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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
'WE LEARNT THE GRAMMAR OF THE MEDIA BUSINESS'
It seems like only yesterday the plane landed at MeenambakkamAirport. Six months have flown by. Many things have happened inthese months. It began with the Sri Lanka Press Institutehandpicking 20 Tamil journalists from a list of 300 applicants.Having been chosen, we still had several concerns. When we left SriLanka for Chennai, we were apprehensive about how we could dwell inanother land for six months. Some of our fears vanished after welanded in the safe environs of SRM University. Nevertheless, we werefaced with a new land, a different climate, new faces and adifferent culture. Naturally, we felt uncomfortable with all theseand were initially critical. But step by step, we became familiarwith our new environment and were finally drawn into concentratingon academics.
There can be none who do not know the red record of Sri Lanka'shistory. Since we had come from a conflict zone, the SRM School ofJournalism & Mass Communication was really at a loss as to how totackle us. The Head resorted to all available means, from lendingadvice to issuing threats, to ensure that we fell in line. TheSchool was determined on one point: No politics, not even in yourbreath! And even in academics, there was not an iota of politics.This seemed to push me, who had grown up in a place where there wasan overdose of politics, into an agonizing position. But if you askme how I survived these six months without politics, I have noanswer. Here, we have reached the end of the course. In a shorttime, we had learnt many things. Could it be that the things we havenot learnt are much more?
The diploma in journalism programme, however, opened new windows oflearning. It has taught us the cutting edges of the state-of-the-arttechnology in media. The experience of the faculty were translatedto us as the grammar of the media business. It showed us a worldthat was beyond war and any form of conflict. These six months forus came as a gift of peace and tranquillity.
This trip to Chennai helped us to understand the politics of Indiaand the culture of the Tamilians on this side of the Palk Strait.Honorary Dean Mr. S. Muthiah gave us a septuagenarian's insight intothe early history of Sri Lankan journalism thanks to his vastexperience. Professor and Head, Mr. P. Venkat Pulapaka, was even upwith us at 3 a.m. to help bring out our fortnightly Agaram,undeterred by his health problems. Assistant Professor WatsonSolomon told us that his association with us had kindled in him anardent interest in Tamil journalism. Lecturer Dr. R.K. Maya, evenwith her limited Tamil, overwhelmed us with her zest for hersubject, History. We had the opportunity to meet these people onlybecause of the diploma programme offered by the SRM University.
Academic journalism is only beginning to take root in Sri Lanka. And that too, only at the basic level. But in India there is immensescope to pursue UG and PG courses in journalism. The only drawbackis that these courses are not offered in Tamil. Since childhood,all our lessons had been through our mother tongue. Small wonderthat Tanglish in Chennai did give us not a little trouble. Thoughthis course was put on the rails in a hurry, we are proud of beingthe first batch of students of the SRM School Of Journalism & MassCommunication. Being the seed of the yet to be banyan tree gives usa great deal of pleasure. Besides giving us this opportunity, theInternational Media Support, the Danish sponsors, gave us thefunding and the security.
The course has ended. We need to return to Sri Lanka. The days inIndia have given us hope. But will we be allowed to apply ourtheoretical and practical knowledge of ethical journalism in thedifferent working environs of Sri Lanka? I have no answer. Will timeand our country Lanka grant us scope? Even that we don't know. Butwe will make the effort; and that effort itself, whether it fails orsucceeds, is a sign of the success of this course.What will happen? And when? Without knowing these answers, ourjourney back to Sri Lanka begins in a day or two.
There can be none who do not know the red record of Sri Lanka'shistory. Since we had come from a conflict zone, the SRM School ofJournalism & Mass Communication was really at a loss as to how totackle us. The Head resorted to all available means, from lendingadvice to issuing threats, to ensure that we fell in line. TheSchool was determined on one point: No politics, not even in yourbreath! And even in academics, there was not an iota of politics.This seemed to push me, who had grown up in a place where there wasan overdose of politics, into an agonizing position. But if you askme how I survived these six months without politics, I have noanswer. Here, we have reached the end of the course. In a shorttime, we had learnt many things. Could it be that the things we havenot learnt are much more?
The diploma in journalism programme, however, opened new windows oflearning. It has taught us the cutting edges of the state-of-the-arttechnology in media. The experience of the faculty were translatedto us as the grammar of the media business. It showed us a worldthat was beyond war and any form of conflict. These six months forus came as a gift of peace and tranquillity.
