The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian news

  • Customs boss lauds Ogun command over joint border security

    The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (CGC), Col Hameed Ali has commended the Ogun 1 Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) over the ongoing joint border security exercise across the country.

    Ali made the remarks on Thursday during an assessment tour of the ongoing joint border security exercise in Ogun 1 Customs Area Command at Idiroko town, which shares border with the Benin Republic.

    He thanked the operatives of the joint border operations in the command for sustaining the exercise since the beginning of the operations last month.

    The customs chief who was received by the Controller of the Ogun 1 Area Command, Comptroller Michael Agbara, was accompanied by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Benin Republic, Kayode Oguntuase, Comptroller General of Immigration, Mohammed Babandede and Brigadier General . E.A Ndagi, Coordinator of Joint Border Security Exercise, among others.

    Read Also: Ogun Customs Command 1 rakes N6.7b revenue

    ‘’My observation is that the officers are doing well. They are deployed to do a job and they are doing it exceptionally well, and that is the reason why Mr President (Buhari) asked us to come and convey his appreciation and commendations to the officers.

    He also said the closure of land borders was in the best interest of the country.

    He noted that the closure of land borders by the Federal Government was necessary to fortify the country’s security and economy, against the backdrop of smuggling of unwholesome goods including arms and ammunition into the country.

    He said: ‘’We are touring the operations sectors. As you know, we are doing an operation called ‘’Border Drill’’ and as a result of that, we have deployed our men in most of these commands.

    ‘’There are three reasons for going round. First, is to convey Mr President’s compensation to our troops and personnel that have been deployed to carry out those drills.

    ‘’Secondly is to further explain to them the reasons why we are doing this drill. Thirdly, is to getting feedback on the ground as to the successes and challenges (of the operation).

    He disclosed that the exercise would not be terminated unless there was assurance of cooperation from neighbouring countries on Nigeria’s anti-smuggling policies.

  • Seven countries Nigerians can visit without visa

    Traveling for Nigerians increasingly requires adequate planning. With Nigerian passport ranking 83rd in freedom to travel across the world, acquiring a visa is always difficult and strenuous.

    However, there are visa-free countries accessible to all Nigerian passport holders. With just a valid passport, you can gain entry into these African countries without having to stress yourself over a visa. Some may, however, be required to apply for a visa at their point of entry.

    ·       Rwanda:  Easily the neatest African country, Rwanda has become a destination choice for investors and tourists. After the 1994 genocide war, the East African nation is wearing a new look. It is also a secured nation with less than five percent national crime rate.

    Visa is obtained at entry point with just $100 for Nigerian passport holders.

    ·        Djibouti

    In East Africa, one of the best places to visit from Nigeria is Djibouti.  You may require a visa on arrival at an affordable rate, but the country still has beautiful places to visit such as the Lake Assal, which is the lowest point on land in Africa. In the world, it is only the third after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

    ·        Morocco: The culture, weather and exotic offering of Morocco make the country a great destination for honeymooners. There are super-amazing sites, shops, restaurants, cafes and more around the streets of Morocco which could definitely tempt you to turn your honeymoon into a typical excursion you will not regret.

    READ ALSO: Nigerian tour operators at war with Tanzania over new visa rule

    ·        Cape Verde: This is an island country that is found on the West African coast. It is one of the most welcoming tourist destinations on the continent as it has a great weather and beautiful spots that you could have a splendid vacation.

    ·       Kenya: This beautiful tourist destination has a lot of wild life, safari and historical places on offer. Cities to explore include Nairobi and Mombassa with the hosts generally welcoming and helpful. Visa is also at the point of entry.

    ·       Uganda: This East African nation with rich historical cuisine and sites such as the Lake Victoria and others allow Nigerians to travel to obtain visa at the point of entry.

    ·       Sudan: Nigerians can get visas at entry point to visit the massive deserts and wild life conservations in this hugely vast country.

  • Pantami attack: Kano police quiz three PDP chieftains

    The Kano State Police Command, on Friday, quizzed three chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over the alleged assault meted, on the Minister of Communications, Dr Ali Isa Pantami, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), by supporters, believed to be Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwso’s loyalists.

    Pantami, who was in Kano for a condolence visit, over the death of Ibrahim Liman Sharada, father of a member, representing Kano Municipal at the House of Representatives, Shaaban Ibrahim Sharada  last week Monday, booed by hoodlums, suspected to be members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, on his departure to Abuja.

