Marcy Jane Knopf-Newman's Blog, page 3
November 24, 2013
Note to “The Hindu”: There is a Cultural Boycott of Israel.
As soon as I finished yesterday’s blog post, I returned home to unwind while reading the Sunday newspaper with a cup of tea. I turned to the culture pages first where I found an interview with Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai who was apparently in India for the Kolkata International Film Festival. Apparently, the folks in Kolkata are not aware that there is a cultural boycott of Israel in India. This interview, by Anuj Kumar, as with all other articles about Israeli “culture,” treats Gitai as if he were a normal filmmaker from a normal country. Although Kumar gestures towards the Israeli colonization of Palestine by asking Gitai about hiring Palestinian actors, he seems to be completely oblivious to the conditions that Palestinians endure whether in the film industry or life.
Here are some reminders why the cultural boycott is necessary, first from Ben White:
Culture does not operate in some special, apolitical space – just like academic institutions in Israel are also not removed from complicity in systematic human rights abuses. As the Habima general manager put it, the invitation by The Globe is an “honourable accomplishment for the State of Israel in general”.
Furthermore, the Israeli government and advocacy groups are deliberately seeking to use culture as a means of ‘rebranding’ a country increasingly linked in the pubic imagination to its crimes against the Palestinians.
Likewise filmmaker Ken Loach expresses his support for the cultural boycott of Israel:
First of all you are a citizen, a human being. When you are confronted by such crimes you have to respond as a human being, regardless of if you are an artist, a VIP or whatever. First of all you have to respond and do what you can to bring this to people’s attention. A boycott is a tactic. It is effective against Israel because Israel presents itself as a cultural beacon. It is therefore very susceptible to cultural boycott. We should not have anything to do with projects that are supported by the State of Israel. Individuals are not concerned; we have to concentrate on the actions of the Israeli State. That is what we have to target. We target it because you cannot just stand by and watch people live their lives in refugee camps forever.
Finally, here is a succinct response by the national boycott committee in Palestine addressing those who would rather be independent than join the call to boycott:
Some artists argue that, instead of boycotting, they prefer to visit Israel and use the performance opportunity to express their views against Israeli injustices. This ostensibly noble idea is not only — unfortunately — too rare to be viewed as significant; it is ill conceived. Such a hypothetically courageous stance cannot possibly outdo or neutralize the far more substantial harm done due to these performances taking place, as Israel, with its formidable influence in mainstream Western media, cynically uses them to project a false image of normalcy that enables it to maintain its occupation and apartheid. Ultimately, a conscientious artist is expected to heed the appeals of the oppressed as to what they really need from them in the struggle to end injustice and colonial oppression. This was true in the South African anti-apartheid struggle, too.
Filed under: Apartheid, Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions, Film, India, Media, Palestine Tagged: amos gitai, anuj kumar, Apartheid, bds, ben white, cultural boycott, film, ken loach, kolkatta, Palestine
“The Hindu” Strikes Again: Normalizing Israeli “Sports”
In last week’s The Hindu, Arundhati Hazra wrote an article entitled “Kicking it with Krav Maga.” The article writes about this so-called Israeli martial arts form as if it were just an ordinary method of learning self defense. But in reality, like most things Israeli, it is anything but innocuous. Ironically I had just come across a great passage in Max Blumenthal’s terrific new book, Goliath, in which he offers a succinct description of Krav Maga:
Krav Maga, a hyper-aggressive Israeli brans of hand-to-hand combat that focuses on neutralizing an opponent as quickly as possible by targeting the most vulnerable parts of their body–by gouging their eyeballs, smashing their genitals, or “fish hooking” their mouth. The soldier emphasized the importance of breaking out of chokeholds, though not to prevent rapes or street attacks. ‘The scenario was you’re in a shopping mall, there’s a terrorist with a bomb, and he’s grabbing you by the arm or trying to choke you to kill everyone, so this was how we were told we’d get out. And this was part of a larger narrative designed to prepare us to be soldiers by the time we were finished with middle school,” Lia recalled. “The idea wasn’t to make us into good citizens with democratic values–it was all about preparing us to be good soldiers fighting the Palestinians” (181).
