Mailamma, Passes Away

[your SAVAD]

 icon of Anti Coca-Cola Struggle, Mailamma, Passes Away
 

 
Plachimada:  It is with great sorrow that we announce that Ms. Mailamma, the leader of the anti-Coca-Cola struggle in Plachimada in Kerala, passed away on January 6, 2007.
 
Mailamma was a central figure in the campaign to hold Coca-Cola accountable for water shortages and pollution in the area, and it was under her leadership that the community forced the Coca-Cola bottling plant to shut down in March 2004.  The plant has remained shut down since.
 
Mailamma, a member of the Eravalar tribe, was a champion of human rights, and she was the founder of the Coca-Cola Virudha Samara Samiti (Anti Coca-Cola Struggle Committee) in Plachimada which has spearheaded the campaign against Coca-Cola.  The Anti-Coca-Cola Struggle Committee has held a continuous vigil directly outside Coca-Cola's factory gates since April 22, 2002, demanding its permanent closure.
 
Mailamma was directly affected by Coca-Cola's operations. The water in her well, in Vijaynagar colony in Plachimada in Kerala's Palakkad district, had been so heavily polluted by Coca-Cola's operations that it has been deemed unfit for human consumption.
 
Mailamma was also recognized widely for her leadership, and she was the recipient of the prestigious Speak Out award by the Outlook magazine and the Sthree Shakthi Award (Women's Power Award) in recent years.
 
Mailamma lived with her extended family in Vijaynagar Colony in Plachimada, and is survived by three sons and a daughter.
 
"Her dedication to the struggle for justice was tremendous, and she will be deeply missed," said R. Ajayan of the Plachimada Solidarity Committee, a close ally of Mailamma.
 
"Activists like Mailamma represent the new kind leadership in India, who are the 'organic intellectuals', preparing the ground for the struggle interpreting their own experiences in the larger contexts," said Medha Patkar of the National Alliance of People's Movements.
 
"The image of her etched in my mind's eye is that of a person exuding a strong sense of dignity, poise, calmness and determination, conveying a sense of belongingness with twinkling eyes with her head held high shining hope and confidence on all those who came in contact with her," said C.R. Bijoy of the of the People's Union for Civil Liberties.
 
"Ms. Mailamma is the one person who was always present at the vigil, no matter when we went, and we went numerous times," said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center.  "Her dedication, commitment and leadership will remain an inspiration to us all."


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SAVAD RAHMAN
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[anand patwardhan]

dear savad
thats a great loss to us all. may her work and her spirit live with us. anand

[Gautham Sarang]

Sorry to know our loss.

Gautham

anand patwardhan <anan...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Venugopalan K M]

Evenas the cravings for justice,
spirit of the struggles by the dispossesseds
  against the Corporates & their henchmen world over,
 and the hopes for livable niches
where every human cares for his neighbour's right to live in peace and self respect
shall grow even stronger,
with the souvenirs taken out of her humble yet sparkling life,
 let's not forget to have a look on our own faces.
( Never mind
if they appear
 blushed with shame,
 tainted with guilt,
  having played or vicariously partaken
in all that ugly games of distortion
which suited  our petty lives).

 
Venu.K.M

[salimtk]

even on a poem of tribute to mailamma, "human cares for HIS nighbour's rights".

 

salim

 

[Venugopalan K M]

neighbour need not be someone sitting at next door; just stretch the imagination to include me among your neighbours and I wish you'll do that.
thanks and best regards,
venu.

[Venugopalan K M]

On the second reading of your message I find that highlighted "his". Yes, indeed it's been too bad , a masculine slip of tongue, though.
thanx.

[salimtk]

yes, the word 'his' was yellow highlighted and capitalized. a stretched imagination of neighborhood across the glob could be a passion of 'grand' humanism, and may not be interesting.

 

thank u for ur understanding.