26/11: Looking Back, Looking Ahead 3

Parul Sharma, India Helps core team member is the celebrity author in our team, with her book Bringing Up Vasu out recently. She has been part of the team since the first day we met up, and has provided vital support on the Momina Khatoon case, and the Salma Thackeray case amongst others. Here is what she has to say:

I think I will remember 26/11 and the subsequent days as the darkest I have known in my life. As an Indian who sees tragedies and ill-managed disasters being reported every day from every corner of my country, I thought that somewhere I had developed a thick skin over my conscience. The carnage on 26/11, the unprecedented levels of violence, the systematic way in which innocents were killed, so close to where I was sitting watching my television affected me in a way that I did not think was possible anymore. I mourned the loss of those lives, I wept as the dead bodies were brought out, my heart swelled in pride at the people who laid their lives to protect their fellowmen and a little later when all that was left was a sense of deep loss and grief, I wanted to reach out and help in any way that I could. In other words, I felt as millions of others did.
India Helps was a small representation of those millions, a fragment of the larger whole. Today, I belong to this group with a sense of pride and it has helped me contribute in my own small way to my country and to my fellow Indians.

Parul Sharma
Author

Update on Salma

Received this update on Salma from Sayantani today:



I met Salma today - gave her the phone. she's currently staying with a friend, Asha, in Ambernath, and wants to continue staying there for a while. so housing does not appear to be a priority at the moment.



She spoke about a lawyer who'd come to meet her after Mahmood Sheikh (her neighbour in Dombivili) spoke to the lawyer. The lawyer has apparently filed a case in the Motor Claims Tribunal, and the next date of hearing is 7th March. She had no papers of the case and wasn't sure what it was all about. because there's already this lawyer who she is dealing with, I thought it may be a better idea to take a look at the papers filed by him before speaking with an advocate...have asked her to get a copy of the papers. once she does, we'll take it from there...



Re employment - she said Asha is looking for a job as a construction labourer, and if she gets one, Salma will go with her too...or she would be happy to work as household help. Have told her that I'll look at possibilities of employment in and around Ambernath, as also possibility of a vocational training school.



That's it from me for now..









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Update on Salma

After being incommunicado for a week or so, Sayantani finally managed to touch base with Salma today. Here's what she writes in:

Just met Salma...she'd called me yesterday after Mahmood Sheikh conveyed my message to her.

She is in a bit of tight situation now. some policemen on duty around VT at night have taken it upon themselves to clear the area of pavement dwellers and have started burning the belongings of the pavement dwellers including Salma, in order to acheive their goal. her Maska Pav cart has also been taken away for similar reasons. so her temporary source of income is also gone.

On the positive side, she's found a room in Vashi, for which the rent is Rs. 1000 and the deposit is Rs. 3000. So we would need to give her the money asap in order to ensure that she can move in there.

Also spoke to her about the mobile phone for ease of communication. She seemed okay with the idea..told her I'd arrange it in a couple of days - I'll coordinate with Parul on this - really kind of her to offer to help out with this.

Also suggested that we get a bank account in place so she can deposit her savings there...she agreed immediately. Told her that we'd need proof to open a bank a/c, such as a ration card. She said there's a political party office close by where they issue (or help to apply for?) ration cards. Asked her to find out what all papers are required, so we can get working on that.

To sum up, immediate priorities -

(i) Money for deposit and room rent for room in Vashi

(ii) Mobile phone for ease of communication

(iii) Help in getting a more stable source of income for Salma;

(iv) meetings with legal counsel and media.

Later on, as and when it happens -

(i) Application for a ration card;

(ii)Opening a bank account in her name and basic education re how to operate a bank a/c.

Guess that's it for now.

Thoughts: Aparna and Shyaam, since she is looking at a room in Vashi, can we go check it out and pay rent directly to landlord and take copies of receipts for our files.

Vocational training. Sewing skills?

Any other suggestions, offers of help?

Update on Salma

Sayantani has been in constant touch with Salma, through Ramu who is a friend of the late Sunil Thakray and Mehmood, who was their neighbour in Dombivili.
We spoke with the person handling the cases at Sanjay Nirupam's office yesterday and received the same feedback. The fact that Salma is not married to Sunil is the primary issue that prevents any sort of compensation being granted. The letter she has from the boarding school where her children are stating that she and Sunil are the parents of the children has no validity. Even if there was a birth certificate with Sunil's name as the father it would have been helpful. Now, in this situation, the gentleman has suggested we meet a reference in CST, and Sayantani will go across today to discuss the matter and hopefully we should have some solution.
Also, we have decided to fund a cellphone for Salma to maintain contact with her (Thank you Parul). As well as fund her a room on rent to keep her off the footpath and for the children to come home to during their summer vacations. Once she has a place to live in, we can organise a vocational course for her that would help her earn an income.
An other issue is that of official papers. Salma has absolutely no papers to prove her existence. No certificates of birth or domicile, no ration card. We need to figure that out. Because if the children are to go to colleges or further education post this institution, they will need all documentation in place.