    According to the Kano State Police Command,  the PDP deputy governorship candidate, Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam;  State Chairman of the (PDP), Suleiman Bichi and Dr Yunusa Haruna Dangwani, Director-General, PDP governorship campaign, were queried, over the level of their supporters’ involvement in the attack of the communications minister.

    Read Also: Kano Police recover 1000 cattle, arrest three notorious rustlers

    Briefing reporters, in his office at the Police Headquarters, Bompai, Kano, the spokesman of the Command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said, the three PDP Chieftain were invited and interrogated by the Police Commissioner, Ahmed Iliyasu, alongside the Director of DSS in Kano, to establish the intent of the unruly behaviour of their supporters.

    DSP Haruna, who emphasized the resolve pf the Command to unravel the security breach on the Minister at the Kano Airport, insisted that the Police will not spare any culprit, implicated in the embarrassment, adding that nobody is above the law in the state.

    ‘’The Police invited the PDP stalwarts in the state in connection, with the mob action attempt on the minister at the Airport in Kano. In attendance were the Chairman of PDP in Kano, Suleiman Bichi; PDP Deputy Governorship candidate, Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam; and the DG, Governorship campaign, Haruna Dangwani. They were interrogated by the CP himself, alongside the Director, DSS in Kano. They were invited and quizzed about the ugly incident that happened at the Kano airport, last week Monday.

    According to him, the PDP chieftains confessed to have warned their members not to go to the airport.

    But however, with the issue in place,  the Command is doing everything possible to ensure that the rule of law prevails, emphasizing that nobody is above the law, as the security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as well as that of the State, is a above any individual or any parochial interest.

    While assuring that the Police Command will  investigate issue, he said that no arrest had been made.

    The Chairman of the PDP and a top Kwankwasiyya member, reportedly said that those people, who attacked the Communications Minister, Ali Isa Pantami were not their members, as being speculated.

  • Philippines: Inside the battle of Marawi

    ‘Falcon,’ a Marine sniper, recalls how his companions died as they tried to reclaim the Mapandi bridge from the Maute group – Isis-inspired terrorists – amid the five-month-long conflict in Marawi City in the southern Philippines that started May 2017.

    Just a few hours past midnight, when the Marine troops tried to advance from the bridge toward a street surrounded by buildings, terrorists unleashed a storm of heavy gunfire, grenades and molotov cocktails. The firefight lasted 14 hours.

    Despite the difficulty of getting through an area of terrorist-infested buildings, the valiant troops did not give up. Instead, they tried to enter the Mapandi area through a much farther bridge.

    The Marines were eventually able to retake the bridge in at least two months, a turning point in the war that allowed the military to bring in more troops and supplies to the main battle area.

    The bridge also became a key route used to transport rescued civilians and wounded soldiers, said Army Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Task Force Marawi.

    The experience made Falcon and Brawner realise the difficulties of urban warfare. The sniper added that most Marines were trained for thick jungle battles but not for fighting in cities.

    RAINING BOMBS

    The sound of bombs raining and flattening Marawi impaired the hearing of 78-year-old ‘Nanay Linda,’ who spent the whole five months in the hands of the terrorists.

    Nanay Linda, a retired health worker, was among the hostages taken at nightfall on May 23. 

    That night, Nanay Linda recalled, they were taken in a van with teachers abducted from Dansalan College.

    Nanay Linda said there were times Omar Maute, a terrorist leader, visited the building where they were held captive. An alumnus of Dansalan College, Maute would always talk to his former school principal about the good old days.

    Maute assured the captives they would not be killed since they only wanted the military to withdraw its forces, Nanay Linda recounted.

    What stuck with Nanay Linda from the conflict was the relentless bombing that led to flattened buildings and dead bodies.

    “It was always raining bombs until almost all of the structures there were flattened,” she said.

    For months, Nanay Linda and her fellow captives ran from building to building to avoid the bombs, while praying to the heavens that they would not be hit.

    Until one day, no bombs fell from the sky.

    ESCAPE PLAN

    Three weeks before the military announced the end of combat operations, the hopes of Nanay Linda and the rest of the captives lifted as a drone arrived. By then, the captors let their guard down as supplies were depleted and fatigue set in.

    With a lipstick, one of the captives scribbled the word “help” on a cloth, hoping the drone would heed their call. And through the drone, the military handed them a phone, with an escape plan the captives pursued by dawn. 

    The captives ran until they were able to board a military safe vehicle, and were later brought to a safe house, staying there for eight days before they were allowed to go home. 

