Witnessing & Caring for India 2021
by H—ME W—RK
From H—ME W—RK:
This is not a comprehensive directory of information, support and ways to help. We hope in good faith that it can be a place to start thinking, learning and understanding what is happening in India right now, the so-called Australian Government’s response and the impact it’s having on people living in India and our South Asian diaspora community, here and elsewhere.
We believe strongly in the power of mutual aid, offered in a spirit of solidarity and reciprocity, coming from within communities and aiding those affected. But, we also acknowledge the work not-for-profit organisations can do in responding to large-scale emergencies. We don’t want to tell you ‘how to help’ but hope that as you consider your options, and keep an eye towards liberation, self-determination and social change.
We acknowledge that the context across India is vastly different and infinitely more difficult for certain people, particularly for people from religious (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhitsts, Jains and Zoroastrians) and caste-class minorities (Dalit, Bahujan and Adviasi), LGBTQI+ peoples, daily wage earners, the unregulated labour force, farmers, students, sex workers, artists and the elderly. Sheltering and social distancing is a privilege that is inaccessible to many.
Please practice due diligence as necessary, we don’t have the resources to monitor funds as they reach their goals and fulfil their aims.
Learning
Resources to assist in unpacking & understanding what is happening in India right now.
Read
Caravan Magazine
The Caravan is a journal of politics and culture in India. https://caravanmagazine.in
Uncritical support for Modi paved the way for India’s COVID-19 crisis — commentary by Vidya Krishnan for Caravan Magazine, 28 April 2021
News Laundry
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, independent news media company. newslaundry.com
The Guardian
Arundhati Roy: ‘We are witnessing a crime against humanity’: Arundhati Roy on India’s Covid catastrophe
Australia’s travel ban on India
The Guardian Australia
India has fewer coronavirus cases per capita than either the United States or the United Kingdom during their respective Covid peaks—30 April, 2021
Comparing US and UK Covid case numbers suggests Australia’s India flight ban based on ‘fear factor’—29 April 2021
Scott Morrison announces India flight suspension due to Covid crisis, leaving thousands in limbo—27 April 2021
UN raises serious human rights concerns over Australia’s India travel ban—5 May, 2021
Sydney Morning Herald
via Fariha Roisin
How Casteism Manifests in Yoga and Why It's a Problem — https://www.byrdie.com/casteism-in-yoga-5119378
Vaccine Apartheid
An infographic through Equality Labs clarifying the current issues with vaccine creation.
Scroll.In
Scroll.in is an independent website covering news, politics, sports, culture and everything in between
Juggernaut (behind paywall)
To Be a Non-Covid Patient in India Right Now—5 May, 2021
NY Times
I Know What It Takes to Defeat Narendra Modi—5 May, 2021
Muslims opening mosques during the covid crisis
Listen
7am Podcast
Australia abandons its own, with Indian-Australian economist Gabriela D’Souza.
Australia India Institute Podcast
Ganatantra
Policy in the Shadow of Covid-19
Ganatantra Sarayu Natarajan and Alok Prasanna Kumar discuss the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on public policy.
Giving
*notes on giving
As a collective, we do not advise contribution to the ‘PM Cares Fund.’ There is significant mistrust of the fund by many living in India, who are experiencing the impacts of its corruption and oppression.
There are specific regulations for foreign donations, the below is not an exhaustive list. Please ensure the fund you are hoping to support is able to accept foreign donations. This is up to date to the best of our abilities but regulatory frameworks often change on the ground.
Direct Giving
Parivar Bay Area
Non-profit working to empower and uplift trans and queer South Asians, that’s working with The Aravani Art Project, a Women and Trans-Women art collective, Moitrisanjog Society, Cooch Behar, a collective of rural transgender and other gender non conforming/ transfeminine persons and Transvision.
Gofundme, here.
Food Assistance, Tamil Nadu
Grace Banu is raising funds to provide 500 transgender folk artists, HIV infected trans folx, and rural trans communities in Tamil Nadu with food relief.
This fundraiser accepts foreign donations. Donate, here.
Queer Relief Active Fundraisers
Pink List India has put together a list of NGOs and self-organised groups working towards providing immediate relief for the queer community across the country. https://www.pinklistindia.com/queerelief
Feeding from Far
A project that distributes ration kits and food to the most disadvantaged during the pandemic. https://www.instagram.com/feedingfromfar/
Khaana Chahiye
#khaanachahiye A citizen initiative to fight hunger powered by the cities of Mumbai and Thane
https://www.instagram.com/khaanachahiye/International donations, here.
Mahila Patchwork Cooperative
Supporting Muslim majority municipality in Ahmedabad, with most people being daily wage earners.
