Monday, February 8, 2010
Cyberspace enters the last journey
The last episode in a person's life can now be watched on internet and film in a collective sharing of personal tragedy
A video package by Sumiran Preet Kaur and Sheeba Naaz
Voice Over - Sumiran Preet
tibetan movie industry
Video package on the rising music and movie industry of Tibet,
made by Sumiran Preet Kaur and Sheeba Naaz, Dharamsala
Voice Over- Sumiran Preet Kaur
‘Try to live with as less as possible’
French photographer flies on hot air balloons and records how a ravaged planet called earth prepares for apocalypse now!
Also an interview with R.K Pachauri, director-general of TERI who has served as the chair of the IPCC since 2002
Sumiran Preet Kaur Delhi
Published in December edition of Hardnews
"An unknown world lies ahead in the next 10 to 15 years," said Yann Arthus Bertrand, 63, French photographer and documentary filmmaker. Photographing the earth from helicopters and hot air balloons and making documentaries on global warming made him see that the world is changing drastically. "The quantity of information in circulation has never been greater. All of this is positive. The negative aspect is that despite knowing what is happening and being aware of the irreversible change we are bringing in nature, we are not acting fast enough."
For more than 10 years, Yann Arthus Bertrand has been drawing the portrait of the planet with his aerial pictures and films. These years of travel have given Bertrand a global vision. "I realised how fast the world was changing due to human activities and was certain that it was heading in a bad direction," he says. It was then that he realised the power of pictures to convince people to change. He felt that people will believe what they see.
He was right. In 2009, he released his documentary, Home. The film, entirely composed of aerial shots of various spots on earth, shows the diversity of life and how societies are threatening the ecological balance of the planet. The movie was released simultaneously in cinemas, on television and You Tube on June 5, 2009, the World Environment Day, in 181 countries.
The following Sunday, the 'ecologist 'parties in the European Union elections made an unexpected high. The people wanted change. Beautiful aerial photography, an omnipresent music score and great post production details makes this an extraordinary movie. "It is an educational movie," he says.
Bertrand, when he was 30, went to Kenya to work in a national park. He also lived among the Massai tribes for three years to study the behaviour of lions and took daily pictures. It is here when he discovered his new passion for landscape pictures from hot air balloons. He came back to France in 1981 and became an international reporter and photographer, specialising in documentaries on sports, wildlife and aerial photography. He also founded the Altitude Agency in 1991, the word's first press agency and images bank on aerial photography. In 1994, he did more research on planet earth. In 2005, he founded the international environment organisation 'Good Planet', his 'best time'.
"While making one of my films, The Earth from the Sky, I often asked myself what I could learn from men and women I glimpsed below. I dreamt of understanding their words, feelings and concerns that linked us. From up there, the earth looks like an immense area to be shared," he said. During shooting he felt that something was missing in his films - sound, words, the people's language. He started interviewing people and launched the project - 6 Billion Others.
With this, the cameraman travelled to 75 countries in four years to interview the inhabitants of earth. The '6 Billion Others' project records testimonies of people in their original language. "In many struggles, like the struggle against poverty and climate change, we need small community efforts. We cannot ignore what links us to each other and the responsibility this implies. There are more than 6 billion people on the earth and there will be no sustainable development if we cannot live together. Each one of us has to reach out and listen to other people and contribute to the life of 6 billion others," he feels.
This is the logic which brings him to India. His exhibition 'Earth From Above' and the screening of Home will be held in Mumbai near Marine Drive in December. "India is a beautiful country but since I usually come for work, my tight schedule does not let me explore the country. India is one of the toughest countries to shoot in. There is a lot of bureaucracy. India is very image conscious. They think we are spies," he laughs. "These are the challenges that a photographer has to face."
The documentary will also be shown in the forthcoming Copenhagen climate summit. The Good Planet Foundation will be there to show its projects and work with other NGOs on climate change. "It is all a paradox. People are not taking anything seriously. It is not that they are not aware. They don't want to hear the truth. The pace at which we are going is too slow."
So what's the solution: "In democratic countries, governments do not tackle many issues since they fear they might become unpopular with the people. Hence, nobody is serious about climate change. Democracy kills people. The change has to start from you and me."