Blumenthal is sharing an episode a journalist who grew up Ariel settlement. She’s sharing her experience of how Krav Maga was taught to her and the other colonist youth. It may not be taught precisely that way in Bangalore. However, understanding why this is being exported and its relationship to Israeli hasbara (propaganda) is important.
A couple of years ago Richard Silverstein reported on this phenomenon in the west:
For those of you who see those pictures of IDF soldiers beating Palestinian demonstrators and feel a surge of Jewish pride, then krav maga (literally “contact fighting”) is just for you:
They say many of their students come to Krav Maga not only for self-defense, but also to feel a connection to their family in Israel…
“Everybody feels a connection to the soldiers, whether they are Jewish or not,” Mor said. “Soldiers and their fighting spirit, we really teach fighting spirit here.”
“…I’m not coming from Israel and I’m not Jewish, yet I believe that the army is so strong and so prepared that I’m willing to practice this every day of my life. I love it…”
And we love it too. Someone has to report this use of hasbara to Israel’s Hasbara minister. He’ll undoubtedly want to disseminate news of this brilliant new use of pro-Israel propaganda world-wide, just as he’s touting the co-optation of the European rabbinate on behalf of expounding the joys of Israel to a doubting European public.
Indeed it is quite the hasbara outfit as it does its job of normalizing Israel and people’s relationship to the colonial entity because Indians in Bangalore taking Krav Maga classes will probably say that they’re merely taking a self-defense class. And while that may be the intention, there are deeper and more pernicious elements afloat.
Filed under: India, Media, Militarization, Palestine Tagged: arundhati hazra, goliath, hasbara, krav maga, max blumenthal, richard silverstein, the hindu
September 8, 2013
“The Hindu” Promotes Tourism to Apartheid Israel
Yesterday morning I was enjoying reading the Sunday edition of The Hindu newspaper. That is, until I got to the final page of the paper where I saw an article by Lakshmi Anand entitled “Ten Things to do In Israel,” which ahistorically, acontextually promotes Indian travel to a settler-colonial, racist, apartheid state.
Here is my response to that piece, which I just emailed to the newspaper’s editor:
9 September 2013
Dear Editor:
In yesterday’s The Hindu Magazine section, you published an article by Lakshmi Anand entitled “10 Things to do in Israel.” I found the article to be shocking and offensive. Since when did it become normal for Indians to promote travel to a settler-colonial apartheid state? I would suggest a more apt article for you to publish in your newspaper’s pages entitled, “Ten Reasons Not to go to Israel.” The list could include the following justifications:
Israel practices apartheid and is a settler-colonial state. Just as the British were a settler-colonial state in India and just as South Africa was an apartheid regime, Israel is a combination of these two racist state systems of the past. Just as the British Empire created its settler-colonial state in India, they too enabled the set up of a colonial entity by partitioning the Levant after World War I. Since 2002, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has unequivocally compared the practices of apartheid by Israel with the former regime in South Africa.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 stipulates that Palestinian who were forcibly removed from their homes during the ethnic cleansing of 1948 (Israel’s premeditated “Plan Dalet” to eliminate the indigenous population), should be allowed to return to their homes and be compensated financially for the losses they incurred, much like Jews were offered compensation after World War II.
The ethnic cleansing operations of 1948 have never ended: it is ongoing. For the most recent example of this, one need only look at the Negev desert where yet again the Bedouin community is being forcibly removed from their land. But this is also an ongoing project in places like Jaffa and Jerusalem, places that Anand seems to only see as tourist destinations.
Israel likes to promote itself as an country that has which, ignores the centuries of cultivation established by indigenous Palestinians. Israel’s ability to cultivate stolen Palestinian land comes from their ongoing theft of natural resources, like water, which they exploit for their settlement swimming pools while Palestinians are left with little to no water for bathing and drinking.
Anand recommends tourists visit Israel’s Nazi holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, which is located on the land of the Palestinian village, Deir Yassin, which notably endured one of the most infamous massacres during Israel’s ethnic cleansing operations of 1948. The depopulated village ironically hosts this museum about the ethnic cleansing of Jews in Europe.
The article also recommends that people spend time sampling food like felafel. Anand fails to mention that this is an Arab food not an Israeli one. Like most Israeli “culture,” felafel was studied and adopted by Zionist Jews who colonized Palestinian land. Likewise, the Jaffa oranges mentioned in the article were world renowned produce that Palestinians exported globally prior to their forced removal from their land. In addition to coopting Palestinian culture and branding it Israeli, Israel has consistently been on a mission to commit cultural genocide by imposing various laws—many of which date from the British Mandate era—to prevent Palestinian literature, music, dance, and theatre from being produced and shared publicly.