    However, much of the town was already flattened by the bombing, with many losing their homes in the process.

    Townsfolk, like ‘barangay’ – meaning village – chief Bashir Manri, looked heartbroken as he stood atop what that used to be a lively park in the city’s centre, looking for this house. 

    “I looked for my home first. But I couldn’t even recognise our place because of the damage. I can no longer recognise home,” he said. 

     

    NO ONE WAS SPARED

    Even the powerful clans in Marawi were not spared by the destruction.

    Provincial government official Zia Alonto Adiong broke down in tears when he saw the devastation that turned their ancestral house into a pile of broken stones and twisted steel.

    Adiong’s grandfather, the late senator Domacao Alonto, began to build the house in Panganuran village in the 1950s. Their residence was treated as an open house, as Maranaos freely entered the compound on many occasions.

    He said the family has yet to discuss how to rebuild their ancestral house. He has proposed retaining a portion of the ruins as a marker for people to see, a reminder to the next generation of the destructive power of hatred.

     

    RUINED MOSQUES

    Simultaneous calls for prayer from towering minarets scattered throughout central Marawi used to wake up Maranaos from their lakeside slumber before daybreak. But the war silenced these Islamic beacons of peace as the nightmare of destruction befell the town area.

    Out of at least 56 mosques or masjids — big and small alike — in the 24 villages in the main battle area, 48 were wrecked and would need to be built from scratch, according to the United Imam of the Philippines. Most of the destroyed mosques were the big ones, including the landmark Islamic Center.

     

    MARAWI REHAB

    Wider roads, a modern business district, riverside parks, and promenades are just some of the improvements expected to rise from the ashes of war in Marawi City. And what the battle destroyed in five bloody months, the government promises to rebuild in 4 years at most.

    The reconstruction of the 24 most affected villages inside the 250-hectare land that used to be the main battle area would require an estimated P48 billion (US$927.2 million).

    How locals and the national government view reconstruction work may even lead to a worse problem – radicalism – said researcher Steven Rood, a former University of the Philippines professor from the northern Philippines who has done studies on the Moro conflict both for the Social Weather Stations and the Asia Foundation.

    While the government’s plan tries to paint a beautiful and modern picture of a reconstructed Marawi in three more years, the Maranaos have a simpler vision—good ol’ home. As the Maranao saying goes: “Minsanoray bolawan a oran ko isa ka inged na mapangingiroy tadn i tarintik sangganatan.”

    Roughly translated in English, it means: “Even if gold rains in other places, I will prefer the raindrops in Lanao.”

     

    This story by Patrick Quintos was originally published on ABS-CBN News on March 13, 2018.

     

    BEHIND THE STORY

    Written by Patrick Quintos, the story was part of a 9-part special report that won the 2018 Association of International Broadcasting (AIB) Awards in the interactive category and an Honourable Mention in Journalistic Innovation at the Society of Publishers in Asia’s (SOPA) 2019 Awards for Editorial Excellence. It recounts the five month siege on Marawi City staged by Islamic State sympathisers in 2017 through the perspectives of the people affected by it. Before this story, readers have never had a view of how widespread the destruction was except for news footage shown on television. The multimedia story was presented on a map with several aerial shots of Marawi, which gave readers a survey of its total annihilation. It was developed for the web by Regie Francisco and published on the ABS-CBN News Digital website, featuring photos from Jonathan Cellona and Fernando Sepe Jr and drone videos from Val Cuenca. With the city holding the families’ stories and their culture’s legacies in shambles, residents of Marawi fear that the situation will unravel into more conflict if the government failed to provide answers about its destruction. This story is both an attempt to acknowledge that fear, and to honour the people who struggled to stay alive as well as the memory of those who perished. 

     

  • South Korea: Technology offers freedom of mobility

    For an able-bodied person, it takes less than 10 minutes to transfer from line No. 2 to line No. 6 at Sindang Station, one of the biggest transit points in Seoul.

    For a person in a wheelchair, it takes up to 40 minutes.

    The corridor at Sindang Station is long. It contains a lot of stairs and not enough ramps or elevators to help those using a wheelchair move on their own. During rush hour, the commute is a nightmare.

    “Most subway stations in Korea were designed without mobility disabled people in the picture,” said Hong Yun-hui, founder and head of Muui, a nonprofit that provides transit information for people with physical impairments.

    To point out one problem, “because Seoul’s subways are operated by more than two organisations, the signs are inconsistently placed,” she said. “There are even blind spots in stations where there are no signs at all. It is impossible for people with an impairment to even bother to use the subway relying on these signs.”