On April 22, 2009, he was designated as the United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador (UNEP) and received the 'Earth Champion' award. "Try to bring change as individuals - that is the toughest thing to do," he says. "Try to live with as less as possible. Whatever you do, do it with passion and think how you can benefit others. I am a photographer, so I look for ways of how my profession can help others. This is what I will keep on doing. Due to effects of global warming, many people are dying every year. We have spoilt ourselves. We can't do that anymore. A difficult world lies ahead."
'More catastrophes will make us suffer'
RK Pachauri is director-general of TERI and served as the chair of the IPCC since 2002. On December 10, 2007, Al Gore shared the Nobel with the IPCC. Based in Geneva, IPCC was established to provide decision-makers and civil society with objective information on climate change. Yann Arthus Bertrand interviewed RK Pachauri in Delhi.
Bertrand: In the fight against global warming, it does not seem that India is really doing enough...
Pachauri: India is a strong, developing country, but certainly not exemplary. We all know that the average Indian today emits far less carbon dioxide than, say, the average American. It is 1.3 emissions per capita for Indians. In USA, it is 19.7 emissions per capita. In such circumstances, a developing country cannot tell its people to live in misery without development while others are happy in other parts of the world. We certainly cannot deprive them. Developed countries must show generosity. They have to be magnanimous. They have to initiate in a big way.
Is the Indian government convinced to change?
Yes. It is visible in its various policies. India is targeting the generation of 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 in the National Action Plan for Solar Mission. We have to look for alternatives. We cannot depend on oil imports as it spreads too much pollution. India has to go ahead with solar generation and keep looking for alternatives.
Do you compromise with your findings and studies?
No, every report that we do, we send it to the government to be approved. At times, the government is amused by our statements and wants a few things to be changed, but we do not want to compromise on science.
You say that we have only 10 years to change. But ten years is nothing.
Yes, but we cannot wait till tomorrow. And the way to start is to start at individual level in a big way. It is not only the responsibility of the government any more. We need the involvement of people. We can do things like taking public transport in a big way. Invest in it. Whatever we do today, will help our future generations. We cannot leave a messed up world for them.
The world is already in a bad direction.
We have to be optimistic. And what makes me optimistic is that if awareness continues to grow we will bring a change.
Are meetings like Copenhagen etc, part of a paradox?
Yes, even I fly so much for my meetings, we waste so much fuel and pollute the atmosphere. We should go for bio fuel. Media has to get active. We have to boycott things on big scale. People should form groups. If we do nothing, we will have catastrophes like the heat wave of Europe of 2003 which claimed many lives. Many more catastrophes will make human beings suffer. Why wait till some tragedy happens? Sea levels have risen by 17cms, glaciers are melting, there has been an impact on agriculture and there is a problem of water supply. The efforts for tomorrow will have to begin today.
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2009/12/3381
Also an interview with R.K Pachauri, director-general of TERI who has served as the chair of the IPCC since 2002
Sumiran Preet Kaur Delhi
Published in December edition of Hardnews
"An unknown world lies ahead in the next 10 to 15 years," said Yann Arthus Bertrand, 63, French photographer and documentary filmmaker. Photographing the earth from helicopters and hot air balloons and making documentaries on global warming made him see that the world is changing drastically. "The quantity of information in circulation has never been greater. All of this is positive. The negative aspect is that despite knowing what is happening and being aware of the irreversible change we are bringing in nature, we are not acting fast enough."
For more than 10 years, Yann Arthus Bertrand has been drawing the portrait of the planet with his aerial pictures and films. These years of travel have given Bertrand a global vision. "I realised how fast the world was changing due to human activities and was certain that it was heading in a bad direction," he says. It was then that he realised the power of pictures to convince people to change. He felt that people will believe what they see.
He was right. In 2009, he released his documentary, Home. The film, entirely composed of aerial shots of various spots on earth, shows the diversity of life and how societies are threatening the ecological balance of the planet. The movie was released simultaneously in cinemas, on television and You Tube on June 5, 2009, the World Environment Day, in 181 countries.