Palestinian political prisoners, many of whom have been on ongoing hunger strikes for the past few years, and many of whom are children, are being held for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is resisting the ongoing colonization of their land. Just as Indians were political prisoners of the British during the Raj, Palestinians are also fighting to get their country back and those who work towards this end, regardless of age or gender, are often imprisoned.
Since its formation, Israel has repeatedly promoted the ironic idea that it is always at risk of being thrown into the sea by its neighbors. The reality is that since its inception, Israel has been a belligerent regime and the fourth most powerful military in the world, propped up by the United States, of course. On a daily basis, Israel’s army fires at fishermen in Gaza; they regularly capture shepherds in Lebanon, and most recently they have bombed Syria and are pushing for the U.S. to invade Syria as well.
Palestinians who live in Israel, who call themselves 1948 Palestinians because they are the people who managed to remain on their land against all odds are second-class citizens, just as Indians were under the British Raj. 1948 Palestinians do not have equal rights because they live in a state that defines itself as Jewish and Palestinians are either Christian, Druze, Baha’i, or Muslim.
Don’t go to Israel. Go to Palestine. Show your solidarity with the Palestinian people. Join the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement inspired by India’s boycott movement and later South Africa’s. Join the Indian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Traveling to Israel promotes their economy and therefore enables it to continue its brutal and ruthless colonial system. India remembers all too well what colonialism means. Why would Indians want to promote its continuation in another location?
Filed under: Palestine Tagged: bds, Bedouin, boycott, cultural genocide, deir yassin, Desmond Tutu, ethnic cleansing, felafel, Gaza, incacbi, India, jaffa oranges, jeruslaem, Lebanon, negev, Palestine, plan dalet, settler colonialism, South Africa, syria, the hindu, tourism, water, yad vashem
February 13, 2013
Comparing Malls
The first time I went to Ejipura and witnessed the displacement of the Dalit community by Maverick Holdings in collusion with the BBMP (Bangalore’s municipal authority), I couldn’t help compare the situation to what I have witnessed in Palestine. Recently UNRWA published a series of statistics on how Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes affects Palestinians (see a few of the charts below). 
In Palestine having Israelis bulldoze your home is quotidian.
It is rare to read news sources that monitor this, like al-Akhbar or Electronic Intifada, on any given day and not see news about home demolitions. It is a part of the ongoing nakba. Just this week al-Akhbar reported of two Palestinian homes being demolished in the West Bank. Here is a video of this most recent demolition. It looks quite similar to the demolitions taking place here in Bangalore.
Just as Palestinians steadfastly work toward their goal of returning home, and increasingly use boycott as a tactic to achieve this result, increasingly the residents of Ejipura are as well. In Ejipura this week there was a protest and there is a desire to boycott Garuda Mall as a strategy to achieve justice for the people so they may be granted the replacement homes they were promised by their government.
The root of the problem and the context differ, of course. In Palestine it is colonists uprooting indigenous people to steal land and build their colonies. Just this week 90 new homes have been approved for building in Jerusalem (for those who think that 50% of Jerusalem belongs to Jewish colonists this is what you call “East Jerusalem,” although for those who are anti-colonial Jerusalem has no dividing line). In 1948 Palestine the ongoing nakba continues as Israel continues to cleanse itself of Palestinians, especially in the Naqab (Negev) desert in the southern portion of the state.
But all of uprooting for the sake of a mall made me recall one of my dear friends’ villages, Malha, which is a neighborhood of Jerusalem. My friend is a refugee, although many of the original homes and a mosque (which seems to be used as a house by an Israeli Jewish colonist) remain. But on this land is also a large shopping mall. Her uprooting was not for the creation of the mall, but its presence on her family’s land is disturbing nevertheless. Below are photographs I took of the mall as well as the beautiful, traditional stone Palestinian homes.
It may not be the same cause or the same context, but uprooting and homelessness whether for a land grab or a shopping center is immoral and must be resisted via boycott or other means necessary to achieve justice.
