RFLI, an organisation for life

RFLI, an organisation for life

“When you do something, do it with love. It is not the outcome that is important; it is the love you put into it that counts,” said Sr. M Annunciata, Secretary cum Treasurer Respect for Life India (RFLI).

Respect for life India (RFLI) is a non-profit, secular organisation run by the Good Shepherd Sisters. RFLI started in August 6, 1986, with its secretariat established in Bangalore. Their main aim is to promote, protect and foster human life at all stages and to act against all that would lessen human dignity. They believe that every human is precious and unique in the eyes of God and the human family. The organisation is concerned with issues like abortion, child labour, drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, battered wives, dowry deaths, plight of disabled, euthanasia and HIV/AIDS. It focuses on issues from conception to natural death, and to act against all that would demean human dignity because every human is precious and unique in the eyes of God and the human family.

RFLI for the past 12 years have been visiting colleges like, St. Joseph’s College (Arts and Science), St. Joseph’s Evening College, Christ University and Mount Carmel College to conduct seminar or for to give awareness programme. Sr. Annunciata is the current director of the RFLI centre in Good Shepherd Convent campus.

RFLI conducts awareness programmes, pro-life sessions at different schools and colleges, and programmes for women and resource person at churches, slums, juvenile homes and so on. They also hold National Convention once in two years in different cities. RFLI have centres in different places in India like in Karwar, Shillong, Goa, Agra, Erode and Chennai.

One of the ministries that RFLI organisation have take up is rescuing girls who are forced to work like sex workers and bring about a better life for the girls working at brothels and the red-light areas. These sex workers were promised good jobs before they were bought by their owners but they ended up selling their body to earn livelihood. Sr. Annunciata  said that while the woman or mother is selling her body, the children will be kept outside the house or  their children are left on the streets all by themselves. Therefore, RFLI takes these children to a home, educate them, give them food and shelter, taught to pray, draw, also taught yoga and karate and train them to be better life. By doing so, Sr. Annunciata said that at least the children will not be abused and at least they will be freed from the same trade.

To run NGO or any institutions or organisations, money is needed. RFLI receives money from schools they have in Good Shepherd Convent campus. They also receive funds from people who support the institution. Currently there are three staffs taking care at the institution. RFLI also receives volunteers from time to time in order to carry out the mission.

They have various publications, like newsletters, brochures, information folders books, and also have library of books and audio visual library which are used as research centres and also hold exhibitions. Charts about various issues like abortion, child labour, drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, battered wives, dowry deaths, plight of disabled, euthanasia and HIV/AIDS are displayed from time to time.

RFLI has different centres in different places. Some of them are Chaitanya, centre for the homeless, Abala Ashraya Sanga, centre for women on the streets where they are provided with counselling and shelter for a week or two. St. Micheal’s Home, centre for unwed women and Marian Ville, hostel for working women in Good Shepherd Convent. In all the works we do, do it joyfully and happily and the fruit of happiness will come. St. Ignatius of Loyola said, “Love ought to manifest itself more in deeds than in words.”

Sr Annunciata

Respect for Life India

Good Shepherd Convent, Museum Road.

Bangalore, Karnataka, India 560025

Phone no.: 91-080-22246806

91-9844129904

Email:         respectforlifeindia@dataone.in

Website:       respectforlifeindia.org

Sacrificing life for faith

Sacrificing life for faith

The ongoing atrocities against Christians living in Iraq by the extremist militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has proved Karl Marx’s words that religion is the opium of the people. Religion is an institution that is supposed to lead us to God. It encourages us to love our neighbor. No religion teaches its followers to hate, destroy or kill other human beings. Is it right for ISIS to kill and persecute Christians in Iraq in the name of religion?

The killing of more than approximately 1,50,000 Christians in Iraq has become an issue of concern. Up to 1,00,000 Christians are reported to have fled their homes in Iraq, especially from cities like Mosul and Qaraqosh, because of the threat posed by ISIS. Christians were given three choices by the brutal oppressors: convert to Islam, pay a dhimmi (a tax collected by non-Muslims for their residence), or be executed. The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue has stated that ISIS has “committed and was continuing to commit unspeakable criminal acts” against the Christians and Yazidis. ISIS needs to realize that human lives are not just pawns to establish religious supremacy.

