|
|
|
|
|
|
Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
| June 30, 2003 |
Cochin, India – Press Conference in Cochin |
|
| |
 |
| Peace Boat media spokesperson, Paul Mason, addressing the Indian press in Cochin |
Soon after Peace Boat called to the Indian state of Kerala, members from the local media came onboard the ship for a press conference on why Peace Boat was in Cochin and what issues it would be raising. Peace Boat media spokesperson, Paul Mason, told the group of reporters about Peace Boat's support for NGO initiatives including cooperation with Kerala-based organization, 'KSSP', and the importance of the upcoming World Social Forum - which India will host and Peace Boat plans to participate in.
The World Social Forum is about providing an open meeting place for the free exchange of experiences and interlinking for effective action. Groups and movements of civil society resisting corporate globalization and neoliberalism come together to seek alternative solutions with the conviction that "another world is possible". Peace Boat will be visiting Mumbai in January, 2004 to coincide with the opening of the fourth World Social Forum.
After the introduction of Peace Boat's missions in Cochin and India, US student, Ryan Amundson, took the microphone and spoke of his personal experience during the September 11 attacks and the subsequent "War on Terror".
The press then requested to speak to Indian student, Aditya Sarkar, and Pakistani student, Aman Azhar - who had been denied an entry visa. Aditya wondered whom the government level peace talks were actually representing, referring to the fact that there seemed to be a stark absence of change at the community level, before Aman spoke of his disappointment and wish to "touch the soil of India". |
|
|
 |
| Palestinian international student, Rama Mari, meeting workers at the matting factory |
International Students - Homestay and Study tour in Mohama
Nestled between coconut groves and the beautiful Keralan backwaters, the small village of Mohama is a peaceful home to Christians, Muslims and Hindus, and is a model of how the different faiths of India can live together without conflict. The students' first stop was a visit to a matting factory, collectively owned by the factory's workers since 1982 when they took control of the entire business.
Profits from the sales are divided equally, and salaries are paid to the 225 workers accordingly. The president is elected every five years, and working conditions are better than most other production based industries in the area. Although the average wage is only around two dollars a day, this is enough for a family to live off comfortably.
The only threat to the workers' independence is the hefty cut of foreign middlemen when exporting their matting abroad. Though exporters' takings are growing, workers' profits are being squeezed with the forces of globalization and exploitation by foreign buyers. By being independent of bosses or managers, the workers could take time off to meet Peace Boat's students and tell them about the factory.
Adorned with garlands of flowers, given to them as a welcome gift on arrival, the students were given a guided tour of the factory before thanking the workers and heading to Mohama village. |
| |
 |
| Words of wisdom from a follower of Gandhi's teachings |
Filmmaker and supporter of local NGOs and environmental groups, Mathew Paul welcomed the international students to his home and village with steaming cups of sweet Indian chai. After the delicious tea, the students sat and listened to a troupe of temple drummers especially performing for their visit.
Once the echoes of the frenetic rhythm had faded into the night, an elderly follower of the teachings of Gandhi gave a talk on his dreams for a more peaceful world. Though he admitted his ideas for a village where people of different faiths and different countries live together and share all things were Utopian, he spoke of the need to understand and tolerate the differences between cultures and how we live.
The thoughts to ponder and day's events had worked up a healthy appetite, and all present enjoyed the evening meal of tapioca, spicy chicken and fish in coconut sauce. To let the delicacies of Keralan cooking digest, the group then watched a performance of traditional Kathakali dancing, a storytelling art form with amazing complexity and precision of movements. Exhausted by the first day whirlwind experience of India, the students had a well-earned rest for the night. |
| |
 |
| A curious but shy Mohama village boy, taking a peek at the Peace Boat visitors |
Woken by more cups of sweet tea, the students rose early to walk around the village and meet with some of the local people. Mathew Paul took the group to some of his neighbours' homes, stopping and chatting with the villagers about what Peace Boat was doing in Kerala and where everyone was from.
Smiling faces greeted the students in every window and doorway, and Mathew explained that although people living here were not wealthy, they were lucky to live close to their families in such a beautiful place.
Many Indians are rent paying tenants in run down houses, but the land acts of the 1970s gave these people their own plots of land. Not as lucky as the villagers of Mohama, many tribal people of the area are still fighting for titles to land they have lived on for years. A recent protest ended in bloodshed, when police moved in to break up demonstration on land earmarked for cultivation. |
| |
 |
| Mathew Paul with international students on the threatened "Land of Midnight" island |
The delicate ecosystem of the backwaters is also in danger due to the proposed sale of beach sand to a construction company. The removal of the natural beaches changes the salinity of the water, which in turn can affect the coconut crops. Mathew has led protests against this environmentally damaging development, and took the group to "Land of Midnight" island, to see what natural beauty would be destroyed if the plans for a Sheraton Hotel resort go ahead. The green island is thrumming with bird and insect life, and is one of the last untouched pieces of land in an area already heavily developed for tourists.
Coordintator of Peace Boat's international student programme, Jasna Bastic, made a passionate statement to the press about the need for this stunning piece of nature to be preserved from concrete and the bulldozer. Mathew Paul is continuing to fight this plan, and thanked Peace Boat for their support of his battle against the developers. |
| |
|
|
|
