Children of Another World

June 14, 2010 11:33 am

From Sankalp Newsletter, Suseelkumar

Recently I had the opportunity to address two groups of people on different issues. One was a group of professionals who were getting sensitized for a social cause, and the other was a group of Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), participating in a detox camp organized by Sankalp.

I asked both groups to express what the word “Mother” meant to them… The group of professionals responded with words and phrases like “ she is the world”, “” she gives birth”, “ her other name is devi “, “ she nurtures us “, “ she passes on culture and tradition”, “she does puja at home” and “she takes care of everyone”

Five days later I asked the group of IDUs to undertake the same exercise. The responses were different. What did the word “Mother” mean to them? This is what they said: “she feeds, she cooks, sweeps, cleans us, gives us a bath, she sings lullabies, provides warmth, and represents love. She has a heart, we feel a tingling whenever we think about her. We have a feeling of yearning for her.”

It was clear that both groups had verbalized their perceptions differently. But was there a real difference in their perceptions or were their expressions a mere reflection of their experience and exposure to the outside world? I strongly believe it is the latter. When it comes to counseling and caring for IDUs and especially the kind of clientele served by Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, everything needs to be perceived at a different level. The value system and the meaning for relationships amongst this clientele is entirely different from what we, living in a privileged society understand as value systems and relationships.

We cannot expect our clients to have middle class notions of morality, ethics and legality. Most of them haven’t had a childhood in its real sense and were therefore forced to equip themselves with skills for survival from a very early age. Many have had to rely on the protection of a stranger taking on the role of an elder brother or an adopted mother. Most are runaways, escaping the cruelties from step parents/sisters/brothers or estranged family members while a few try to earn a living in whatever way, to share the burden back home. Often the street is their only home.

Already used to smoking, and with new friends in Mumbai they get into ganja. It helps them to get away from the pain of homesickness as well as from the pains of daily chores. They don’t even remember when they got into the seriousness of chillum, and then to chasing and ultimately to fixing.

Sadly our society identifies them as psychotics, chronic cases of depression, mood disorders with suicidal tendencies, etc. In labeling them we conveniently forget that this is a group of kids, teenagers and adults who have migrated from the rural and urban outskirts of Maharashtra, U.P., Bihar and West Bengal, and who never got exposed to the wonders of education, whether in Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Arabic or Urdu (forget English). Sucked into Mumbai’s mean streets, they tried their hands at everything – collected rags, sorted them out, cleaned toilets, washed vehicles, transported goods on handcarts or cycles, pick pocketed, snatched, looted, smashed or broke limbs / bones and some even worked for trafficking and bootlegging.

Their world is different and when we as social workers and counselors force them to abide by the rules of our world they find it so alien riddled as it is with diplomacy, corruption, jealousy, guilt, religious rituals, double standards etc.

In recognizing the challenges that face all those working with IDUs, Sankalp’s mission is to promote opportunities and an enabling environment to provide them skills, – occupational skills, socializing skills, behavioural skills and lastly spiritual faith. That will equip them to function productively in this world.