The following Sunday, the 'ecologist 'parties in the European Union elections made an unexpected high. The people wanted change. Beautiful aerial photography, an omnipresent music score and great post production details makes this an extraordinary movie. "It is an educational movie," he says.
Bertrand, when he was 30, went to Kenya to work in a national park. He also lived among the Massai tribes for three years to study the behaviour of lions and took daily pictures. It is here when he discovered his new passion for landscape pictures from hot air balloons. He came back to France in 1981 and became an international reporter and photographer, specialising in documentaries on sports, wildlife and aerial photography. He also founded the Altitude Agency in 1991, the word's first press agency and images bank on aerial photography. In 1994, he did more research on planet earth. In 2005, he founded the international environment organisation 'Good Planet', his 'best time'.
"While making one of my films, The Earth from the Sky, I often asked myself what I could learn from men and women I glimpsed below. I dreamt of understanding their words, feelings and concerns that linked us. From up there, the earth looks like an immense area to be shared," he said. During shooting he felt that something was missing in his films - sound, words, the people's language. He started interviewing people and launched the project - 6 Billion Others.
With this, the cameraman travelled to 75 countries in four years to interview the inhabitants of earth. The '6 Billion Others' project records testimonies of people in their original language. "In many struggles, like the struggle against poverty and climate change, we need small community efforts. We cannot ignore what links us to each other and the responsibility this implies. There are more than 6 billion people on the earth and there will be no sustainable development if we cannot live together. Each one of us has to reach out and listen to other people and contribute to the life of 6 billion others," he feels.
This is the logic which brings him to India. His exhibition 'Earth From Above' and the screening of Home will be held in Mumbai near Marine Drive in December. "India is a beautiful country but since I usually come for work, my tight schedule does not let me explore the country. India is one of the toughest countries to shoot in. There is a lot of bureaucracy. India is very image conscious. They think we are spies," he laughs. "These are the challenges that a photographer has to face."
The documentary will also be shown in the forthcoming Copenhagen climate summit. The Good Planet Foundation will be there to show its projects and work with other NGOs on climate change. "It is all a paradox. People are not taking anything seriously. It is not that they are not aware. They don't want to hear the truth. The pace at which we are going is too slow."
So what's the solution: "In democratic countries, governments do not tackle many issues since they fear they might become unpopular with the people. Hence, nobody is serious about climate change. Democracy kills people. The change has to start from you and me."
On April 22, 2009, he was designated as the United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador (UNEP) and received the 'Earth Champion' award. "Try to bring change as individuals - that is the toughest thing to do," he says. "Try to live with as less as possible. Whatever you do, do it with passion and think how you can benefit others. I am a photographer, so I look for ways of how my profession can help others. This is what I will keep on doing. Due to effects of global warming, many people are dying every year. We have spoilt ourselves. We can't do that anymore. A difficult world lies ahead."
'More catastrophes will make us suffer'
RK Pachauri is director-general of TERI and served as the chair of the IPCC since 2002. On December 10, 2007, Al Gore shared the Nobel with the IPCC. Based in Geneva, IPCC was established to provide decision-makers and civil society with objective information on climate change. Yann Arthus Bertrand interviewed RK Pachauri in Delhi.
Bertrand: In the fight against global warming, it does not seem that India is really doing enough...
Pachauri: India is a strong, developing country, but certainly not exemplary. We all know that the average Indian today emits far less carbon dioxide than, say, the average American. It is 1.3 emissions per capita for Indians. In USA, it is 19.7 emissions per capita. In such circumstances, a developing country cannot tell its people to live in misery without development while others are happy in other parts of the world. We certainly cannot deprive them. Developed countries must show generosity. They have to be magnanimous. They have to initiate in a big way.
Is the Indian government convinced to change?
Yes. It is visible in its various policies. India is targeting the generation of 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 in the National Action Plan for Solar Mission. We have to look for alternatives. We cannot depend on oil imports as it spreads too much pollution. India has to go ahead with solar generation and keep looking for alternatives.
Do you compromise with your findings and studies?
