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They took a short cut from hell to heaven
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The poor can be fleeced easily. Money lenders thrive among them and crime breeds in such a set-up. In the first colony under the one lakh housing scheme, in Kalamassery Municipality, things were bad till Father Varghese Muzhuthettu stepped in. Today, they lead decent lives, thanks to the team effort, finds LEELA MENON
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INDIRA GANDHI inaugurated the first Laksham Veedu colony (The one lakh housing scheme for the homeless, of the then Government) in Kerala in 1972. This colony is situated in the 28th ward of Kalamassery Municipality. Old timers still recall how the venue they erected was demolished to check security. She would not have dreamt then that this colony would deteriorate into a vice den in subsequent years. It did, becoming the fiefdom of an underground mafia commanding quotation gangs to commit crimes.
`Annachi blade mafias" flourished, victimising women and transforming the dream of MN, who conceived the much-acclaimed Laksham Veedu colony concept, into a social nightmare. And it would have continued to be so but for the providential entry of Father Varghese Muzhuthettu, of the Vincentian Generaliste, a headmaster-turned prohibition activist and social worker. The objective of Fr.Varghese was to end alcoholism and drug abuse, a major menace. "When I talked to the young men in the area they told me to first reform the women and they would fall in line". What was the women's role in this sordid crime scene?
"They protected the criminals and hid the crime and became tools of the trade", Father Varghese said. "Then I talked to the women I realised the predicament they were in. They hated each other, undermined one another. Occupying twin houses with flimsy walls, which denied them privacy, secrets were common property at watering holes, the assembly point of women. I had to reorient them in human values, make them aware of their own potential and redeem them from the blade mafia, which were fleecing them. First I enlightened them of the enormity of their stupidity in borrowing Rs.1,000 from an `Annachi' and agreeing to pay Rs.125 for every Rs.100 to be remitted weekly," Father said. If they borrow Rs.1,000 they were paid Rs.900 apart from Rs.50 for a card from `Annachi'. There were women with six such cards, borrowing from one `Annachi' to pay the other. They were into heavy debts, and was under continuous tension, never free from the original debt. Criminalised menfolk, robbing and beating and killing at the behest of the mafia were no help," Fr Varghese explained.
Bindu agrees. "Yes, six months before, our life was hell. We hated each other, quarrelled constantly. We had no ability to react to situations, the boys had gone astray. None of us had much education. But when Father said we must unite for the sake of our own security and prosperity, at least for the next generation, we took a second look at ourselves. And changed".
The instrument was the "Ayalkoottam." Ayalkkoottam is the success mantra of local bodies but those that come into existence voluntarily display much more commitment to the concept.
There are 60 families in the colony and they were organized into four groups under Darsana, with three committees called Sarathi, Karyadarsi and Khajanji. In unity they realised their strength and potential. "I raised the money without interest from friends and cleared their smaller debts. I made them promise that they would repay regularly, without interest, of course, or I would be arrested."
They were prompt and now debt-free. Though not the ones with huge debt loads like Rs.50, 000 etc. The priest also got them work to help them earn the money to repay. Many of them were domestic workers or coolies.
Bindu is a tailor. Fr.Varghese approached an export firm dealing in food products and begged Jemma, the owner to give the women work. Jemma obliged. "I had to sack some of my workers to accommodate them, but I wanted to help them", Jemma said. The women now earn between Rs.50 and Rs.75 a day, peeling onions, yam, cutting mangoes, jackfruit seeds etc, which are being exported. This is in addition to their other income.
This money was entrusted to the priest. "Today we have Rs.37653 in deposit. We are proud and happy about it", says Bindu." It saves us from starvation as we can raise money when needed to keep the pot boiling", she adds. The Ayalkkoottam had very different and unexpected fallout. When the criminals in the colony fell foul with the police who refused to release them at the behest of politicians or the mafia, the Ayalkkoottam committee stepped in and released them, raising their own stock among the men who changed, voluntarily.
Policemen, who were frequent visitors to the colony, are a rarity now. And `Annachis' who had come originally on foot and who had acquired two-wheelers at their cost are visible no more.
Meanwhile, their two-house design was replaced by, single houses under the Maithri Housing Scheme of Government who lent them part of the money. The Smile Foundation, a social wing of the Vincentians, also helped.
"This is better than Kudumbasree", remarked Prakash, a Member of the Kalamassery Municipality."Now our children go to English medium schools", says Sobha, one of the committee members proudly. "We give them fees and even tuition. Only two children go to Government schools", added Mumtaz. Obviously, government schools are not popular even in slums.
The women have now learnt to be self-reliant, take decisions and find solutions to problems. "When they come to me with a problem I tell them to discuss it among themselves and find a solution. And they do", Father said, adding that they meet every Sunday.
What they have gained is not only unity in strength. They have even managed to erect a building where they can assemble and work.
The building houses Darsana Vanitha Working Centre. They make bakery items and plan to start vegetable production. All in just six months. "We are happy now", the women say, with smiles on their faces and a body language that is eloquent.
Team effort
THE TRANSITION from folks whom nobody wanted to be associated with to really respectable residents came about in trickles for the Laksham Veedu colony in Kalamassery Municipality that was reeling under debts.
According to Bindu, there was no short cut to respectability or acceptability and it was all uphill for the colony residents. Being home to the quotation gang, sponsored by the underworld, the colony carried a stigma and residents always identified themselves to would be employers as hailing from near the colony, so that they were not considered security risks.
"It is difficult for a girl from the colony to even get married. It was different for me, as there was no bad name for the colony then. Many of the first generation residents sold out and left, and it is this second generation youth that are enslaved by ganja and crime," says Bindu
She recalls how difficult it was for the women to regain their individuality and how effective was their unity. "We used to peel jackfruit nuts in the anganwadi on holidays. One day a woman ,who was the mother of a child at the anganwadi scolded me for using the place for this activity. Even after I explained that it was our livelihood and that we use it only on holidays, she was not pacified. She went around complaining.
And one shopkeeper stopped me on my track and shouted at me, even using obscene words. When the women in the colony came to know through word of mouth that I was under attack, they rushed to my rescue in a gang and took the shopkeeper to task. It was a new experience for him. In the past even if one of us were being killed no one would come to help. Here the entire residents came to my aid. The shopkeeper apologised and retracted.
We gained so much of confidence and self respect after this incident, Bindu remembered.
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