This trip to Chennai helped us to understand the politics of Indiaand the culture of the Tamilians on this side of the Palk Strait.Honorary Dean Mr. S. Muthiah gave us a septuagenarian's insight intothe early history of Sri Lankan journalism thanks to his vastexperience. Professor and Head, Mr. P. Venkat Pulapaka, was even upwith us at 3 a.m. to help bring out our fortnightly Agaram,undeterred by his health problems. Assistant Professor WatsonSolomon told us that his association with us had kindled in him anardent interest in Tamil journalism. Lecturer Dr. R.K. Maya, evenwith her limited Tamil, overwhelmed us with her zest for hersubject, History. We had the opportunity to meet these people onlybecause of the diploma programme offered by the SRM University.
Academic journalism is only beginning to take root in Sri Lanka. And that too, only at the basic level. But in India there is immensescope to pursue UG and PG courses in journalism. The only drawbackis that these courses are not offered in Tamil. Since childhood,all our lessons had been through our mother tongue. Small wonderthat Tanglish in Chennai did give us not a little trouble. Thoughthis course was put on the rails in a hurry, we are proud of beingthe first batch of students of the SRM School Of Journalism & MassCommunication. Being the seed of the yet to be banyan tree gives usa great deal of pleasure. Besides giving us this opportunity, theInternational Media Support, the Danish sponsors, gave us thefunding and the security.
The course has ended. We need to return to Sri Lanka. The days inIndia have given us hope. But will we be allowed to apply ourtheoretical and practical knowledge of ethical journalism in thedifferent working environs of Sri Lanka? I have no answer. Will timeand our country Lanka grant us scope? Even that we don't know. Butwe will make the effort; and that effort itself, whether it fails orsucceeds, is a sign of the success of this course.What will happen? And when? Without knowing these answers, ourjourney back to Sri Lanka begins in a day or two.
Forsaken by the world
- Tragedy of the Burmese people
It is a part of the city's quarter. The unbearably nauseating stench emanating from it would repel anyone approaching it. A stay of even a few minutes in its environs could leave one with a dread of contracting some terrible disease. It is the area that serves as the dumping ground for the city's entire garbage collection. In the midst of this squalor stands a hut defenseless against the sun and winds. The hut is abode to a family. Life goes on there. Can you visualize such a scenario?
It is in this unimaginable hell-hole that sections of a people, forsaken by the world, are spending their lives. Bereft of any consciousness of the horrors surrounding them, they have chosen to live in the midst of the garbage dump to be free from the sounds of bombs and military atrocities. The world seems to have shut its eyes on these people who escaped from the odour of sulphur and cordite only to amidst a worse stench of rotting garbage.
This is only a miniscule picture of the miseries that an ethnic minority from Burma, now known as Myanmar, who crossed the border, are undergoing in Thailand.
Burma is a country of multi-ethnic people with each group having their own distinct identity. The Burmese who constitute the ruling class belong to the majority race. Burma is also home to the Kachin, Shan, Kareni-Kayah, Karen, Chin, Arakan-Rakhaing and Mon ethnic minorities. Burma, today, is ruled by, what all peace activists generally refer to as, a brutal military government. Aung San Suki, the Nobel Peace Laureate, is still engaged in leading the struggle against them to establish democracy. The military government is doing all it can to crush his spirit and struggle.
It is not only Democracy that the Myanmar government has emasculated in that country; it even denies the rights of the minorities in the interests of its military rule. "We are denied even the basic human rights", says a refugee in Thailand. Militaries are the same all over the world. They say that, in Burma, one can witness the full dimensions of military rule. Rapes, abductions and summary killings are all quite commonplace in the regions of the minorities. It is said that military officials act as petty kings. Their word is law. They can do anything they please with impunity- they can violate women, they can arrest men and kill them or do anything with them.
There are no judicial inquiries or punishments (the situation in Sri Lanka, under the present government, seems to be similar). To worsen the situation, the economy of Burma is in a parlous state. There are no means for minority races to engage in any occupation to earn their living. Even agriculture depends on the favors of the military and not on rains. "If they so want, they can set fire to entire rice fields when the crop is ready for harvesting", says a farmer sadly.
It is this situation that drives lakhs of people to flee their country in search of a land where they can live free of military harassment and sound of bombs. They set foot on Thai soil only in quest of peace and security. They receive nothing else there. They brave extremely hazardous treks through mines-infested lands and mountainous jungle terrains to cross the border. According to Kul Thonglin, a UNHCR official working in the border town of Mea Sot, more than 6 lakhs of such people have sought refuge in Thailand.
There are three categories of arrivals from Burma. One category is those claiming refugee status accommodated in refugee camps. The Thai government has provided three camps for these refugees. They are restricted to remain within the bounds of the camps and are not allowed to go out of them anywhere. The second category is the economic migrants. They do not register themselves as refugees fearing that, if they do so, they cannot go out to earn a living. The internally displaced people roughing it out in the Burmese jungles along the border belong to the third category.