Here are a few more recent articles on Ejipura:
Ejipura Demolition: Hundreds of Protestors Court Arrest
Maverick’s Project in Bangalore: Il-legalizing the Poor
Of a City of Pieces and the Importance of the Larger Community
Violence Continues Against EWS Residents, Activists Say
Filed under: Activism, Apartheid, Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions, Colonialism, Human Rights, India, Indigenous, Justice, Palestine, Poverty, Refugees, Zionism Tagged: 1948 Palestine, bangalore, bbmp, boycott, dalit, displacement, ejipura, garuda mall, home demolitions, jerusalem, malha, maverick, nakba, naqab, negev, ongoing nakba, refugee, unrwa
February 8, 2013
On the Periphery: Ejipura and the Fence
It rained in Ejipura yesterday after I left. Hadn’t thought at all about inclement weather given the climate here in Bangalore. But it seems that passing out better tarps (most families are making due with old plastic political banners torn down around the neighborhood) and raincoats.
There is a metal fence around the entire perimeter of the old slum in Ejipura now. It’s hard to see inside. Most of the same families who have been living on its periphery still remain, steadfastly waiting to acquire suitable housing that they can afford. 
Most of the families left behind are Tamil. And yesterday there were Tamil posters plastered about Ejipura comparing the Indian government officials’ responsibility in the uprooting of Ejipura residents to what the massacre the Sri Lankan government perpetrated against the Tamils in 2009.
Before they sealed off the area, the last group of slum housing, these made mostly of zinc roofs and walls, were demolished. I couldn’t get inside to see, but the mosque is on the edge of that former neighborhood so I took this photograph from inside to give a view of the rubble. Interestingly, when I was doing Sunday morning food distribution a couple of weeks ago a church group was the donor. And they happened to bring their own volunteers with them. Many of the families from this last area to be demolished–before it was demolished–came seeking food. One of the nuns got quite angry at the people and tried to shoo them away. I got in an argument with her and the other church people because they were clearly in need, clearly hungry, and I head heard that they were next. I remember saying, so they can only eat your food once they no longer have a roof over their head? And now it has come to pass it seems.
Today there is a big march taking place as I write. I intended to do this prior to the demonstration, but I didn’t have time. But here are the list of demands articulated by the current and former residents of Ejipura:
Grounds of Protest
Why is land earmarked for purpose of housing Economically Weak Sections (EWS) being used for the purpose of private profit and commercial exploitation?
Why has the BBMP chosen Maverick Holdings when they have already committed fraud by constructing Garuda Mall on public land meant for a parking lot?
The Government has issued biometric cards, BBMP ID cards, Voter IDs and Ration Cards to the residents of EWS quarters. The BBMP Council even passed a resolution in 2005 that houses would be built for both allottees and non-allotees living in EWS Quarters. On what grounds are they now labelling them as encroachers?
Why were the residents who were recognised as lawful residents not consulted before any decision was made?
The concession agreement between Maverick and BBMP clearly lays down that it is Maverick’s responsibility to relocate residents during Implementation Period at its own expense. Why has this not been done?
While EWS Quarters stood on 11.37 acres of land, how is 15.64 acres of land being handed over to Maverick Holdings?
When this case was in the High Court of Karnataka, why did the BBMP mislead the court by saying that all interested parties agreed to this arrangement? Why were not these bonafide residents not considered as “interested parties” in this agreement?WE DEMAND -Cancel the PPP and use the EWS land for its original purpose -Rebuild houses for all erstwhile residents immediately on the same land
-Prosecute those responsible for brutal evictions and collapse of the EWS quarters
-Order an independent judicial enquiry into the illegal diversion of public lands
Here are some important articles to read to understand more about what is going on in Ejipura:
How Did My House Become Yours, Ask Allottees
From Shanty Houses to Shanty Lives: The Story of an Eviction
Ejipura: Living in the Shadows of the Maverick Fence
From Nonadanga to Ejipura: The Urban Battleground
Ejipura Workers Back Off After Evictee’s Immolation Threat
Steps to Prevent Ejipura Crisis from Getting Worse
Filed under: Activism, Human Rights, India, Poverty, Tamil Tagged: bbmp, ejipura, eviction, ews, garuda mall, karnataka, maverick, nonadanga, sri lanka, Tamil
On the Periphery: Ejipura and the Fence #EWSEjipura
It rained in Ejipura yesterday after I left. Hadn’t thought at all about inclement weather given the climate here in Bangalore. But it seems that passing out better tarps (most families are making due with old plastic political banners torn down around the neighborhood) and raincoats.