No, every report that we do, we send it to the government to be approved. At times, the government is amused by our statements and wants a few things to be changed, but we do not want to compromise on science.
You say that we have only 10 years to change. But ten years is nothing.
Yes, but we cannot wait till tomorrow. And the way to start is to start at individual level in a big way. It is not only the responsibility of the government any more. We need the involvement of people. We can do things like taking public transport in a big way. Invest in it. Whatever we do today, will help our future generations. We cannot leave a messed up world for them.
The world is already in a bad direction.
We have to be optimistic. And what makes me optimistic is that if awareness continues to grow we will bring a change.
Are meetings like Copenhagen etc, part of a paradox?
Yes, even I fly so much for my meetings, we waste so much fuel and pollute the atmosphere. We should go for bio fuel. Media has to get active. We have to boycott things on big scale. People should form groups. If we do nothing, we will have catastrophes like the heat wave of Europe of 2003 which claimed many lives. Many more catastrophes will make human beings suffer. Why wait till some tragedy happens? Sea levels have risen by 17cms, glaciers are melting, there has been an impact on agriculture and there is a problem of water supply. The efforts for tomorrow will have to begin today.
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2009/12/3381
Not easy for women in a Police Station
By Sumiran Preet Kaur
If educated women or those from influential families find it difficult to engage with the police, what can poor women in the margins do?
It's almost impossible for educated or professional women in Delhi to go to a police station, especially in the night. The affluent society women might never have visited a police station in their lifetime, unless it's a case like Jessica Lal, when socialites and fashionistas were made to answer questions. Even in daytime it is plain difficult for ordinary Indian women from the margins, or who don't have any influence whatsoever, to enter police stations. This is not a general rule but a repetitive narrative.
And if this is the scenario in Delhi, it's like a nightmare in mofussil townships and interior villages. Witness for instance the police stations in western UP, Omkara territory, where between crime and law and order, the lines are so terribly blurred. Tribals and Dalits, especially women, are routinely refused entry in police stations. In a classically perverse sense, it is often the typical scenario shown in old parallel cinema like Aakrosh - check out innumerable stories of women assaulted, degraded and humiliated in Indian villages, or where movements against displacement are consolidating like in Lalgarh, Kalinganagar, Kashipur or Dantewada, or close to the capital in the caste khaps of Haryana and western UP, in the lynching and public spectacles of torture and death sentences given to women in the form of honour killings.
Rashi Mehra works with Sweccha, a NGO. She was the president of the Gargi College Students' Union in Delhi University, when, on September 16, 2007, she saw it point-blank - male, machismo's perversity as a public spectacle. A gang of nearly 300 young men who had come to appear for the 'constable exams' in Delhi Police, went berserk around the north campus of Delhi University, attacking, abusing and molesting female students.
"I was in the south campus when we heard of this. We spoke to the girls who were molested. Since they were shocked, and shy of approaching the police, we formed a Joint Action Committee Group (JACG). We, a group of girls from Lady Sri Ram, Hindu, St. Stephen's, Kamala Nehru and Gargi College, went to the Maurice Nagar police station, which has north campus under its jurisdiction. But the FIR was not lodged. "We were told that you cannot lodge an FIR as we were not the ones who were molested. Do we have to be raped or molested first to get an FIR lodged for a woman who has been brutally attacked?" questions Rashi Mehra angrily.
"The police categorically told us that since we were not the ones who were molested and there were too many men it was not possible to recognise and arrest them. We requested them that the FIR can surely be lodged on somebody's behalf, since it happened in a public place. No luck. Next time, when our group went again to the police station, they said, so where all did the guys touch them? It was so embarrassing," she says
Now if the police has behaved like this in the capital of India, where will the other girls go ?"
After two weeks, the JACG met the then Union human resource development minister Arjun Singh. They also approached the National Commission for Women (NCW). Two weeks later, an FIR was lodged. "How come the delayed FIR was lodged this time? The atmosphere in the police station was very intimidating. The police did not seem approachable at all. Even the women constables were of no help. They were rude and asked all sorts of questions which made no sense," says Rashi.
