An Unfair World But What's My Role?

It is an unfair world,

Powerful justify injustice,

Powerless are often hopeless,

Hard to find the ever attainable peace!

Individual lives have differing costs,

'Where' one is born usually decides 'how' one dies,

Hard to separate the right from wrong,

When the light is blurred with the clouds of lies!

The greatest weapon used is language,

Hostages are called detainees,

Terror is named revenge,

The assassins hide behind babies!

But in this unfair world,

Brave souls create kind moments,

Not swayed by any rhetoric or fear,

Healing, and peace emerge by their engagements!

Yes, it is an unfair world,

But let us be audacious,

Let's press for peace and compassion,

And create little gardens of kindness!

Let's refocus on who's the enemy,

No, it is not the humans on the other side,

It is the division, lies and suffering,

Defeating them is the real fight!

Justice will not be apprehended forever,

The violent will be held accountable,

The innocent will live peacefully,

In a world where we all will be answerable!

Ultimately, the creator will take back the control,

Just like rain and grace come down impartially,

All people will have access to resources,

And humans will treat humans generously!

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Is the land bigger than humans?

Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, 'an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind'. What is going in Gaza is not wise, the powers that are engaged on both sides are addressing the situation in rage and in the spirit of revenge. First the heinous attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians and now the response from Israel is not respectful of the rule of proportionality in the war. On both sides, children, elderly, people with disability, women and men who are not combatants have been displaced, injured and killed, this is not fair, right, just, and/or acceptable.

We need to explore ways to seek justice through just ways. We can do that by focusing on our value systems, our religious texts, and through diplomatic dialogue and seeking a resolution through the International Court of Justice. If engaging in war is the only option then the states must follow the Rule of Law and the International Humanitarian Law so that the impact on civilians is minimized.

We can chose and promote love, compassion and humanity regardless of who we are and where we stand!

Strong arguments on both sides,

But the strongest one gives life,

Hatred, anger, and desire for revenge on both sides,

Love, compassion and humanity is missing in this fight!

Is the land bigger than humans?

Is history more important than the present and future?

Is God really present in the massacre of children?

Killing innocent is ok says which religious literature?

Photo credit: https://www.clearwatertimes.com/world-news/100-dead-in-hamas-surprise-attack-in-southern-israel/

This is not about protecting a people,

This is about human slaughter and acts of horror!

No, this is not about God or a higher cause,

This is about lust for control and power!

Photo credit: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/poll-most-americans-fear-broader-conflict-may-arise-from-war-between-israel-and-hamas

This madness has to stop now!

Say what is wrong is wrong, now!

Everyone, come together and amplify the call,

Stop the war on humanity, NOW!!

Button credit: https://www.lbjstore.com/stop-the-war-now-original-anti-vietnam-button.html

Monday, October 16, 2023

Practice Self-care in tough times!

To all my humanitarian friends who hurt because of their helplessness of not being able to intervene to alleviate human suffering. We watch the pain of innocent people and just hope and pray that the craziness will be over soon. But in many cases the wars continue for weeks, months and years even today in 2023! No technological innovation has found a way to stop wars! It’s hard to sit and watch children being killed, being orphaned and forced to watch the violence against their own parents!

These extraordinary times demand that you take a little break from thinking about those who are out of your reach and indulge in self care before you collapse! For those of us who are paying attention to the suffering of the civilians on both sides, the heartache is probably double fold! But what is that we can do? I personally struggle with many questions. They say it is about religion, but is God ok with this craziness?? They say it is about the land, but do they want the land for the living or for mass burials?? I also know this is for the lust for control! But you know what, no one will live forever to retain this control. As they are killing women and children on both sides, one day they will perish too! Ultimately, no human being controls anything forever! Either you rape, oppress, and kill or you spread smiles, gift peace and support life! They have the choice, we have the choice, what will we select?

I am going to choose to lean into my personal peace practices, as and when I can, so that I can spread smiles, gift peace and support life when I have the opportunity to do so! What about you? #selfcare #peace #relax #deepbreathe #war

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Migrants Deserve Compassion

Last week we were in Puerto Rico for vacations. We were staying at a government property on a mountain right by the ocean and enjoying the view, the weather, and our time together!

One morning, we saw some commotion around the property and wondered what is going on? There was a helicopter hovering around the shore making loud noise. There were a lot of border security personnel looking up and down the shore. My husband asked one of them, what is going on? And they told us that a boat full of migrants from Dominican Republic was seen by the shore and the people on the boat were now hiding in the area. The team was looking for them so that they could put them back on an official boat to send them back to their home country. Several hours later, the officials were still looking for the migrants. I asked them if they had found any, and they said no. One official told me that some of them were injured.

Photo credit: Anjana Dayal de Prewitt

As a humanitarian worker and an immigrant myself, I couldn't stop thinking about the people who were trying to find refuge in Puerto Rico, which is part of the United States, looking for their sharer of the ‘American Dream’. It pained my heart to think that they were hiding in fear hungry, injured, and tired. My aching heart was filled with so many questions, what if I encountered one of them, how will I interact with them and what will I say to them? I found myself having a conversation with one of them in my imagination and here’s how it went:

What am I supposed to do?

Tell the truth or hide you?

I know, life has not been fair to you.

Misery everywhere is looking for you!

Wish I could do something for you!

What I have, I could share with you!

No matter what, may God protect you!

The security forces and the ocean surround you,

In addition to the fear that hounds you!

Do you have children with you?

I heard you have some injured with you.

I wish I had an answer for you,

But right now, I only have my concern for you!

I know it’s not sufficient for you.

I wish I had more for you.

I wish I had more to offer you.