There is a metal fence around the entire perimeter of the old slum in Ejipura now. It’s hard to see inside. Most of the same families who have been living on its periphery still remain, steadfastly waiting to acquire suitable housing that they can afford.
Most of the families left behind are Tamil. And yesterday there were Tamil posters plastered about Ejipura comparing the Indian government officials’ responsibility in the uprooting of Ejipura residents to what the massacre the Sri Lankan government perpetrated against the Tamils in 2009.
Before they sealed off the area, the last group of slum housing, these made mostly of zinc roofs and walls, were demolished. I couldn’t get inside to see, but the mosque is on the edge of that former neighborhood so I took this photograph from inside to give a view of the rubble. Interestingly, when I was doing Sunday morning food distribution a couple of weeks ago a church group was the donor. And they happened to bring their own volunteers with them. Many of the families from this last area to be demolished–before it was demolished–came seeking food. One of the nuns got quite angry at the people and tried to shoo them away. I got in an argument with her and the other church people because they were clearly in need, clearly hungry, and I head heard that they were next. I remember saying, so they can only eat your food once they no longer have a roof over their head? And now it has come to pass it seems.
Today there is a big march taking place as I write. I intended to do this prior to the demonstration, but I didn’t have time. But here are the list of demands articulated by the current and former residents of Ejipura:
Grounds of Protest
Why is land earmarked for purpose of housing Economically Weak Sections (EWS) being used for the purpose of private profit and commercial exploitation?
Why has the BBMP chosen Maverick Holdings when they have already committed fraud by constructing Garuda Mall on public land meant for a parking lot?
The Government has issued biometric cards, BBMP ID cards, Voter IDs and Ration Cards to the residents of EWS quarters. The BBMP Council even passed a resolution in 2005 that houses would be built for both allottees and non-allotees living in EWS Quarters. On what grounds are they now labelling them as encroachers?
Why were the residents who were recognised as lawful residents not consulted before any decision was made?
The concession agreement between Maverick and BBMP clearly lays down that it is Maverick’s responsibility to relocate residents during Implementation Period at its own expense. Why has this not been done?
While EWS Quarters stood on 11.37 acres of land, how is 15.64 acres of land being handed over to Maverick Holdings?
When this case was in the High Court of Karnataka, why did the BBMP mislead the court by saying that all interested parties agreed to this arrangement? Why were not these bonafide residents not considered as “interested parties” in this agreement?WE DEMAND -Cancel the PPP and use the EWS land for its original purpose -Rebuild houses for all erstwhile residents immediately on the same land
-Prosecute those responsible for brutal evictions and collapse of the EWS quarters
-Order an independent judicial enquiry into the illegal diversion of public lands
Here are some important articles to read to understand more about what is going on in Ejipura:
How Did My House Become Yours, Ask Allottees
From Shanty Houses to Shanty Lives: The Story of an Eviction
Ejipura: Living in the Shadows of the Maverick Fence
From Nonadanga to Ejipura: The Urban Battleground
Ejipura Workers Back Off After Evictee’s Immolation Threat
Steps to Prevent Ejipura Crisis from Getting Worse
Filed under: Activism, Human Rights, India, Poverty, Tamil Tagged: bbmp, ejipura, eviction, ews, garuda mall, karnataka, maverick, nonadanga, sri lanka, Tamil
January 28, 2013
How to Help in Ejipura
There is a fence now that is being erected around the Ejipura slum. Families who remain without shelter skirt the perimeter of the property, which now has a clear sign of ownership on the fence. Soon one won’t be able to peer inside or go inside at all. Inside all that remains is a church, a Christian shrine, and the water tank.
The families who resided in these slums took pride in their homes. They may have been landless and poor, but they made their homes beautiful with paint on the walls, paintings inside, and gardens that fed the family and produced flowers to beautify the space. Many of these families had pets from dogs to cats to fish to birds. But this community has been broken. People don’t know where their neighbors have gone. Some don’t even know where family members are now.
