A Journey for Justice – Helps Indian activists to come to Naples for the Festival of Human Rights
We publish the call on the website www.indiegogo.com to raise money to bring a Indian delegation at the next edition of the Festival.
“Between 60 and 65 million people are estimated to have been displaced in India since Independence, the highest number of people uprooted for development projects in the world. This amounts to around one million displaced every year since Independence. At same time environmental resources are being openly destroyed on a colossal scale in search for endless economic growth.”
Since 1990, in the name of development, India has started to to transfer resources from the poor to politically and economically powerful groups. This has forced thousands of people leaving their home and their life, to become homeless. If this is development, ask the displaced, why don’t we benefit from it? And why does it irreparably destroy the natural environment?
While we speak of India, globally over 60% of people forced out of their homes are victims of internal displacement. Of the 43 million people forced to flee their homes, 26 million are displaced within their own country, 16 million are refugees and one million are asylum-seekers.
THE FESTIVAL
With this journey, we will bring the documentary “CHAR.. The No Man Island” and the testimony of our experts closely working with the people movements in India to the Festival of Cinema and Human Rights in Europe. The festival supported by Amnesty International will be hold in Italy from 9 to 14 November, 2015. (http://www.humanrightsfilmnetwork.org/festivals/festival-del-cinema-dei-diritti-umani-di-napoli).
The International Festival of Human Rights and Cinema acts as a platform for the filmmakers around the world to project and promote excellence, beside providing a unique opportunity to discuss on theme and issues which are otherwise unnoticed.
The Naples Human Rights Film Festival is an international event which began in 2008 and that is both promoted and coordinated by the “Cinema e Diritti” (Cinema and Human Rights) Association using a self-managed and participatory formula. The objective of the event is to promote the theme of Human Rights and to contribute towards correct and plural sources of information regarding the living conditions of the most discriminated social categories, by providing, through cinema and meetings with authors and witnesses, options for further reflection relating to ongoing global transformations.
THIS JOURNEY FROM INDIA TO ITALY, accompanied by the documentary of Saurav Saurangi, is to share the voices of the most oppressed groups of India. To strengthen solidarity and support for thousands of people who are losing access and control over their own natural resources, their lives and their livelihoods.
THE DOCUMENTARY
The discussion will be introduced by the expressive images of Sourav Sarangi’s documentary “CHAR.. The No Man’s island” (2009), a film distributed in Italy by Stefilm.
The documentary reflects on the aftermath of The Farakka Barrage built in 1975. The barrage was constructed across the river Ganga in West Bengal and changed the river Ganga’s flow, by creating transient islands or ‘chars’. The ‘Chars’ emerged like a gift that the river gave to the people as a refuge after it tore away their native village when the water levels rose. Sauragi’s points out how even the Nature has neither sympathy nor understanding for the vulnerable communities living at the borders, showing the fragility and the struggle of these people throughout the eyes of a 15years old boy.
Taking forward from the documentary the session will focus on the exploitation of land and citizens, who represent the most marginalized and excluded section of the society; their persistence in finding new solution, their stories of hope and change will be the argument of the discussion. From natural disaster to actual land grabbing, the session will discuss and bring on the same table some examples of struggle happening in the state and in surroundings.
What do we do with the money?
We need your help to make this project happening, and to ensure the screening of the movie at the festival! This is to create awareness on the struggle of people and on the unnoticed conflicts and dilemma happening in India!
We are already on the final program of the festival, and our friends in Naples are waiting for us! We cannot miss the opportunity to screen this important documentary and give voice to the thousands of landless people of India! We are already working hard, and many are supporting this activity.
But we need YOUR help to cover the following costs:
- Travel of 2 activists, 1 coordinator and 1 organizer
- expenses in loco ( accommodation, food, etc.)
- release of documents pre and post festival
- organization of the post Mini Festival on Human Rights in Delhi in 2016
- editor rights for the screening of the movie “CHAR.. The No Man Island”
If you cannot donate money, don’t worry, you can still help us! Please share this appeal on your Facebook page, twitter and other social networks and help us reach our goal of building peace and justice for the marginalized!
NON-PROFIT PARTNERS:
KRITI FILM CLUB
Kriti Film Club is an educational and research oriented initiative of Kriti: a development research, praxis and communication team. We offer an independent and informal space for screening documentary films on a whole range of development, human rights & environment issues. We also serve as an access space for documentary films, development and human rights literature and other resistance resources. We network closely with struggles for social justice and peace.
SRUTI
Society for Rural Urban and Tribal Initiative, established in 1983, is a not-for-profit organisation that works towards social change at the grass roots, across rural and urban India, through its Fellowship Programme. It is committed to empowering marginalized people to lead a dignified life with access to livelihood, resources, rights and justice.
The link for donations is https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-journey-for-justice–2#/