Beena Thakkar (name changed) was frequently abused by her husband. She had gone back to her parents' home several times, but had to come back to her husband's house since her parents insisted that "like all women she should make adjustments". "One day, he came back home drunk and forced me to have sex with him. I didn't want to. He beat me up. That day it was so severe that I went to the nearby police station. There was no woman official there. I was highly uncomfortable telling all the details. My FIR was not lodged. The experience was traumatic. Maybe it's because they knew my in-laws," says Beena stoically.
Beena, now a 'contract teacher' in a government school in Delhi and divorced, has come a long way. She is trying to find her feet again with great difficulty, but at least she does not have to face the violence of that man day after day. But she has little faith in the government, or the police. She is on her own, like many other women survivors of male violence in this country.
Most women feel that there should be sensitivity within the police force with regard to women's complainants. Rashmi Anand of Lawyers Collective, who herself has been a victim of domestic violence, feels that women have different kind of needs which has to be dealt with extra care and sensitivity. "Sometimes, because of the background they come from, they are shy of discussing everything with the men. So we need people who can listen to them patiently. We have to deal with their apprehensions. Indeed, it is possible to solve their prob
lems."
Anand works with the Delhi Police Women's Cell based in Nanakpura in Moti Bagh, to provide free legal aid to those whose cases have been referred to them by the womens' cell.
Enter the womens' cell in Nanakpura and you can hear subdued female voices in the counselling rooms. The women are discussing their problems in the presence of a counsellor. Asserting that women have different needs when compared to men, ACP Pratima Sharma says that the cases that come to them get individual attention.
"The entire city comes under our jurisdiction. We have female police officials here. If it is a family problem and there is any scope of reconciliation, we go for counselling. The female counsellors are from TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai) and funding is given by the NCW, while the infrastructure is provided by Delhi Police. If counselling fails, and couples want mutual separation, we go for a mediation process where we explain all the legal aspects. But in cases where they are adamant to lodge an FIR, we first explain the repercussions, and then lodge an FIR. Then the case goes to the court. In such cases we have NGOs like the Lawyers Collective which comes to the cell on specific days and gives free legal aid."
However, the fact is there is only one cell of this kind in Delhi. Is it not less for women who want to lodge a complaint or seek police help?
"What if a woman out on the road is having a problem? She can contact a nearby PCR van or police station. Indeed, in such cases, you cannot always have a woman police official on duty. The solution does not lie in opening new women's cells, but in social sensitisation. The attitude of the police and people has to change. When we approach them, they either ask us to disappear, go back home, or start moral policing. I have been asked by the police: what kind of a college president are you, why do you smoke, or what are you doing at this hour?" says Rashi Mehra.
published in February edition of HARDNEWS
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2010/02/3442
If educated women or those from influential families find it difficult to engage with the police, what can poor women in the margins do?
It's almost impossible for educated or professional women in Delhi to go to a police station, especially in the night. The affluent society women might never have visited a police station in their lifetime, unless it's a case like Jessica Lal, when socialites and fashionistas were made to answer questions. Even in daytime it is plain difficult for ordinary Indian women from the margins, or who don't have any influence whatsoever, to enter police stations. This is not a general rule but a repetitive narrative.
And if this is the scenario in Delhi, it's like a nightmare in mofussil townships and interior villages. Witness for instance the police stations in western UP, Omkara territory, where between crime and law and order, the lines are so terribly blurred. Tribals and Dalits, especially women, are routinely refused entry in police stations. In a classically perverse sense, it is often the typical scenario shown in old parallel cinema like Aakrosh - check out innumerable stories of women assaulted, degraded and humiliated in Indian villages, or where movements against displacement are consolidating like in Lalgarh, Kalinganagar, Kashipur or Dantewada, or close to the capital in the caste khaps of Haryana and western UP, in the lynching and public spectacles of torture and death sentences given to women in the form of honour killings.
Rashi Mehra works with Sweccha, a NGO. She was the president of the Gargi College Students' Union in Delhi University, when, on September 16, 2007, she saw it point-blank - male, machismo's perversity as a public spectacle. A gang of nearly 300 young men who had come to appear for the 'constable exams' in Delhi Police, went berserk around the north campus of Delhi University, attacking, abusing and molesting female students.
