The Million Message

The Million Message March 2011 is a collaborative communication
campaign to mobilize community support and political commitment for
the Right to Health and Universal Access. It aims to reach out
globally to collect one million messages (by SMS or tweets) from
people in need of treatment and care (for HIV, Cancer, TB, Diabetes,
Hepatitis and other life threatening diseases) and their families,
care-givers and allies.

These ‘Voices’ will be amplified, disseminated and projected along the
‘March’ starting at the World Health Assembly in May, through two UN
High Level Meetings (HIV in June and Non-Communicable Diseases NCDs in
September), and other major health events. The Million Message March
will ‘arrive’ on Human Rights Day, the 10th of December, at the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) so
that the messages can ‘Speak-Up’ and be heard at the top of the UN and
its Member States.

We launched the Million Message March today from the Institute of
Palliative Medicine in Calicut, Kerala, India, The Institute, a WHO
Collaborating Center, is a global model for participatory community
based care,  and a fitting starting point from which to begin the
March. First Steps: the 2nd World OPEN Health Assembly (WOHA2011), in
tandem with the World Health Assembly, 16-24 May.

WOHA features a non-stop global 'chat' and dozens of 'Speak-Up
Sessions', moderated live by partners in Asia, Africa, Europe and the
Americas, on diverse topics they choose. these partners include the
Institute of Palliative Medicine (WHO Collaborating Center), INPUD
(International Network of People Who Use Drugs), the Lawyers
Collective, the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance, People's Health
Movement, International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO),
Foundation for Hospice in Sub-Saharan Africa, African Palliative Care
Association, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (US),
Human Rights Watch, The International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS
(ICW Asia-Pacific), World Care Council and others.

The Million Message March to the UN (MMM2UN) is a civil society
initiative, spearheaded by the iMAXi Cooperative with the dynamic
participation of many partners. Together, we're forging a new tool for
social mobilization via social media. Open Minds > Open Source > Open
Health  (Open to you, too!)

Join the Million Message March to the UN.  Tweet @MMM2UN  Follow
#Right2Health
Starts May 16 with the World OPEN Health Assembly.
Tweet @WOHA2011  Follow #WOHA
SMS: +41 787597991,  +91 8129094433  FB: http://on.fb.me/gxLyzl
Blogs: http://www.imaxi.org


This 'open' and online event allows distant health experts and
activists to provide news, views and healthy commentary for launch of
the innovative MMM2UN campaign, with direct connections to leading
'actors' in Delhi, Chennai, London, Cape Town and from the World
Health Assembly in Geneva.


Twitter: @MMM2UN  #WOHA
Skype: MMM2UN
Blogs: http://www.imaxi.org
FB: http://facebook.com/MillionMessageMarch

Media contacts:
Malayalam / English:  saifsabil@yahoo.com  +91 9846690490
English/ French: gordon@imaxi.org  +91 8129094433  / +41 787597991
Hindi / Konkanni:  menezes@imaxi.org  +919673205044

Moment of kindness

 My tryst in South Africa was rather interesting. Even after being mugged, I continued walking and found myself closer to the city market. Immersing myself into the whole experience of what happened earlier, I was ‘shaken up’ by a shout.

‘Hey’

‘uh , Hi’

‘You shouldn’t be here’

Since I was surrounded by hundreds of people in the market, I asked him,

‘Why not?’

‘It’s not safe. You look innocent’.

Now, I have heard many things said about me in my life, but this was the very first time someone was telling me that I looked innocent. I smiled. Chris, who spotted me, was sitting on a crate on the footpath, selling locks and keys among several other tit bits.

‘Where are you from?’

‘India’

‘Let me drop you’

‘What?!’

‘It’s not safe. My car is here’ pointing towards a fancy Mazda parked straight in front of us.

‘But hey, please don’t bother. I am just walking to ICC and its not that far’

‘No worries let me do this’.