The situation has not changed much: people still need water, food, clothing, and most importantly a more permanent home. After that some project to help people generate income, some kind of livelihood-building project will be needed.
There is much work to be done. The people who are organizing relief work in Ejipura are not an NGO. Most people are students or workers who are volunteering their time. In many respects, this is a better way of operating as it gives the volunteers more freedom than being tied down to the bureaucracy of an NGO. But it also means that people need to step up to the plate in any way they can.
Here are some ways you can help (note is a few days old, but basic information is not):
Dear all,
Thank you so much for the overwhelming response over the last few days. Now the EWS quarters have been almost completely demolished by BBMP via police harassment and threats. Out in the cold, many have not slept for days as they have been harassed wherever they sit or move their meagre belongings, while they have no funds to pay for the customary advance (safety deposit) required to be paid before renting even the lowest cost house in Bangalore, nor even to pay for a vehicle to move their belongings.
We are trying to sustain this community with food and water (supply has been cut), warm clothes and blankets. In addition those who feel they can no longer tolerate the police repression are requesting funds for the advance to move out into small houses. People are making their own decisions about leaving or staying, but many are worried that the longer they resist and the fewer they are in number, that their chances of actually getting support to move if and when they are pushed towards no other option are low – this is making people move out faster. If we have funds to cover supporting this community through their resistance it can make a huge difference.
Here’s a quick breakdown of our immediate requirements:
*Food:* We have been feeding roughly 700 people per meal, with cost ranging from Rs. 8 to 25 per day depending on who steps forward to provide meals at what rate. The local area packed meals are Rs. 25 and some bulk suppliers have supplied some meals at Rs. 8. Also, milk and bananas for children/infants. If you feel you can contribute towards (either ordering the food parcels or financially) for any denomination you are comfortable with, it would be a great help.
*Water*: We have ordered drums of water for people, and are moving towards getting tankers to the site. The only problem is police harassment for all standing vehicles providing relief.
*Blankets:* Last night we received around 380 blankets. Still, we only managed to cover 1 per family. If you can conduct blanket and warm clothing donation drives in your area or circles by this evening, there should be more warmth to go around.
*Finances:* People need an advance to move into alternative housing and money to transport their belongings. You can send it to me if you prefer my personal account at Account number 0683101027442 Canara Bank, IISC branch, Bangalore, Karnataka IFSC-CNRB0000683
For an organizational account
Account Name – People’s Union for Civil Liberties
Bank – State Bank of Mysore
Acc no – 54047022713
IFSC – SBMY0040016
Branch Code – 40016
Send a mail to Gowruchinnapa[at]gmail.com to track the transaction and receipts.
*Medicines:* We hope to be able to get medicines from hospitals and health professionals. Doctors are on the site right now. However, we do need money for hospital visits and charges for serious patients, nutritional supplements (vitamins, iron) for the elderly, children and pregnant women, first aid over a period of time.
*Advocacy:* Write, blog, petition, share stories on Facebook and Twitter with #EWSEjipura as a hashtag, call authorities and demand why evictions have been carried out so brutally, why the police continues to threaten to throw out residents belongings such that many have been relegated to the footpath, why toilets and water supplies were destroyed on the first day and why aren’t makeshift facilities being arranged for- tents, toilets, water, compensation. We cannot, in our humanitarian effort, allow the government to shirk from its culpability, its word and pass on the buck like this.
With simultaneous demolitions going on in Golibar and Ambevadi, Mumbai and in cities across the country, a campaign towards the right to shelter needs to grow stronger.
We’re planning to set up a blog very soon with daily updates on the situation.
If you’re at the site and want to know who to give your contributions contact Vinay Sreenivasa.
Here are new articles on the ongoing situation in Ejipura:
Ejipura: “How many malls do Bangaloreans need?”
Ejipura: Only a Water Tank and a Shrine Remain
Filed under: Activism, Human Rights, India Tagged: ambevadi, bangalore, bbmp, ejipura, golibar, mumbai
January 26, 2013
Celebrating Republic Day with Expulsions in Ejipura
Today was Republic Day in India. It’s a day commemorating the day that India’s constitution became the primary document that lays out the laws and of the state and the rights of its people. It is rather ironic, then, that the remaining residents of Ejipura were expelled from their homes today.