Report on Salma

This report from Sayantani:

I met Salma Thakre, partner of Sunil Thakre (killed in the CST shootout) yesterday. Salma is originally from West Bengal and ran away from home when really young to come to Bombay. Here she got married and had two children, but the husband was abusive and regularly beat her up. She fled from the abusive relationship and was staying on the footpaths near CST Station with her two young children, when she met Sunil, an anda pav seller outside the CST station.

Sunil provided shelter to Salma and the children in his house. Though they were not legally married, they had been staying together as man and wife for over six years at the time of the shoot out, out of which three years were spent in a rented accomodation in Dombivili. Salma's children, Aman (approximately 9 years old) and Soni (approximately 7 years old) referred to Sunil as papa and the couple were known as the parents of Aman and Soni in the organisation for street children in Kharghar where the children are staying as well as in the school where they study.

After Sunil's demise, Salma's main woes are claiming the compensation and money for daily expenses. She said the children's expenses are all taken care of by the organisation running the school where the study. The children stay in a hostel in Panvel during term time, and come home for vacations. However, she has no money now...so she's had to leave the rented accomodation in Dombivili and she's come back to the footpaths of CST. She'd received a sum of Rs. 15,000 for Sunil's funeral rites from the Railways. She'd managed to save approximately Rs. 6,000 from that, which she gave to someone for safe keeping. That person's taken the money and run off.

The biggest obstancle that she is facing in claiming the compensation is that the couple was not legally married...so they don't have any papers to prove that she is Sunil's widow. Apparently, some officials from the Railways had visited them and filled up the compensation claim on their behalf, but they'd said that proof of marriage would be required to claim compensation. If there were no papers, photographs of the wedding in a temple or like evidence would also suffice, they said. Unfortunately, Salma doesn't have any such proof either. She had managed to get a letter from the children's school however, stating that Sunil and Salma are mentioned as parents of Aman and Soni in the school records.

Further, Sunil's friend, Ramu, who had accompanied Salma, said he'd known Sunil for over 15 years, and when I asked whether he'd be willing to sign an affidavit, if necessary, saying so, he said him and his friends would be happy to state on record that Salma and Sunil had been together for over six years.

Don't know how much this will help...but we could push their case...Kiran was suggesting that she could meet Sanjay Nirupam to see if he would take up the case. I'm meeting Ramu and Salma today to get copies of all their papers. Will scan through all the papers and send to Kiran stuff that may help.

As far as livelihood is concerned, she said she wasn't doing anything when Sunil was alive. She showed me an application form given by the Railways, through which she could apply for a job on compassionate grounds. However, I see two problems - one the job application is for an immediate relative of the deceased, which in the absence of papers, Salma may not be able to prove; and second, educational qualifications of the applicant need to be stated and proof annexed with the application. As Salma is illiterate, that may be a problem too, though not as big as the first issue.

I asked her whether she's be willing to take some form of training for tailoring or like, and she readily agreed, saying she doesn't know of such a place, but if we helped her find a place which imparted such training, she'd be happy to learn and work. Was also wondering, in the event the Railways accept her claim as a dependent of Sunil but don't give her a job because she can't read or write, would it be a good idea to get her to apply for a licensed stall in CST or Dombivili (the reason I mention these two areas is because she is familiar with these two areas).

Another concern that she has is regarding housing. She has not yet told her children about Sunil's demise...and doesn't know what she'll say to them...she's also worried because now the children don't have a home to return to during the holidays.I gave her a month's rent so she could get back to the house.

Her expenses seem to be about 900 for rent, approx. 300 for electricity, cable etc. as well as other household expenses (approx another 1,500 i guess).

For the immediate, we could chip in and create a fund so her monthly expenses are covered for a period of six months or a year. We would also need to find a tailoring institute for her training, or a small scale industry involved in papad making, pickle making or the like where she could be employed. She had categorically stated that she'd prefer staying in Dombivili as that's an area she is familiar and comfortable with, so we'll need to find something in or around that area.

Alternatively, any funds received could be pooled to set up a fixed income instrument for immediate expenses and the actual pool of money could be used for a later requirement, like maybe the children's further education after they finish schooling.

Personally, I think her chances of getting compensation from the Railways may not be very bright, so was wondering if it may be a good idea to recommend her case to the Taj Trust.

Guess that's all for now. Will keep all posted on further developments.



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