The persecution or killing of people in the name of religion is wrong and should be condemned. It is often said that those who persecute others in the name of religion often do not know anything about their religion or its teachings. They could be considered as fanatics and equated to outlaws. Perpetrators should be punished justly.

Religion is a means to enhance our human life here on earth. Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions aim to lead us to the Divine and they are supposed to help us love one another. Different religions need to have a dialogue and make resolutions to work together, build a just human society and create an atmosphere where people can live as brothers and sisters.

Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic Research

Every child is born to a family, culture, state or nation. Culture is an innate thing to a human person but it gets modified when we interact with other cultures. We often hear people saying that ‘American or European cultures are better than Indian or Sri Lankan cultures’. People cannot judge as to which culture is the best or the worst because each culture or ethnic group have got their own uniqueness just like every human being is unique in their own way.

Ethnographic Research which is also known as Ethnographic Field Research is a concept developed by Malinowski, Evans-Pritchard, Mead and Boas. The word ‘Ethnography’ is derived from the Greek word ‘ethnos’ which means ‘folk, people, nation’ and ‘grapho’ which means ‘I write’. Research is a systematic investigation of a particular thing, event, or incident, culture and so on in order to arrive at new logical, reliable conclusions and to establish new facts. Ethnographic Research is therefore, a systematic study of a particular culture or culture of an individual. It is a branch of anthropology that describes the culture of an individual or group through close observation, reading, and interpretation.  Ethnography is the study of social interactions, behaviours, and perceptions that occur within teams, organisations, and communities.

Ethnographic Research is qualitative in nature. In this form of research, researchers observe, conduct interviews and surveys of smaller populations and groups is done in-depth. The results of the study of one particular culture will not be applied to other cultures. Statistical methods of quantifying data collected are not used in this method. The researcher is involved in the field to be studied and thus they know the ideas, values, habits, ways and action patterns of the community in the field.

Ethnographic Research is Subjective in nature. According to ethnographers Bonnie Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater, “when someone says “that’s really weird” or “aren’t they strange”, a fieldworker hears these comments as signals for investigation.”  Culture is inborn and cultivated in us in us and we tend to act and behave accordingly. When we step into a new culture, we bring with us our previous experiences, preconceptions, and ideas of our culture. When we act, judge or interact with others our culture will guide us knowingly or unknowingly. The ethnographer is always present in the research he or she conducts and the texts he or she creates.

The questions that an ethnographic researcher needs to ask should include qualitative and descriptive questions. They should ask not only what they see but also the opinion, interpretation or explanation of the respondent. According to Sunstein and Chiseri-Strater, “An ethnographer and a journalist may both gather information about the same event but write up their accounts very differently. A standard daily newspaper reporter, for example, conducts research in an attempt to be objective: to give the who, what, where, when, and why of an event for a readership that expects facts without too much interpretation. As a fieldworker, your purpose is to collect and consider multiple sources of information, not facts alone, to convey the perspective of the people about the culture you study.”

Participation, personal encounter, direct observation and experience are the primary tool for data collection. Identifying, clarifying, negotiation, refining and elaborating are pivotal tools for ethnographic research. Ethnographic research is cyclical in nature: data collection, analysis and interpretation are a continuously interrelated and inseparable process. The methods used for collection data could be visible or open-ended (frontstage), invisible or close-ended (backstage), and overt (straightforward) or covert (not openly). In ethnographic research the dichotomy observation-participation is used.  An open-ended question is one that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” According to Rafoth in order to help interviewers develop their answers further, researchers need to keep the following in mind. Extending questions: “What led to that?” “How did that start?” Filling in detail: “Could you ‘walk me through the event?” Identifying key actors and agents: “Who else was involved?”Inner events, “How did that make you feel?”

Secondary data add texture and broaden the work of an ethnographer by studying about cultures in larger historical, geographical, and political contexts. When primary and secondary data are combined together an ethnographer or readers will get a comprehensive view about culture. The range of subjects for ethnographic research is unlimited and we can study the mundane or the exotic, the ordinary or the extraordinary.

In mass communication studies, ethnographic field research has become the standard procedure used to study the working of media institutions and more recently, has gained ground in audience research. Participant observation has been the key method of enquiry for several decades, particularly in the area of news. The other major strand of communication studies in which participant observation has taken a prominent position is audience research.

