The Half Widows Project, Half-yearly Report, June 2009
HALF-YEARLY PROJECT REPORT to JUNE 2009
Iffat Fatima.
Project name: Half Widows Period: January to June 2009
The project Half Widows began in 2006. It is in its fourth year of execution. From January to June 2009 collaboration with the NGO Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) has continued. One of the highlights of this year was the networking conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Though the invitation from FOKUS was for two participants from the Half Widows project, unfortunately Parveena Ahangar, Chairperson APDP, could not attend the conference as her passport had expired and she was not issued a passport on time. The networking conference was informative and packed with discussions, lectures and people. The presentation on APDP and its work was appreciated and received with a lot of empathy and concern. There were some discussions on possibilities and plans for future collaborations with FOKUS and developing proposals for a program based approach. Possibilities of continuing support for APDP was also discussed. The year 2009 so far has been a tumultuous year in Kashmir. In the early part of the year there was the election upheaval. The general election for the new government in India was scheduled for April this year. Consequently Kashmir was in disarray for large part of March and April. Swathes of areas were put under curfew for days on end. It continued even after the elections were over. However the worst was yet to come. In May this year two women were raped and murdered in the village of Shopian, close to Srinagar. It is alleged that security personnel were involved. There was furore all over the valley. Thousands and thousands of people were on the streets protesting. For more than two weeks there was complete shutdown and no shops opened. Members of APDP very actively participated in the protests and rallies. An inquiry has been ordered but so far there is no conclusive report. Some of the activities that have been ongoing during the period January 2009 to June 2009 are: Holding regular inter-district meetings of members on the 10th of every month, APDP has managed to hold their monthly meetings and organize demonstrations in spite of the complete clampdown in Kashmir. Every month at least 80 to 100 members come from far and near and gather in a local park. Local, national and international activists who are present in Kashmir also join them to express solidarity and support. At these meetings APDP members meet and discuss their cases and their problems and try to find solutions. It is an occasion when they shed tears and remember their dear ones who have been disappeared. Photographs of the disappeared are displayed and they also meet the media and discuss their strategies and plan of action. The progress of legal cases is also monitored and many of the members also meet their lawyers. APDP has also been holding press meets to highlight issues and concerns In April 2009 the Geneva Report was released to the press. The report is prepared by APDP and contains the details of meetings and other activities at the UN WGEID meeting in Geneva which was attended by an APDP delegation led by Parveena Ahangar, Chairperson of APDP. The report was widely circulated. It got a lot of media coverage and was reported both in the print media and local TV channels, however the Indian media has clamped down on news from Kashmir and there is very little reportage on Kashmir. Some foreign journalists and activists have been visiting Kashmir and have attended APDP meetings. Many of them have written about APDP and their work as well as taken photographs and videos of the meetings. During the APDP visit to Geneva, besides the WGEID meeting APDP delegation also met with other human rights groups and activists. At the UN Secretariat for Human Rights, APDP was advised to apply for the prestigious UN Voluntary Fund For Victims of Torture (UNVFVT). In response to that, APDP prepared an extensive proposal and other required documents and submitted them to the UNVFVT. In February 2009, APDP received a letter approving the grant. However, the release of the grant money is contingent upon the visit of a UN representative to Kashmir to assess the ground situation. Although the Indian authorities are not outright denying the visa to the UN official, they have yet to grant them permission. So the grant money is pending. APDP has done all the ground work regarding banking requirements and other documentation necessary for the grant disbursal. It is hoped that the grant will be received soon Networking and collaborating with several local and Indian based NGOs is continuing. APDP members are closely collaborating with local NGO's doing humanitarian and social work, and many members are also participating in their work. APDP continues to raise funds and facilitate other humanitarian assistance like providing medical and educational assistance for needy members. APDP has also been providing psycho-social counselling and MSF (Doctors Without Borders) has offered their assistance and support. Livelihood and sustenance sources for the members who are economically underprivileged are also being tapped and some funds and other relief measures are being collaborated and organised by APDP with Save the Children Fund and Action Aid. This has provided some relief to the needy members. Through its networking efforts APDP has now acquired an umbrella group of scholars, activists and journalists. The umbrella group is in touch with APDP and is assisting in advocating the APDP demands and cause at the international fora. The website http://www.disappearancesinkashmir.org/ is being updated regularly. For this purpose services of a trained professional have been hired The most important task of documentation is continuing work that APDP is involved in and the membership forms continue to grow. Information on about 400 membership forms is being computed and organised and a report on the present status is expected to be prepared by the end of the year. Several legal experts are assisting APDP in this. APDP is also embarking on a survey to get further information on disappearances in remote villages. The survey is being undertaken in Handwara and Kupwara areas which are some of the worst hit villages during the period of militancy Filing of new legal cases and continuing follow-up legal action on cases already filed is also being undertaken by APDP. For this lawyers have been commissioned and engaged in the high court of Jammu and Kashmir. Video documentation and filming is continuing although it has been rather hazardous. In April a team of six crew members along with two APDP members were detained and arrested inside an army camp in a remote hilly area in Bandipora village. At the camp photographs and videos of the entire team individually and collectively were taken. After being forced to spend almost a day at the camp, the team escorted by a large contingent of army commandos was taken to the local police station where the recorded footage was thoroughly checked and many portions erased. By the end of it the team members were quite rattled, so we packed up to return to Srinagar. In June on another round of shooting while travelling at night the vehicle was stoned and all the window panes shattered. The team members were sprayed with glass and one of the members sustained injuries in the eyes and had to be hospitalized. He is slowly recovering. Alongside filming editing work is also happening. A consultative and research process is also ongoing. Due to a lot of strikes and regular curfews the capacity building and legal literacy workshops which were scheduled to be held during the months of January to June had to be postponed. It is hoped that with the improvement in the situation the workshops will be held during the coming months. A legal literacy workshop is scheduled for the week preceding 31 August, International Day of the Disappeared. A major public event is also planned to commemorate the day. Hence the expected expenditure from June to December 2009 may be more or less in agreement with the budget submitted in the application for the year 2009. However the political situation in Kashmir is volatile and unpredictable. Very recently it has taken a very critical turn towards violence which is having an adverse impact on APDP attempts to get their demands addressed. It is feared that Human Rights situation will further deteriorate and enforced disappearances may be on the rise. Most recently in June 2009, a young boy has been disappeared after being taken into an army camp. Hence APDP hopes and requests FOKUS to continue its support to APDP. |
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