The bulldozers kept churning the soil today, flattening it out, but there were a few families who held out inside the former slum. These families were being encircled as the bulldozers continued establishing new piles of rubble and dirt to form a barricade. There was also a fence that workers began to erect around the property.
The last family inside was holding out for compensation they were promised by Maverick Holdings, the company that owns Garuda Mall (the mall provided security at the main checkpoint to get inside the area). They were entitled to 5,000 rupees, but from that had to pay 1,200 for the truck to move their belongings (the lowest down payment for a new place to live is at least 10,000 rupees). In the end, they received their money, but they had no idea where they would go. Many of the families left are Tamil and so not from here; they don’t necessarily have family in the area or in the state.
Once the last family inside left Maverick sent one of its employees to expel the remaining families who have been living in the water pipes. Some of these families do not have proper papers and so while activists were busy feeding people or helping the last family steadfastly holding out for their money, the Maverick employee lowered the compensation amount to 2,000 rupees. Others signed the papers without receiving any money at all, although they were promised funds. All the people who signed papers when receiving money also lessened their chances in court.
Scuffles broke out between activists and the police today, of course after the journalists from The Hindu and The Times of India left the scene. Police brought a large bus and started walking around with sticks to intimidate people. It seemed as though negotiations would yield a return to the 5,000 rupee promise, but in the end most families settled. Fortunately, the residents of Koramangala, the neighboring area, collected funds to help families pay down payments on new housing for families who found viable places to resettle.
Many of the families who left are now in Sarjapur. Some have been locked out of housing they paid a down payment for. And there is no water or electricity there.
It is troubling that there is so little national or international media covering this story. The world is so quick to cover a horrifically brutal rape in Delhi, but not the mass expulsion of a community that has lived in these homes for decades.
Also see these articles for more about what’s happening in Ejipura:
Ejipura Evictions: People Treated Like Dogs and Thrown Out of Houses
Bulldozers and Pipes: Life Takes on a Different Meaning
Youth Pour Out to Help Ejipura Demolition Affected
Rights Group Appeal to International Bodies
Ejipura Residents Struggling to Find Alternative Accommodation
And check out these videos that give a sense of what has been happening and how the residents of Ejipura feel about their expulsion:
Filed under: Activism, Human Rights, India, Justice, Poverty, Tamil Tagged: delhi, ejipura, garuda mall, koramangala, maverick holdings, rape, republic day, sajapur
January 24, 2013
More on the Uprooting of Ejipura
I hear people using words like “evacuation” or “eviction” when describing what is happening in Ejipura. But it’s neither. People are not being rescued from a natural disaster. People are being kicked out of their homes for being delinquent with their rent. They are being forcibly removed, dispossessed, uprooted. They are being uprooted like the trees the bulldozers tore down yesterday along with the homes, trees that are now serving as firewood to keep families warm at night.
When I returned to Ejipura this morning it was even more of a wasteland because the bulldozers flattened so much of the land. Families were searching for apartments to rent. On average they need 10,000 rupees (less than $100) as a security deposit. But by day’s end it turned out that some of the people they rented from did not actually own the apartments they rented and 30 families were locked out from housing once again in a nearby area.
The last family holding out yesterday, hoping the bulldozer would somehow skirt around their home or postpone demolishing it was gone by morning. When I left yesterday evening they were the last house on the edge of the plot of land. Today they were gone. I saw the elder matriarch in the street asking for blankets–they relocated on the outskirt of the slum.
After breakfast was distributed we delivered tea to the remaining families. One woman approached me with her son. She is a widow and cleans people’s homes for a living, but the woman she normally works for has been on vacation so she has no money. She said she wished she had poison to serve her small family instead of lunch.
There were some dirt barricades created between the slum and the street today that the bulldozers obviously made. It impeded passage between the various families who had been removed and made distributing food, water, and blankets more challenging. By evening when we passed out dinner it was even harder. On the previous days auto rickshaws were filled up with the food parcels and delivered directly to the families. By evening there were so many more barricades inside the area that this became more difficult. And at one end of the slum there was a police barricade with a policeman standing guard.
