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G O B A R
G Y A N |
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A M E V I C T E D |
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 Hi Folks,
Yes… I know. All of you who have been reading Gobar Times regularly
are perplexed. Didn’t we do an issue on environmental refugees
earlier? Yes, we did. In June, 2004. Exactly two years ago.
Hmm… now you are wondering whether I have turned senile. Why else am
I repeating myself? You see, some issues (like this one!) just
haveto be repeated. To make sure that we do not forget. And also to
take stock of what has happened to these ‘refugees created by
environment’ since we last talked about them. Well, I have been
taking stock… and this is what I have found. In the past two years
our planet has been shaken, flooded, and ravaged by 13 mega-scale
natural disasters. So the number of homeless has shot up by
millions. Wait!! This is only the tip of the iceberg. I have not
even begun to tell you how many have joined the ranks of refugees,
because on the land that they lived in — new roads have been laid,
dams constructed, or factories planted. Or simply because it
has become barren.
I found out more. That beyond a meaningless din, no one is still
talking about them. There are still no laws — national or
international — to protect their rights. To ensure
a secure future for them. The silence of the refugees is deadly. We
really need to talk about them. All of us.
– Pandit Gobar Ganesh
E-mail: panditji@cseindia.org
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