‘Don’t you have to do your business?’

‘It’s okay, nothing much happening. Let’s go’.

He packed all his stuff into the boot. Everyone there seems to know him. Kids were calling out to him and I heard a girl in a beige school uniform telling exaggerated stories on why she didn’t go to school last week.

When he opened the door, I wasn’t sure of what I was getting into. Guess I was either mentally and emotionally too tired with the experience I had just had a few minutes back or just wanted to go with my natural instincts about trusting another fellow human being and I got into his car.

‘Chris, How can you really afford a car like this?’

‘Oh, I work in the municipality. I close the roads here’. (I didn’t quite really understand but remained silent. He took a de-tour to show me some more parts of the city including some heritage buildings)

‘Here, the wages are quite low that I can’t lead a luxurious life I would like to. So I spent one hour everyday and the whole weekend in markets like this and earn some extra money’.

I couldn’t understand how he could lead a luxurious life by selling locks and keys. Anyways, I was too tired to think. Chris told me that being a foreigner, I should be more careful.

‘The streets here aren’t safe Gopi! You never know when you get mugged. People kill for even silly things like mobile phones. Please be careful’.

 I didn’t know how to react. I was still not sure why he was offering me a lift, and I couldn’t get myself to tell him about how the two boys conned me into giving away my phone.

Chris dropped me in front of the ICC.

‘Chris, thank you so much. I don’t know how to thank you’

‘Gopi, you take good care. May be our lives will bring us together someday.’

‘I hope so Chris. How much do I owe you?’

He paused, switched off his engine and asked,

‘You really think that I gave you a lift because I wanted to make some extra bucks?’

I walked away apologizing and thanking him at the same time. This was a moment of kindness that I don’t want to forget in my life.

People like Patrick, another driver I met during the travel made a big difference to how I understood the destination South Africa

40 Rands and more

‘Give me 40 Rands’
‘Why?’
‘We are poor. No money. You see I am eating this shit’ (holding two slices of white bread)
‘Sorry, but I can’t give you money just like that. Are you boys from Durban?’.

‘Yeah man, we are from Durban.’

‘This is my second day in Durban, actually in South Africa too. Think it’s a wonderful place’

‘He he, You are funny. So where are you from?’

‘India.’
‘Oh, You eat Chilly!’

‘He he, we do.’

‘I don’t like it man. It’s too hot for me’.
‘You have movies’
‘Yes, we have’

‘You dance’

‘Yes we do. For no reason sometimes (but only in movies)’


‘How old are you?’

‘I am 16, he is 17.’
‘You don’t go to school’?

‘No, but he studied still standard 9’

‘and then’?

‘Oh, I didn’t complete. Its shit man’
‘Are you working?’
‘Not any more. You see that supermarket (Woolsworth) over there? I was there. They asked me to leave’.
‘oh’.

 That’s when I got a call from home. I picked up the phone and we continued walking. The two boys were on either side of me, holding me, while we walked. I had met them ten minutes earlier as I was waiting for a taxi in front of Park Lodge Gardens on Berea Road in Durban. I decided to walk towards the trade fair venue where the INDABA was on. As soon as the boys accosted me and decided to walk with me holding my hands, warning bells from guidebooks to be careful while walking alone in South Africa and well meaning notices to avoid walking on freeways flashed in my head! But I guess they flashed a bit late!

As I walked with them, I tried to feel their hips to check if they were armed. I found myself smiling at the thought of how this sight might seem to the folks in the cars driving past- that of strange Indian tourist walking hand in hand, hips touching, with two black boys on the free way in gay abandon!


‘Hey, you have such a fancy camera and you won’t give us 40 Rands?’

‘Sorry?’

‘You are rich. Give me 40 Rands’

‘Boy, listen. Lets try to find a way through this’.
‘What you mean?’