Thonglin says that is impossible to give accurate figures of the Burmese arrivals in Thailand due to the presence of these diverse categories and also because they, too, are constantly on the move without staying in one location. There are, however, some 140,000 refugees of whom 50,000 are accommodated in what is called the MaeLan camp sited close to the border. The inmates of this camp are housed in small huts erected with plain jungle timber and roofing of thatched leaves similar to teak leaves. They are barred from leaving the camps. They are liable to be arrested by the police if they transgress this restriction. The camp resembles a massive open prison. Although U.S.A, Canada, Britain and New Zealand have announced their readiness to take these refugees into their countries, they have not evinced interest in the offer. They only want to return to their own places in Burma. "Only about 10,000 of them have applied to resettle in a third country", said Thonglin who has been working with the Burmese refugees for the last 8 years.
In worse plight than the refugees are the illegal migrants. They are a category not recognized by the Thailand government. Unable to earn a living in Burma, they cross the Thai border and work in the business establishments and sweat shops in the border town of Mea Sot. They are greatly exploited and also abused by their bosses, says Laurie Mount who is actively involved in the welfare of the illegals. Many Burmese youth who slip out of Mea Sot in search of income end up as sex workers in Bangkok. Young Burmese women are abducted from border towns and taken to other places by agents involved in sex trade. "World Vision" and a few public organizations are working in concern of this problem.
The Thai Govt's indifference towards illegal migrants continues because it regards that if concessions or secure living conditions are granted to them it would trigger an influx of more such arrivals and that such cross-border migration in large numbers, in turn, could affect it's relationship with Burma. Many NGOs, too, adopt the same stance. UNHCR confines it's activities only with refugees. It does not involve itself with illegal migrants. Only a very few organizations watch the interests of the illegals. Among them, the Mee So Health Center, under the stewardship of Dr.Sindhiya, herself a Burmese, is an important one. It is this center that is rendering the greatest service to the illegal migrants.
There was a time when Burmese arrivals, on account of being illegal migrants, were denied treatment at the Govt. hospital in Mea Sot. The Mee-So Clinic was started in order to bring relief to a people who suffered without any basic health facilities. Today, the Clinic, having equipped itself with facilities to the level of a district hospital, is offering free service. About 200 people receive treatment here daily. An interesting feature about the patients who visit the Clinic is that they are accompanied by their whole families to avoid the possible risk of being arrested by the Police. By accommodating and feeding all of them, the Mee So Clinic is rendering an immeasurable service. For all this, the Clinic functions illegally without any sanction by the government. "A lot of illegal activities take place around Mae Sot, but they are all with humanitarian aims", says Dr. Sindhiya.
Despite the existence of a few organizations to render such services, there is yet a class of people who haven’t attracted the attention of any. The sorrows of this wretched lot are beyond words. It is about a part of this flotsam that you read at the beginning of this report.
Many of those who sought refuge in Thailand have remained there for close upon two decades. Those who arrived as children are now adults and married. Their offspring have never set foot on Burmese soil. They know nothing of Burma. Yet, they, too, are Burmese.
It is a part of the city's quarter. The unbearably nauseating stench emanating from it would repel anyone approaching it. A stay of even a few minutes in its environs could leave one with a dread of contracting some terrible disease. It is the area that serves as the dumping ground for the city's entire garbage collection. In the midst of this squalor stands a hut defenseless against the sun and winds. The hut is abode to a family. Life goes on there. Can you visualize such a scenario?
It is in this unimaginable hell-hole that sections of a people, forsaken by the world, are spending their lives. Bereft of any consciousness of the horrors surrounding them, they have chosen to live in the midst of the garbage dump to be free from the sounds of bombs and military atrocities. The world seems to have shut its eyes on these people who escaped from the odour of sulphur and cordite only to amidst a worse stench of rotting garbage.
This is only a miniscule picture of the miseries that an ethnic minority from Burma, now known as Myanmar, who crossed the border, are undergoing in Thailand.
Burma is a country of multi-ethnic people with each group having their own distinct identity. The Burmese who constitute the ruling class belong to the majority race. Burma is also home to the Kachin, Shan, Kareni-Kayah, Karen, Chin, Arakan-Rakhaing and Mon ethnic minorities. Burma, today, is ruled by, what all peace activists generally refer to as, a brutal military government. Aung San Suki, the Nobel Peace Laureate, is still engaged in leading the struggle against them to establish democracy. The military government is doing all it can to crush his spirit and struggle.
