Activities
31. July 2009
SAVE India - We Must Not Allow The Boys To Give Up Books And Pick Up Guns
Archana Kapoor, our Indian representative discusses Secretary Clinton's visit to India and what it means to SAVE
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has recently visited India. Secretary Clinton began her trip in Mumbai, and visisted the scene of the horrendous terror attack on November 26, 2008. With this gesture she expressed solidarity with India and victims of terror.
Having stayed in the Taj Hotel in January, only few weeks after it was reopened, I can imagine what Hillary must have experienced. Every nook and corner of the hotel has a story to tell. The building itself is a mute witness to the horrors of the ordeal that the staff and guests had to endure when terrorists gained control of the hotel.
I can vividly remember the reticence and caution on the faces of the hotel staff, during my stay when I asked them: “Were you there in the hotel during those three days?”. To shake me off from further questioning nearly all the staff was trained to say: “I was on leave on the day of the attack or it was my off that day”. I am sure the staff must have been forthcoming to Hillary’s queries if she indeed interacted with them. Media reports suggest that she commiserated with the General Manager, Karambir Kang of the hotel, who lost his wife and children, but continued to soldier on. We were not fortunate enough to meet the brave manager who put duty towards the guests before family and lost his wife and children.
On the surface – it was business as usual at the Taj. After two days of my stay the friendly staff opened up and shared their trauma of that fateful night. How the restaurant and the lobby was strewn with bodies. Which door they entered from, how they crossed the lobby and shot ruthlessly. Who saw them first and how each of the survivors hid in different stores, places and how they saved many of the guests. There were scary accounts of how people ran helter skelter and how they feared for their lives every breathing moment. Details were given about the bullets in the doors, the colleagues who died, and the trauma filled 72 hours. These were hair raising tales of survivors and how they attributed their survival to their faith in their respective Gods.
Clinton spoke about the only surviving terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab during an interview: "What I found so interesting about his confession is that he was a young man without much purpose in life, he was in a job he did not find satisfying and he was susceptible to the blandishment of terrorist organisations: This will make you feel strong and powerful, this will give you a meaning and purpose in your life; and he bought into that and joined this group that was trained for the Mumbai attacks."
Watching the trial of Kasab on TV Clinton commented, "this was not someone who had some deep, overriding ideological commitment; this was somebody who got swept up in it." "So we want to convey to families and communities across the world that there's a better way... Now, we have to put some meat onto the bone of that statement, we have to make sure people get good education, we have to make sure that the people do have jobs," she said. These will be part of a more positive alternative to what the "terrorists are selling".
Clinton has established a link between terror and the role of schools in guiding youth away from extremist ideologies. This is vindication for SAVE India (Schools against Violent Extremism) and the work they have been doing since the Mumbai attack. SAVE has mobilized schools in creating safe spaces for students all over the country and has started with Delhi Public Schoool, RK Puram. We are slowly expanding this program and have more schools and Universities on board.
SAVE hopes to build a strong social network that builds bonds with students, which provides safe spaces that will afford the Indian youth emotional comfort within thier communities. It is a difficult task that does not really have a quick and easy solution. SAVE looks for answers among the youth who want to reclaim tomorrow from violence and uncertainty.