 In mass communication Ethnographic research relies on techniques such as observation, video diaries, photographs, contextual interviews, and analysis of artefacts. Observations can be made at home, at work, or in leisure environments. People can be studied with their family, on their own, with work colleagues, or as part of a group of friends. In ethnographic research the role of the researcher determines his/her social location in the community/group under study.

Data analysis and interpretation should be seen as a process, ‘with fieldwork, data-text translation, coding and conceptualising all go ahead at the same time. Analysis implies breaking up the research material into separate units, then searching for patterns, categories and holistically looking at the data. Analysis is not simply ‘wet-finger’ theorising. Jorgen suggests several analytic strategies such as identify the basic components of a phenomenon, look for patterns and relationship among facts, compare and contrast, ask different questions and rephrase them and consult exist literature.  

Bibliography

http://methodsofdiscovery.net/?q=node/19

http://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a1020

http://hbr.org/2009/03/ethnographic-research-a-key-to-strategy/ar/1

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-centred-design/user-research/ethnographic-research.html

Development communication Stories

Development communication Stories

1)      Name of publication/s: Deccan Herald                         Date of Publication: Tuesday, May 20, 2014

2)      Title of the article: A backward desert region blooms on the back of a refinery

3)      Why you consider the stories Development stories?

I consider the story about oil refinery and petro chemical complex coming up in Barmer, Rajasthan by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) as a development story because; this project has already given new dimension to the lives of people in the backward desert region with new infrastructure like roads, buildings and so on and there is better connectivity with cities. Basic necessities like water and education are also taken care because the company has laid new socio-economic foundation to take care of people. The refinery will bring in better communication facilities for the people whether through mobiles, TV, Radio, Newspapers or internet. People are excited of getting fresh drinking water as this village has had no source of fresh drinking water.  Even in the area of marriage we can see development. People who were finding it difficult to marry of their children are not getting marriage proposals because of the coming up of the oil refinery in this village. The setting up of the Balmer Oil Refinery has made many private institutions to start various job oriented courses. The water in Balmer area is water borne diseases water and people get different types of sicknesses like early ageing, hunchback, joint pains, weakening of bones and dental cavities. The setting up of pipeline for fresh drinking water will reduce the sicknesses in Balmer, Sajiyali and other surrounding villages. Cairn India has also installed RO plants in different villages which provide fluoride free water to people. The Balmer Oil Refinery has also attracted real estate sector and hotel industry in these areas. People are now investing even for barren lands in which people in Balmer areas have never dreamt that it would be of any use.  Constructions of private housing projects in Balmer areas are now in full swing.  There is a boon in hospitality sector too. The youth from different villages are employed at construction sites and are engaged in back office operations in the hotels. The production of oil from this area will lift Rajasthan to be at par with other leading oil refineries in India. The coming up of oil refinery and petro chemical complex have brought development in the areas of education system, health facilities, transports, economy, connectivity and others.

4)      Summarise the core of the stories.  

The story about ‘A backward desert region blooms on the back of a refinery’ published in the Deccan Herald on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 was written by Abhishek Gaur. The story tells about the setting up of oil refinery and petro chemical complex in Balmer. The project was for commercial productions and is set to complete in 2017. The story in a particular way narrates the feelings of the people in Balmer, Saijiyali and other neighbouring villages regarding the establishment of the oil refinery. It just seems to the people that the basic problems in the area which were never addressed in last 60 years seem to have been of great concern because of the coming of the project. Better education, water, transport and health facilities are not initiated in the region. There is better connectivity with cities and better mobile network towers are now installed. The article contains lots of quotes of local people about their experiences before and after the setting up of the project. For example Rupa Ram Chaudhary from Sajiyali said, “The situation had become so bad that none of the families from nearby villages were ready to marry their girls here because their daughters would have to travel several miles on foot every day just to fetch drinking water.” The story provided some facts that water in Balmer area has 5000 to 8000 TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) which over the years resulted to water borne diseases and cause different types of sicknesses to people. Cairn India has installed these RO plants at Bhakharpure, Kawas, Gida, Jogasar, Aakdada, Baytu, Gudamalani and other villages to improve the quality of water. Hotels and restaurants are mushrooming, land rates have shot up by over 300 per cent in last one year, local youth are now getting jobs and youth are being train for job oriented courses. The Balmer Oil Refinery will help Rajasthan to become India’s top oil producing state.

