After Chennai
Monday
I did not go to work on Monday until about 4:00 PM. I was not feeling good (again) from all the traveling. Chennai and Vellore are very hot, and for some reason my body gets sick in hot weather.
At 4:00 Anita called me and asked if I wanted to go visit the Deputy Inspector General at the Corps of Detectives (her initials – MK). I said of course. This women is probably our most powerful advocate in law enforcement. I was there the first day Anita (and Oasis) met with her, and I wanted to go every time possible. We had not seen MK since the last raid and wanted desperately to talk with her how that went.
When we arrived at the meeting we were immediately ushered in. Anita informed me that MK had called her, not the other way around. MK wanted us there. It was nice not to have to wait forever in the lobby also.
When we walked into the office there was a meeting going on. I recognized several of the men that surrounded MK’s desk as people we have also talked to. Anita and I sat on the couch and quietly waited for our turn. I felt very privileged to be sitting there in that office. MK seemed to be treating us more and more like peers.
When it was time to talk to MK she was very kind. She spoke to Anita and I in English in a very relaxed manner. She laughed with us, and was also serious about how she wants to move forward with the dedicated anti-trafficking squad. It seemed also that she had been talking with a lot of other NGO’s in the city with the same interests as us. It was good to see a person in law enforcement really being proactive about the issues.
Her request for us specifically was to give her the information we had. She wanted descriptions of cases, FIR numbers, names, dates, addresses, and short narratives on each raid. She also wanted to know what our intelligence was telling us about the flow of traffick within and out of the city. She wanted this by Tuesday.
Anita and I left very encouraged with this meeting. We finally felt like things were moving in some direction toward a better future. Unfortunately one of the cases we are ready to move on will require cooperation with the local crime branch. This is bad because in all likelihood the pimps will be tipped off and we will miss the girls we know are there. We have to understand that systemic change happens slowly, and we will have to operate as best we can until the system does change.
As we were trying to flag down an auto to get a ride home Anita got a text from one of the most influential politicians in Karnataka. He (KBG) is a member of the state legislative arm and will surely be in Delhi in the near future. The best part was HE contacted US.
Anita called back and set up a meeting for that night with him at 9:00 PM. There goes my dinner plans with Vinitha. But this meeting is very difficult to get so I did not want to miss it. We called a cab to take us the 25 KM out to his home office. On the way we picked up Meena Jain of the Child Welfare Committee. She, I guess, was the one that asked him to contact us.
We arrived at KBG’s house and went in to sit and wait for him to arrive. He was fitting us specially into his busy schedule and making a trip home just for this. When he arrived I noticed he was young (about 35-40) and very intelligent. He was probably educated in the US based on his English accent.
We spoke with him about our strategies and how we need the government’s help in some areas. He sat there and listened to every word we said. He was incredibly kind, and patient with us. But he was also practical. He told us that the government knows about the issues that we are bringing up but simply asking any politician to “address child abuse and trafficking issues” in parliament is simply too vague. He needs specific things to bring to the floor. He needs us to prioritize for him so that he can bring something concrete. We all understood that the issues were large and not truly reducible to bullet points, but we would have to work in a way the political system understand if they are going to listen.
He gave us some pointers and offered his support. For someone as famous, and powerful as KBG it was flattering to see how he handled himself with people he does not even know. I’m sure he sees people like us everyday, and probably gets a little tired of altruistic lobbying. But he was still sympathetic to the issues, and genuinely concerned with what we had to say. I was impressed, and hope this contact grows into something more in the near future.
Tuesday
Tuesday was a crazy day.
You know those days when you have an assignment due, and you find every reason to not do it? Then distractions seem to come in waves that keep you “legitimately” from finishing your work. Tuesday was one of those days.
Anita and I sat down to do the reporting for MK but found it very difficult. I first tried to sort through the case files we had in the office but could not find the information we needed. The case files were hard copies in binders with no apparent organization. Anita tried to get the electronic case files from Mumbai, but that also proved very difficult. By lunch time I looked at the spreadsheet and notice I only had 4 cases represented.
I looked at Anita with a slightly defeated look and said, “I don’t think this is good enough.” He smiled and we continued our work. After hours of distractions and poor work on my part I looked at the piecemeal spreadsheet cringed and printed it out. It had 35 cases, and most did not have complete information. But it was time to go in to see MK so we went.
We again walked into the office right away. I had the map of the trafficking routes under my arm, and the spreadsheet in my computer bag. She immediately asked for the spreadsheet. I gave it to here and she kind of chuckled as she said this was useless to her.
Remember the time you walked into math class after having done your homework in the hallway right before class. The sheet of paper usually had a couple holes in it from trying to frantically write things down that at least looked right. As you handed the paper in the teacher looked at you and said,
“Barry is this your homework.”
“Sure Mr. B, what seems to be the problem?”
“Either you don’t have a clue how to do math or you did the wrong page.”
“O gosh, sorry Mr. B. I did the wrong page. Gee I’m sorry. I do it again for class tomorrow. What was the assignment again?”
That’s how I felt, and I played it that way. I felt a little guilty, but I needed to buy some time. This assignment from MK would take at least a couple more days, probably more like a couple weeks, but we did not have that luxury. She gave us a couple more days, so I’ll have to really get my act together my Friday.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a good day. I hopped on the work for MK and worked hard all day. Of the 5 requests she asked for, I completed 3 of them today. They were the easiest ones, but I’m not holding that against me.
Wednesday was also Papa John’s day for the office. I wanted to do something for the office some time now. Anita had told me that papa john’s had a buy one get one free deal so I pounced on it. I bought some pizza for my friends here and we had a good old fashion pizza party. In India food is a far more special thing than in the US. The way everyone thanked me for this gesture was very humbling. They were so thankful. I will miss them when I go home.
On a short sidenote. It rained really hard today and I did not get stuck in it. hooray for me!
