Invitation to particpate in launch of Citizens Platform, on 27-12-2015 at Stella Maris College, 10am-6pm
commo...@rediffmail.com
This is a post-flood initiative of PUCL-Greater Chennai to bring the affected, volunteers and other concerned citizens together, to dissect the underlying causes of this and other similar extreme climate events - that are increasing in frequency and intensity - to tap the potential unleashed by the rescue and relief efforts during the Flood for seizing the space for direct democracy and exercise the right to determine how Water, Forests & Land are governed to support life and livelihoods.
The plight of coastal communities resisting mega-power projects in the areas you are active in and the concerns around a secure place to live and its implications for a life of dignity - for fish workers, salt pan workers, coastal agricultural communities, the landless etc. - including access to clean drinking water, water for animals and farms, safe sanitation, food & fuel needs, sustainable building materials, meaningful livelihoods and protection from floods and droughts, need to be given urgent attention instead of the concerted thrust towards dispossession by the State.
It is evident that many groups among the elite and privileged in Chennai and elsewhere are willing to turn a blind eye and in fact are often themselves the direct or indirect beneficiaries of land-grab by business and industry - including of the water, grazing and forest commons all over Tamilnadu and the country - to feed the interminable hunger of speculative capital, while the labouring poor are repeatedly made scapegoats of the backlash of the rampant and limitless growth.
There is also the mammoth challenge of organising resistance and peoples direct actions to reclaim their rights to determine their own future - especially focused on the governance of Water, Forest & Land - in the prevailing and widespread culture of cynicism, narrow self-interest, temptation to yield to inducements and short-term gratification that have been spawned by the forces of capital.
It is therefore even more distressing to see how sensitive and concerned groups and individuals stand divided by differences of opinion on emphasis, strategy and constituency: differences that bear only so much relevance against the backdrop of the massive problems facing us.
These and related experiences deserve to be shared and channeled towards an effort like the one described below:
So, please do circulate this invitation as widely as possible in your circles and participate in as large numbers as possible.
In solidarity,
Sudhir
CITIZENS PLATFORM
"Take
our future in our hands!"
Misery and loss were not the only things that the Flood brought with it.
It awakened a numbed people to the
meaning of citizenship.
There was no need to call for help.
Volunteers young and old – cutting
across the rigid boundaries of class, religion, caste, gender and language –
set out in unison to make things better.
It took the worst to bring out the best in people,
providing an opportunity to
reclaim one’s humanity.
Young people from privileged homes were out on the streets caring for the
injured and feeding the hungry in pockets of the city that they would otherwise
never have visited. Fish workers and village youth risked their lives to rescue
the occupants caught in cars that were washed away or those marooned in swanky
apartment blocks.
Unmet needs were met: sending a clear message of solidarity.
And many were the instances where human beings extended
themselves for animals.
Indeed, the Flood had triggered a new sense of collective consciousness among
the people.
This truly calls for a celebration of the spontaneous flowering of the human
potential,
to commemorate the spirit of community
and to launch a Citizens Platform
to Take our Future in Our Hands.
Let us meet to share what happened, discover why it did and how we can work
together
to ensure a more secure world for ourselves, our children and future generations.
On 27th December 2015: 10 am onwards & ending with a music program at 6 pm
STELLA MARIS COLLEGE
Cathedral Road, Chennai
Inviting individuals, groups, mass organizations and networks
to join in hosting the Citizens Platform
COME ONE, COME ALL
An Initiative of PUCL – Greater Chennai
Contact: 97890 49481 or 94447 55928 for further details
மனிதம் கொண்டாட.. மக்கள் உரிமையைக் கொண்டாட..
மக்கள் தளம்
வெள்ளத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டப் பொதுமக்கள், மீட்பு/ நிவாரணப் பணிகளில் பணிசெய்த தன்னார்வம் மிக்கவர்கள் மற்றும் அக்கறை கொண்ட அனைவரும் ஒன்றுகூடி,
பாதுகாப்பான பூமியை உண்டாக்கும் செயல்களை முன்னெடுப்பதற்கான நிகழ்வு..
நாள்: 27.12.2015-ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை
காலை 10.00 மணிக்கு துவங்கும் நிகழ்ச்சி மாலை 6.00 மணிக்கு இசை நிகழ்ச்சியுடன் நிறைவுபெறும்
இடம்: ஸ்டெல்லா மேரிக் கல்லூரி, கதீட்ரல் சாலை, சென்னை
MUTHURAJ R
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