It is not only Democracy that the Myanmar government has emasculated in that country; it even denies the rights of the minorities in the interests of its military rule. "We are denied even the basic human rights", says a refugee in Thailand. Militaries are the same all over the world. They say that, in Burma, one can witness the full dimensions of military rule. Rapes, abductions and summary killings are all quite commonplace in the regions of the minorities. It is said that military officials act as petty kings. Their word is law. They can do anything they please with impunity- they can violate women, they can arrest men and kill them or do anything with them.
There are no judicial inquiries or punishments (the situation in Sri Lanka, under the present government, seems to be similar). To worsen the situation, the economy of Burma is in a parlous state. There are no means for minority races to engage in any occupation to earn their living. Even agriculture depends on the favors of the military and not on rains. "If they so want, they can set fire to entire rice fields when the crop is ready for harvesting", says a farmer sadly.
It is this situation that drives lakhs of people to flee their country in search of a land where they can live free of military harassment and sound of bombs. They set foot on Thai soil only in quest of peace and security. They receive nothing else there. They brave extremely hazardous treks through mines-infested lands and mountainous jungle terrains to cross the border. According to Kul Thonglin, a UNHCR official working in the border town of Mea Sot, more than 6 lakhs of such people have sought refuge in Thailand.
There are three categories of arrivals from Burma. One category is those claiming refugee status accommodated in refugee camps. The Thai government has provided three camps for these refugees. They are restricted to remain within the bounds of the camps and are not allowed to go out of them anywhere. The second category is the economic migrants. They do not register themselves as refugees fearing that, if they do so, they cannot go out to earn a living. The internally displaced people roughing it out in the Burmese jungles along the border belong to the third category.
Thonglin says that is impossible to give accurate figures of the Burmese arrivals in Thailand due to the presence of these diverse categories and also because they, too, are constantly on the move without staying in one location. There are, however, some 140,000 refugees of whom 50,000 are accommodated in what is called the MaeLan camp sited close to the border. The inmates of this camp are housed in small huts erected with plain jungle timber and roofing of thatched leaves similar to teak leaves. They are barred from leaving the camps. They are liable to be arrested by the police if they transgress this restriction. The camp resembles a massive open prison. Although U.S.A, Canada, Britain and New Zealand have announced their readiness to take these refugees into their countries, they have not evinced interest in the offer. They only want to return to their own places in Burma. "Only about 10,000 of them have applied to resettle in a third country", said Thonglin who has been working with the Burmese refugees for the last 8 years.
In worse plight than the refugees are the illegal migrants. They are a category not recognized by the Thailand government. Unable to earn a living in Burma, they cross the Thai border and work in the business establishments and sweat shops in the border town of Mea Sot. They are greatly exploited and also abused by their bosses, says Laurie Mount who is actively involved in the welfare of the illegals. Many Burmese youth who slip out of Mea Sot in search of income end up as sex workers in Bangkok. Young Burmese women are abducted from border towns and taken to other places by agents involved in sex trade. "World Vision" and a few public organizations are working in concern of this problem.
The Thai Govt's indifference towards illegal migrants continues because it regards that if concessions or secure living conditions are granted to them it would trigger an influx of more such arrivals and that such cross-border migration in large numbers, in turn, could affect it's relationship with Burma. Many NGOs, too, adopt the same stance. UNHCR confines it's activities only with refugees. It does not involve itself with illegal migrants. Only a very few organizations watch the interests of the illegals. Among them, the Mee So Health Center, under the stewardship of Dr.Sindhiya, herself a Burmese, is an important one. It is this center that is rendering the greatest service to the illegal migrants.
There was a time when Burmese arrivals, on account of being illegal migrants, were denied treatment at the Govt. hospital in Mea Sot. The Mee-So Clinic was started in order to bring relief to a people who suffered without any basic health facilities. Today, the Clinic, having equipped itself with facilities to the level of a district hospital, is offering free service. About 200 people receive treatment here daily. An interesting feature about the patients who visit the Clinic is that they are accompanied by their whole families to avoid the possible risk of being arrested by the Police. By accommodating and feeding all of them, the Mee So Clinic is rendering an immeasurable service. For all this, the Clinic functions illegally without any sanction by the government. "A lot of illegal activities take place around Mae Sot, but they are all with humanitarian aims", says Dr. Sindhiya.
Despite the existence of a few organizations to render such services, there is yet a class of people who haven’t attracted the attention of any. The sorrows of this wretched lot are beyond words. It is about a part of this flotsam that you read at the beginning of this report.
Many of those who sought refuge in Thailand have remained there for close upon two decades. Those who arrived as children are now adults and married. Their offspring have never set foot on Burmese soil. They know nothing of Burma. Yet, they, too, are Burmese.
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