1)      Name of publication/s: The New Indian Express         Date of Publication: Tuesday, July 8, 2014

2)      Title of the article: A Unique forum for the people, by the people

3)      Why you consider the stories Development stories?

I consider the story about ‘A Unique forum for the people, by the people’ as a development story because there are many development activities that Video Volunteers did and are doing which have been mentioned in this story. Agenda setters and gatekeepers control the news of main stream media but the coming up of Video Volunteers (VV) provides real and truthful information about an incident or event. Video Volunteers portrays the truth, creates local leaders, gets people and government to take action and enables the oppressed to advocate for themselves. The main objectives of Video Volunteers is to enable people to speak for themselves through their own medium which is convenient and provide them space and time to do so. Most marginalised communities of India like dalits, tribals, women, and socio-economically weaker sections now have their opportunity to voice out and make government take action because of Video Volunteers. A network of community correspondents act as stringers in rural areas and get original stories which are unheard off so far. The wider connection of Video Volunteers with other mainstream media like Headlines Today and CNN-IBN boast the credibility of their work and have wide publication. Video Volunteers focus on 12 broad issues: corruption, infrastructure, education, health, gender, forced evictions, caste and identity, art and culture, environment, development, conflict and technology. The issues are areas of developments that each and every nation needs to concentrate. Video Volunteers correspondents talk to people in rural areas, create awareness about various issues, make them realize their rights, and to talk about solutions and ways forward. They also help government to find solutions to certain problems. The acts of running campaigns to put an end to untouchability and campaign for Right to Education (RTE) are development stories.

4)      Summarise the core of the stories.

Svetlana Lasrado wrote the story about ‘A Unique forum for the people, by the people’ to show the truth that an online media network stirs conversations for social change. The story tells us that how Video Volunteers could be a mouthpiece of privilege and under-privilege people. People could raise questions about corruption, infrastructure, education, health, gender, forced evictions, caste and identity, art and culture, environment, development, conflict and technology and make government to take actions. The story mentioned that main stream media are often barred to tell facts but not with Video Volunteers which was started by Jessica Mayberry and Stalin K in 2006.The story tells about the initiatives of Video Volunteers and the activeness of their correspondents which have given voice to thousands of people in lower strata across 24 states in the country. In India The volunteer network concentrates mostly in central and northern India like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra because they continue to have some of the worst socio-economic indicators and are also conflict prone. The network of community correspondents operates like a rural stringers network. The correspondents identify a story then talk to their mentor to identify shots, interviews and research and then once filmed, the story gets edited which will finally go onto website and YouTube channel. The content is also share with Headlines Today and CNN-IBN, Youth Ki Awaaz, Oximity, Global Voices and others. Community reporting is that it catalyses change for the people and government. The presence of a camera boosts the morale of officials and makes them more accountable. In 2013-14 Video Volunteers had impacted 49,568 people in 198 villages. Video Volunteers correspondents have encountered threats from some people but they join hands with the Human Rights Law Network and sought support from organisations like the Community to Protect Journalists. Currently Video Volunteers  are working on the murder of Dalit activist Sanjay Khobragade on May 17 by six upper caste people who have gone scot free. They are running a campaign to put an end to untouchability and pushed that laws should be enforced. Right to Education (RTE) in India is another campaign that Video Volunteers are running and this campaign have revealed that many schools have remain shut because of the lack of teachers, drinking water facilities and toilets.

Socio-Political analysis of the movie Elysium

Socio-Political analysis of the movie Elysium

The words of the Nun, “Our world is a metaphor, child. A great and wondrous metaphor that deftly critiques the social inequality of the early 21st century by magnifying it eleventy-two million times” could be the best summary for the movie Elysium. Elysium is a 2013 American dystopian science fiction action thriller film.  Neill Blomkamp wrote, directed, and co-produced the movie which speaks volume about socio-political life between the rich and the poor. The planet earth is known to be a planet which is dirty, where crime, disease, and poverty are prevalent.

The notion of ‘Elysium’ which is also known as ‘the Elysian Fields’ is said to have been derived from Latin word ‘Elysium’ and from Ancient Greek word ‘Elysion’ (pedion) which means ‘abode of the blessed’ or that which basically concerns with the concept of afterlife or  the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous. The movie is set in 2154 and tells the story of Max (Matt Damon) who lived amidst the shamble planet with many poor and suffering people while the very wealthy people lived on a pristine man-made space habitat called Elysium.