Once again as a humanitarian worker, I felt so helpless! I wish, in this world, we were allowed to share more! I understand that next week on May 11th, COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration will expire. It also will mean the end of Title 42, a border policy that expanded expulsion powers based on the emergency declaration. The end of Title 42 is expected to coincide with an increase in border crossings and asylum claims.

I hope that compassion will be integrally mixed in the policy and the actions related to our response to the incoming migrants seeking refuge from their suffering and distress! I hope for a world where the resources are shared more equitably and the borders are a bit porous that protect not only the people within the lines but also those who need to desperately come inside! Maybe, letting people stay in the country permanently is not always the answer but I hope that the answer is always wrapped in generosity, empathy and kindness.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Modi's India

As an Indian American woman, who loves her birth country, I am always trying to understand what is going on in the country and how the world is perceiving current India. India, just like it's people, is complex and has many flavors. The current situation in India looks different from different angles or in other words there are several sub situations at play.

On one hand, India finds itself in the middle of a geopolitical setting with actors like Russia, China, Pakistan in the immediate proximity but also the US and its agenda in the region. From that perspective, both Russia and US desire to have India as their ally regardless of the neutral agenda that India has had right from its independence. Because of this reason, US ignores violations of human rights or attacks on the democratic values and seeks to build a deeper relationship with the current administration.

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is projected as the most popular leader of the country so far even though he was only able to acquire 37.4% of the votes in the 2019 general elections^[1]. He is praised by the mainstream media and supported by almost all the top industrialists in the country. His party, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), is the biggest political party in the world. He is a great orator and seems to connect with people at least in the states where Hindi is spoken/understood. If one sees India from the perspective of the mainstream media, then the country seems to be doing really well!

There's another perspective, the one of the religious minorities, independent journalists who have lost their jobs, activists who are in jails and many others who pay attention to what is going on to the basic human rights of the minorities and to the state of democracy in the country! From this angle, one can see homes being destroyed by bulldozers, churches and mosques being vandalized, individuals being harassed and/or lynched because of their religion! This perspective reminds us of Modi and his supporters who are accused of perpetrating the Gujarat riots in 2022 and it feels like that mindset has spread to other parts of the country now!

Umar Khalid, student activist in jail since 2020.
Photo credit: https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/umar-khalid-is-an-intelligent-man

From the internal politics perspective, hundreds of opposition leaders are being investigated by different government institutions. Some key opposition leaders are in jail or are being threatened to be put in jail. While there are independent reports that may have information about corruption in large scale conglomerates closer to the current administration, there are no open investigations going on against them. If the opposition parties collectively demand for investigations, the ruling party disrupts the parliament, the microphones are muted, and the sessions are suspended. Most recently, the main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi from Indian National Congress party has been disqualified from his membership in the Parliament for a speech he made in 2019^[2]. These actions are seen as the direct action to undermine democracy in India.

Rahul Gandhi, main opposition leader, has been facing several legal trials.
Photo credit: https://www.onmanorama.com/news/india/2022/07/26/rahul-gandhi-detained-by-police-during-congress-protest.html

Modi hails from Hindu radical organization founded about 100 years ago called, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This organization was founded on fear. In the words of its founder, ‘If the Hindu culture perishes in Hindusthan (India) itself, and if the Hindu society ceases to exist, it will hardly be appropriate to refer to the mere geographical entity that remains as Hindusthan. The entire society should be in such a vigilant and organized condition that no one would dare to cast an evil eye on any of our points of honour^[3].” BJP and RSS far right ideologies facilitate and encourage attacks on religious minorities, especially if one is seen as a threat to Hindus or even the Hindu belief system. For example, people have been lynched just on the doubt that they eat beef^[4]. Modi has never put out a statement condemning these horrific acts. The voice of resistance is smothered by misusing investigative agencies, putting people in jails, demolishing their homes, and blocking them from mainstream media. Given what all is happening, India seems to be under a fascist rule.

Modi is accused of allowing the Gujarat riots of 2002, where over one thousand people were massacred. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat then. Recently, BBC released a documentary confirming Modi’s hand in the Gujarat riots. The administration not only banned the documentary in the country, but they also raided BBC offices in the country^[5]. These actions were taken based on the fear that this documentary might impact the results in the upcoming General Elections in India in 2024.

Given how the Modi government is allegedly misusing the central investigative agencies against several opposition leaders^[6], it seems that they do not want to take any chances in the elections next year. This strategy seems to be grounded in fear. Several opposition party leaders expressed that the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi happened because Modi is afraid of him^[7] as the former has been asking questions about how Modi’s connection with Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire^[8] industrialist who is the founder and chairman of Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate involved in port development and operations in India.

Modi has been spending more money on his own image management and political ads^[9] than on program implementation. For example, 80% of the funding for ‘beti padao, beti bachao’ program was spent on ads^[10]. India has seen the highest unemployment rates under Modi^[11]. The World Happiness Report 2022 ranked India 136^th — tenth from the bottom of the list^[12]. In the 2022 edition of the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, India fell to the 150th position, its lowest ever, out of 180 countries^[13]. There are many other statistics and facts to illustrate that India is going downhill from the development perspective. Modi’s failures are in front of him despite his ‘popularity’ and that is why he seems to be afraid of facing free and fair elections.

While it is understandable for the US to ignore the current situation in India to pursue American interests, it may not be a good idea in the long run. If India goes to one party system by silencing the opposition and obliterates democracy, it will inadvertently become closer to Russia and China! If India and its democracy is not protected by Modi and his insecurities, not only the west will lose a great ally, but the world will also lose the symbol of unity in diversity and spirituality! It is time to support the majority of Indian people which includes the religious minorities! It is time to speak up for the dying soul of India! It is time to save the largest democracy of the world before it is too late! Personally, I feel the India I grew up in and the India of Gandhi is slowly fading away!