Give via—
Muskaan, Mahila Patchwork Co-op Society
Branch: APMC VASNA
IFSC Code: SBIN0004320
For Donations From India: A/C No.: 10397116509
For Donations From Outside India: A/C No. 10397116509
SWIFT CODE: SBIN0004320
Direct Giving & NFP Databases
Community Sourced Mutual Aid
The link to this document is: http://mutualaidindia.com/ OR bit.ly/MutualAidIndia (Case Sensitive)
Instagram, here.
Mutual Aid Database
List monitored by Lavanya DJ
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ca5YH5YUtp7Qe63sVNX1SlepQcvzc4RCwLhMBvTJyE/edit
Kashmir COVID Resources
List of direct giving and nfp’s supporting people in Kashmir, here.
Updated List of Organisations
A list of direct giving campaigns and local organisations intended for people with international credit cards.
Fundraising Initiatives
Not-For-Profit Organisations
Khalsa Aid India
Khalsa Aid is an international NGO with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and conflict zone
https://www.instagram.com/khalsa_aid/ International donations via
Mission Oxygen
An initiative by Delhi NCR based entrepreneurs to help raise funds for importing Oxygen Concentrators & donating them to hospitals. #MissionOxygen
Sangama
Supports sexual minorities, sex workers, and people living with HIV in Karnataka with Covid relief ration kits
Donate - http://sangama.org/donate.html
Give India campaigns
Database of verified NFPs fundraising
Other Diasporic Initiatives & Volunteering
Some free ways to help include amplifying the voices of people with lived experience, signing petitions, advocating to your local Member of Parliament against the racist border policy, volunteering your time to an aggregator and supporting your friends.
Democracy in Colour Petition
Democracy in Colour has launched a petition to lobby the ‘Australian’ Government to reverse the travel ban and amend the Biosecurity Act, so that it ensures every citizen is able to return home and quarantine safety. You can sign it here.
Call for Volunteers
Project Ekta and the Punjab Club
https://www.instagram.com/p/COTD7oWB3I-In the time that India sleeps, volunteers are necessary to keep the aggregators up to date. There is a specific call for volunteers from the diaspora to keep these lists up to date. There are aggregators of every ilk, most usefully for oxygen cylinders, ambulances, hospital beds, crematoriums, mental health resources and food sustenance. Australia Eastern Standard Time is IST + 4:30 and Australian Western Standard Time is IST + 2:30. The instagram posts above require you to DM for details on how to contribute.
via Get Up! Petition
To: The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health, Bring Australians in India home—NOW. You can sign it here.
An offering for Allyship to your Indian friends in Australia
It’s extremely hard for folks with family and friends in India to function as usual right now. We are processing trauma at scale, while still having to navigate everyday life in so-called Australia.
Everyone’s experiences and response is different, however these small suggestions may assist if you are not sure how to help.
Ask your friends what you can do to help. Not everyone feels comfortable reaching out.
Ask your friends what they need. Everyone is different and there’s no one size fits all approach to support. Listen when they respond and pay attention to the spaces between sentences.
You could drop off food, offer to drive or give a lift, go on walks, sit in silence on a park bench, listen without judgement.
Give your friends the permission to have a good time. This can be restorative and generative energy that they can recycle for the sustenance of endurance. Survivor’s guilt is real and you may be able to relieve some burden.
If you can avoid it, do not offload emotional burdens. Ask your friend if they have the capacity to listen to you. Don’t expect them to. Ask as little of them as possible during this time.
Forgive them if they’re flaky. Don’t be upset if they are late or cannot commit to something in the near future.
Allow them the space for singular and collective grief.
Provide space (a ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on) for when the deaths become closer and closer - 1 in 3 people in India are currently diagnosed with COVID-19 and the death rates are rising.
Amplify what is happening in India, especially resource lists so the labour can be shared.
If you have a friend who is also a colleague, find opportunities to lobby for their right for paid personal leave and reduced work-load.
Encourage your friends to set some boundaries. This can be extremely hard, especially now, particularly culturally. Sit with them and chart a fortitude strategy.
Do not stand in for professional help. You can redirect people to Our Directory, an excellent resource list of mental health support for mob, Maori and BIPOC, and the Asian Australian Mental Health List.
Find the words of expression for the things you find difficult. Contemporary ‘Australia’ can be bad at truth-telling and talking about trauma. Doing the labour with your friend to find the words of expression can help you and your friends move through this time. Growth is always painful.
H—ME W—RK is a space for experimentation and contamination of practice by South Asian artists, working and making on stolen lands.
This document was collaborated on from the lands of the Kulin Nations and Eora Nations, we pay respect to Elders past and present, and are grateful for the shelter on their unceded lands now and always.