Elysium in a very dramatic and metaphorical way explores political and sociological themes such as immigration, overpopulation, health care, exploitation, the justice system, and class issues. The rich and powerful people like President Patel (Faran Tahir), Defense Secretary Delacourtn (Jodie Foster)  Agent C.M. Kruger (Sharlto Copley) use their power to build power neglect the suffering people on the planet. Political leaders were concern only with their power, prestige and position and were least bothered about the poor people who were in their territory. Leaders want to have more and more wealth, power and honour.

Life in the planet was a misery. People’s rights are violated and people have no say to speak out because robots would be there to hunt them down at any moment. People long to migrate to the Elysium so that they have access to clean air, better medical facilities and a well protected environment but there is no inner peace and joy because they are being controlled by few people.

Elysium unveils the reality that rich people are concern only with wealth, power, position and honour. Poor, sick, underprivileged people on the other hand have a compassionate, caring and loving heart towards other fellow human being. Frey Santiago (Alice Braga) represents a woman who acts as a Good Samaritan even when her daughter was so sick. Spider (Wagner Moura) and his gang were rowdies and are not very influential people but tried their best to bring a society where all are taken care well. Elysium was a very inspiring and thrilling movie.

                                                                                               

Analysing ‘Shattered Glass’ from ethical perspective

Shattered Glass, written and directed by Billy Ray speaks volume about ethical norms that journalist need to keep in mind while reporting or when writing a story. This 2003 American drama film tells the real-life story of Stephen Glass, a budding reporter for The New Republic whose career was ruined because his stories were based on fiction and fabrication and do not have the news values.

Immanuel Kant’s Deontologism suggests that the position of rightness or wrongness of an act in some way is characterized by universality or that it conforms to moral law. The act of Stephen Glass in creating fake and fabricated news is against the moral norm. Stephen Glass was deceiving his colleagues, he faked every report of evidence or the facts in his computer hacker story, and ‘He lied to his editor.’ Therefore, according to Kantian perspective what Stephen Glass did was wrong.

Shattered Glass raises questions about the ethical issues in modern journalism especially with the coming of the new media.  It is a cautionary tale to people that fraud or fabricated reporting is not acceptable. Fabricated news might entertain the people, my win name, fame and honour but ultimately there will be a downfall of shame and confusion.

AAMSU organises a protest to demand strong action against perpetrators of the ongoing violence in BTAD.

AAMSU organises a protest to demand strong action against perpetrators of the ongoing violence in BTAD.

All Assam Minorities Students' Union organised a protest to apprise The Governor of Assam regarding the ongoing violence in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) area and killing innocent people belonging to religious Minorities. The Protest was organised in front of the Deputy Commissioner residence, Chief Executive Secretary Lane on 6/5/2015 at 12. Noon.

The Memorandum which the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) submitted to The Governor of Assam includes the following demands

1.      The present Council headed by Hagarama Mahilary be dissolved immediately

2.      Stern action be taken against those who have fuelled for occurrence of such brutal violence. Hagarama Mahilary and one MLA namely Pramila Rani Brahma be arrested for their partisan role in the ongoing violence.

3.      Entire administration including law and order be handed over to the Army as the people have lost confidence upon local administration in BTAD

4.      Compensation amounting to Rs. 10 Lakh be provided to the family members of each deceased and Rs. 5 Lakhs to each wounded person. Further, free and expeditious medical amenities be provided to the wounded persons

5.      Though the Government have decided to initiate investigation by NIA, and impartial CBI enquiry be initiated to unearth the real culprits who conspired and given effect to the violence against Muslims in the BTAD area in Assam.

6.      Immediately seize all legal and illegal arms and ammunitions from surrendered militants as well as all sections of BTAD.

7.      Disputed Bodo Accord,2003 be reviewed afresh by taking into consideration of the interest of all communities living in the BTAD area

8.      Immediate steps taken to send back the affected people to their respective homes by providing adequate compensation and security.

9.      Till the rehabilitation in their permanent homes, adequate rations, sanitations, medicine, and draining water be provided to them the AAMSU will keep protesting.