‘I told you that I won’t give you money for nothing. I also come from a poor country. I also work with kids who find it difficult to study, earn. If I were you, I would be doing things in a different way. I told you that I am here for the first time and know nothing about your city. You seem to be knowledgeable and speak good English. So why not offer a walking tour for me, show me places and who knows may be I will be happy with your service and might even pay you more than 40 Rands’!



‘haha, you are funny man. Things don’t work like that here’.

During this whole conversation, I recalled the many discussions I had about 'Our Responsibility to Children' with Vijayan IPS, the ex-Police Commissioner of Calicut, and Dr. Suresh Kumar of Institute of Palliative Medicine where we offered to train some of the juvenile delinquents the police department arrested for stealing smart phones and motorbikes. They wanted to rehabilitate them to mainstream through socially innovative projects. The Blue Yonder had offered to provide training and capacity building for these students to become guides and interpreters. 



‘That has a camera?’
‘Yes. It has’

‘Can you take a photo of ours’?

‘Yes certainly. Let the three of us be in it’

‘Nice, it’s really looking good. Can I see?’

‘Sure, here you go’



He looked at it and shared it with his mate and gave it back to me. We continued walking and talking about India, and they kept telling me they don’t understand how Indians could eat so much chilly! 

By now we were closer to an area I was a bit more familiar as I had been there on a ‘City Walk’ with Doung, a Durban based architect and artist in the previous days.

‘Can I see that photo again?’

‘Sure’.

And that was the beginning of tension. The moment he had the phone in his hand, the boy who looked innocent and curious transformed into a beast. His eyes were so fearsome. His body language was making me uncomfortable. He slid the phone into this back pocket and asked his mate to walk fast to the right of the pedestrian bridge. I held them both in arms and said,


‘Guys, let’s talk’

‘There is nothing to talk. You walk away now’.

‘I am not walking away anywhere. We are going to talk’

‘Give him the phone man, let him go’ said his mate.

‘You shut up’ (or I presumed this is what he said in Zulu)


I kept on walking together with them and this time, both of them weren’t comfortable any more with the physical proximity. 



‘Why you walk like this? Go away.’


Confident (or being stupid as many said later) that they weren’t carrying any weapons, I continued talking to them. The boy with my mobile phone came towards me, came so close that I could smell his breathe on my face, said,



‘Take your wallet out’

‘You think I dare to walk around here with wallet in my trouser’ (stupid tourist blabbering !)


‘Are you going to fight with me?’
‘Yes’ and I went towards him. He ran towards the left of the bridge. The other boy looked apologetic, and even said sorry. He very slowly retracted his steps and walked away to ‘Doungs’ territory. 

I felt super foolish to have let this happened. I laughed at my own stupidity. I laughed again when I remembered that I was also a tour operator.

It took a while for me to realize that I had actually been conned so cleverly. In fact, I couldn’t figure out who had the phone finally! The boy who ran away quickly or ot the one who walked away apologetically? 

I sent an email from the other phone to Doung,



<< I just got mugged and the kids ran into the same street where we came walking with you. In case you manage to see a fancy HTC Desire HD, well, that could be mine :) If your connections with the community can help you recover it, you may as well use it for your projects. Quality is quite good for voice,video and visuals. 8mpixel camera and video is  HD.>>


to which he immediately responded 

<<Oh no this is terrible. I hope that you didn't get hurt. I will definitely put a word out there. Do you know which road it happened? Anyway yes lets do keep in touch and India is in my heart and I have been longing for her as soon as I left.>>

To let go the fancy phone was not so easy. But I continued walking feeling good about how I handled the situation. I didn’t panic, I didn’t become aggressive, I didn’t get shot at (I still do believe that they didn’t carry any weapons)

What surprised me the most was that I didn’t feel angry at all towards the boys or Durban or South Africa. Most of the time I was trying to put myself into the shoes of these kids with delinquent behaviour in Calicut and on how we could work creatively to bring them to mainstream. I felt even more connected to the idea of ‘compassionate city.’