I met a doctor tonight who lives in the area and who knows this community. She described them as typically quite healthy. But in the last few days a number of health problems began to emerge. There are now cases of diarrhea, hepatitis, and jaundice. There are problems with thyroid and blood pressure because people lost or are not taking their medications. And respiratory infections are increasing, possibly because people are exposed to the cold night air and inhaling so much smoke from the fires burning at night in order to stay warm and have some light. Girls are not eating and drinking because there is no place for them to go to the toilet. Men are taking their frustrations out on their wives. Some families have had their belongings stolen. Some husbands are selling family belongings even though their wives are opposed to it.
And one of the worst stories I heard today is that some police stole blankets from families last night. They also threatened other families, saying that if they accepted blankets from us they would be arrested. 
In the midst of all of this politicians and businessmen continue to play political football with people’s lives. Supposedly there are funds for helping families relocate and get settled in the government, but those funds have gone missing somewhere between the government and a politician’s pocket.
Filed under: Activism, Human Rights, India, Poverty Tagged: bangalore, ejipura, home demolition, slum
January 23, 2013
Home demolitions in Ejipura
I received a text message today asking me to come to Ejipura today. They needed volunteers to help deliver food and blankets and they needed people to help move the belongings from people’s homes away from the bulldozers. Homes were being demolished.
The home demolitions had been going on for a few days. The activists who were attempting to intervene in this process through demonstrations were arrested–21 of them–for 2 days, just enough time to make sure they could not interfere with the destruction. When I arrived the entire landscape looked like a war zone. Homes razed to the ground. All that was left was the rubble and the flooring where the houses used to be. Many of the families who were able to, who had family elsewhere, left. But those who had nowhere to go or no means to go remained. Others stayed as an act of resistance. Some were making new, temporary homes in water pipes. And by the end of the day the slum relocated to the curb on the main road.
Unfortunately, none of this was unfamiliar to me. I felt like I was back in Palestine watching Israeli colonists raze Palestinian homes to the ground, a regular occurrence in Palestine (see some of my blog posts on this here, here, here, and here). In Palestine it’s obvious why the settler-colonists want to destroy homes: to steal more land that they can use to build more colonies. This has been true since before the Zionists stole Palestine in 1948.
In India it’s an Indian government demolishing Indian homes. In this scenario, a man (owner of Garuda Mall) bought the plot of land where the 3,000 families have resided–some for as long as 35 years–to build a shopping mall (just what every city needs: another shopping mall). In theory, half the land will be for the mall and half will be to build new homes for the community residing in Ejipura. But how long will that take? And what should these families do in the mean time? It also seems a bit unlikely that this scheme will be seen through given that the same man who bought the land also bought the judge hearing the case and the mosque adjacent to the slum. As a result there were some families who took cash and relocated. But there were many more who refused cash or food from the buyer or the mosque on principle.
As we wandered about the former slum, people shared their stories. Many of these people are Indians without proper identity papers (this is an issue here for many people and it inhibits their access to all kinds of social services). It reminds me of non-ID Palestinians who carried an extra burden after the Lebanese army destroyed Nahr el Bared refugee camp.
One woman who was rather gutsy when salvaging her remains underneath and beside the bulldozer that was skirting her home seemed to have a set of skeleton keys peeking out from beneath her sari, reminding me of the keys that Palestinians carry after their homes were destroyed during the nakba in 1948.
Little by little families at the edge of the slum prepared to move their belongings in the late afternoon. We helped some pile them into auto rickshaws. Others just wanted them on the curb, some choosing to make a home at the bus stop. Others just moved them a few feet away to make space for the bulldozer destroying their home. There was one hold out family that refused to move their items and sat and watched as it made a path next to their house.
Throughout the day children found spaces to play with salvaged toys or with the rubble. Young girls imitated their mothers, sweeping away the dust from the digging. 
It was heart wrenching to see so many families displaced and rendered homeless at once. Tonight they will spend another night out in the cold with no real shelter. The elements already got to one woman, Rosemary, who died yesterday.
Here are a few articles about the demolitions for those who want to read more:
More Houses Raised at Ejipura in Bangalore
Hundreds Rendered Homeless in Ejipura
HC Refuses Urgent Hearing of Petitions of Ejipura Residents
Ejipura Residents Lose the Roof Over Their Head
Seven Propositions and One Challenge for Ejipura Residents
Filed under: Activism, Colonialism, India, Palestine, Zionism Tagged: bangalore, ejipura, garuda mall, house demolition, koramangala, nakba, non-ID, slum