"I was in the south campus when we heard of this. We spoke to the girls who were molested. Since they were shocked, and shy of approaching the police, we formed a Joint Action Committee Group (JACG). We, a group of girls from Lady Sri Ram, Hindu, St. Stephen's, Kamala Nehru and Gargi College, went to the Maurice Nagar police station, which has north campus under its jurisdiction. But the FIR was not lodged. "We were told that you cannot lodge an FIR as we were not the ones who were molested. Do we have to be raped or molested first to get an FIR lodged for a woman who has been brutally attacked?" questions Rashi Mehra angrily.
"The police categorically told us that since we were not the ones who were molested and there were too many men it was not possible to recognise and arrest them. We requested them that the FIR can surely be lodged on somebody's behalf, since it happened in a public place. No luck. Next time, when our group went again to the police station, they said, so where all did the guys touch them? It was so embarrassing," she says
Now if the police has behaved like this in the capital of India, where will the other girls go ?"
After two weeks, the JACG met the then Union human resource development minister Arjun Singh. They also approached the National Commission for Women (NCW). Two weeks later, an FIR was lodged. "How come the delayed FIR was lodged this time? The atmosphere in the police station was very intimidating. The police did not seem approachable at all. Even the women constables were of no help. They were rude and asked all sorts of questions which made no sense," says Rashi.
Beena Thakkar (name changed) was frequently abused by her husband. She had gone back to her parents' home several times, but had to come back to her husband's house since her parents insisted that "like all women she should make adjustments". "One day, he came back home drunk and forced me to have sex with him. I didn't want to. He beat me up. That day it was so severe that I went to the nearby police station. There was no woman official there. I was highly uncomfortable telling all the details. My FIR was not lodged. The experience was traumatic. Maybe it's because they knew my in-laws," says Beena stoically.
Beena, now a 'contract teacher' in a government school in Delhi and divorced, has come a long way. She is trying to find her feet again with great difficulty, but at least she does not have to face the violence of that man day after day. But she has little faith in the government, or the police. She is on her own, like many other women survivors of male violence in this country.
Most women feel that there should be sensitivity within the police force with regard to women's complainants. Rashmi Anand of Lawyers Collective, who herself has been a victim of domestic violence, feels that women have different kind of needs which has to be dealt with extra care and sensitivity. "Sometimes, because of the background they come from, they are shy of discussing everything with the men. So we need people who can listen to them patiently. We have to deal with their apprehensions. Indeed, it is possible to solve their prob
lems."Anand works with the Delhi Police Women's Cell based in Nanakpura in Moti Bagh, to provide free legal aid to those whose cases have been referred to them by the womens' cell.
Enter the womens' cell in Nanakpura and you can hear subdued female voices in the counselling rooms. The women are discussing their problems in the presence of a counsellor. Asserting that women have different needs when compared to men, ACP Pratima Sharma says that the cases that come to them get individual attention.
"The entire city comes under our jurisdiction. We have female police officials here. If it is a family problem and there is any scope of reconciliation, we go for counselling. The female counsellors are from TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai) and funding is given by the NCW, while the infrastructure is provided by Delhi Police. If counselling fails, and couples want mutual separation, we go for a mediation process where we explain all the legal aspects. But in cases where they are adamant to lodge an FIR, we first explain the repercussions, and then lodge an FIR. Then the case goes to the court. In such cases we have NGOs like the Lawyers Collective which comes to the cell on specific days and gives free legal aid."
However, the fact is there is only one cell of this kind in Delhi. Is it not less for women who want to lodge a complaint or seek police help?
"What if a woman out on the road is having a problem? She can contact a nearby PCR van or police station. Indeed, in such cases, you cannot always have a woman police official on duty. The solution does not lie in opening new women's cells, but in social sensitisation. The attitude of the police and people has to change. When we approach them, they either ask us to disappear, go back home, or start moral policing. I have been asked by the police: what kind of a college president are you, why do you smoke, or what are you doing at this hour?" says Rashi Mehra.
published in February edition of HARDNEWS
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2010/02/3442
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)