Vulnerability can bring us down to our knees. Can makes us cry with desperation, escape into a world of fictional fantasy and against our better judgment land us into a complete and hopeless mess. Such emotions are not strange to our way of life. Could be our own narrative, making us bitter and broken.
In her recently launched book, ‘Diary of a Servant’, Auda Viegas, founding member and president of Bailacho Exvott, bravely shares everyday accounts of women and children brought down to their knees by unjust and cruel circumstances of life. Stories that read as both shocking and tragic, are personal accounts of abuse and injustice. Chronicles of women and children, who find themselves being broken, taste vulnerability and brave themselves through intimidating situations.
Diary of a Servant is a ray of hope to all those that suffer in silence. What guides these brave acts are a little help from NGO’s such as Bailancho Exvott and people like Auda Viegas who dedicate their life for such a cause. It’s not easy or convenient to say the least. Tirelessly pursuing cases to their logical end is a herculean task. It takes more than just personal time, energy and giving preference to other’s needs over their own, to ride this battle.
It also takes countless visits to police stations, victim’s home, repeated dialoging with those that are affected, counselling open wounds of hurt and betrayal and protecting oneself from being consumed by the injustice of the situation.
It requires more than a strong sense of belief, dedication and commitment not to give into the succumbing pressures of political interference, anger from resisting relatives , social norms and danger of being harmed. It requires a resilient stride. We need to applaud the works of such people who work because they care with no vested interest. Diary of a Servant will help you become aware and sensitized rather than living in a bubble of bliss.
Yes, we are often blessed with blissful ignorance that when we do encounter violations we focus on everything else except the problem. We are aghast about sexual crimes that are committed especially when we have a politician involved and it makes headline news. The truth is are we being sensitive about the injustice at hand. Or is it being milked for personal gain and glory of some?
The limelight of the Goan media in the last few days has been St Cruz MLA, Atanasio Babush Monserrate. A classic case of negative attention. The media is discussing his political career and what are his chances for the next election. Which of the political parties would benefit and who would come to his aid. What role does the media truly play in presenting news? For all its worth, what right has Babush Monserrate to gain from such media attention for the heinous crime he has committed?
Negative campaigns are known to mobilize voters. They stimulate problem awareness, an anxiety about the candidate and initiate people to make decisions against them. This attribution error, also known as negative bias, happens because we tend to believe that negative traits of a person are a more sincere and objective reflection of an individual’s personality and use it to form an overall impression. Number of studies have suggested that negativity is essentially an attention magnet. Greater attention is devoted to processing the trait itself when it was negative.
Nobody is discussing what is most important about this sexual crime? Why is paid sex a crime? Why is underage sex a crime? How and why does such a violation of human right happen? A daughter being sold by the mother, an act we deem as heinous, what possibly could be the reasons for this? What strategies are used by people especially the women conspirator that is normally involved to lure innocent families into succumbing? What peer pressures are involved that make our youth want to risk such activities? What do we do when we suspect such illegalities? How does one help? Are we breaking the law when we employ a 16 year old to work for us? How many of us have house helps that are in that age group and we are not aware that we are breaking the law.
For those that perhaps find this completely shocking that a politician could be involved in a sex racket is in many ways being naive. Women trafficking has a pattern and involves a nexus of powerful and ruthless people. The poverty and unimaginable life circumstances is where the story often first begins. Parents are deceived into selling their daughters for meagre amounts. The first sale is where the money exchange is the highest. The demand chain begins with the VIP who pays lots of money to enjoy sex with pubescent virgins (Not 50 lakhs though!), mainly for the fear of HIV and of course, the thrill of power that accompanies the act.
So the truth is that while this case is definitely going to tarnish Babush Monserrate’s political career, he is not the only politician that is involved in such cases. Because there is no evidence does not imply that our other politicians are innocent bystanders. The joke is on us if we do not sensitize ourselves to understand what challenges our society faces.