    Last year, Muui released a service that gives passengers the easiest transfer routes in select subway stations. The app can tell users which subway car is closest to the elevator and which corridors have more ramps. The nonprofit started with 14 stations and expanded the service to 33 this year. Volunteers collect the information by actually wandering the stations in wheelchairs.

    “We have to consider everything from the perspective of those who move around in wheelchairs,” Hong said. “Even if there’s a sign, it is not useful for the mobility disabled because they cannot see them.”

    Hong started Muui because of her daughter, who is unable to walk due to neuroblastoma. She believes people with disabilities should venture out and raise awareness of their experiences, but the infrastructure and technology in Korea is far from sufficient.

    According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, one out of four people in South Korea face difficulties getting around on their own. Ten per cent of that population has limited mobility because of conditions inherited at birth or wrought by a tragic accident. That adds up to about 1.2 million people in a country of 50 million.

    Perceptions of people with disabilities cannot change overnight, but technology and services can.

    “With the help of electronic wheelchairs and computer-assistive equipment, I was able to study and participate in society again,” Kim Jong-bae, an associate professor of occupational therapy at Yonsei University, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

    An accident in graduate school paralysed Kim from the neck down, but he was later able to study rehabilitation engineering in the United States with the aid of diverse technology and equipment.

    “I severely felt the importance of rehabilitation engineering and how it is vital for disabled people to live independent lives,” he said.

     

    Small changes, big impact

    Hong Yun-hui believes in the positive effect of technology for people with physical impairments, but she also says it does not have to be expensive or sophisticated.

    “Very, very small changes can entirely change how disabled people move around outside,” she said.

    Todo Works is a Korean start-up that provides kits to turn manual wheelchairs into electric ones.

    “I witnessed my daughter’s friend struggling with a foldable wheelchair, so I made a motor in about six months that let her more easily move around,” said Shim Jae-shin, founder and CEO of Todo Works. “I received more than 200 calls from parents of mobility disabled children to make the same motor for them after this one-time product.”

    The motor weighs about 4.5 kilograms and coupled with a foldable wheelchair – which can weigh anywhere from 15 to 20 kilograms – the contraption is lighter than an electric wheelchair, which can easily exceed 100 kilograms.

    Shim said the kit, called Todo Drive, represents a “midway technology” that resolves an immediate inconvenience until a more complete solution is developed. The motor can drive a wheelchair about 10 kilometres on one charge.

    “It is a rather simple task for the manufacturer to make these kinds of products,” Shim said. “But for disabled people, these simple products change their entire lives. The most frequent feedback I hear from parents is that the personality of their disabled children has changed to become brighter and more positive.”

    Todo Drive sells for 1.76 million won (US$1475.89), while similar imported products go for over 5 million won (US$4192.88) on average.

    Conglomerates have also started initiatives to help people with limited mobility. Hyundai Motor Group, the nation’s largest automaker, set up a social enterprise called Easy Move in 2010 to develop products catered toward that population.

    The company remodelled its Carnival van and Ray box car with a ramp in the trunk so that wheelchair-bound people can easily get in and out of the car. The modified cars and other products posted 2 billion won in sales in 2011 and went up to 7.7 billion won last year.

    Easy Move also designed a wheelchair for children that resembles a baby stroller. “Most of the wheelchairs sold in Korea are made for adults,” an official from Easy Move said. “But children who are unable to walk also need to use wheelchairs instead of just settling for a baby carriage because that option is not safe” since they were not designed for children with disabilities.

    Like Todo Drive, the domestically developed and manufactured Easy Move products are less expensive than comparable imports.

     

    Robot suits

    Hyundai Motor has given its researchers opportunities to come up with novel ideas that help the disabled population. Last year, it held an R&D festival where a team called Sympony took first prize for creating a system that turns sound into visible colors in a car’s front window to help the hard of hearing easily identify police or ambulance sirens.

    The automaker’s research has even expanded to the realm of wearable robots. At last year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it unveiled three types of wearable robots, also known as exoskeletons.

    One of them, called H-MEX (Hyundai Medical Exoskeleton), allows people with lower spinal cord injuries to walk. Paraplegics can sit, stand and even walk up and down stairs by controlling the legs with a joystick.

    The exoskeleton market is expected to exceed US$3.4 billion by 2024, according to Global Market Insights, and research on the technology is rising in South Korea. The number of patents related to exoskeletons filed in the Korea Intellectual Property Office hit a record high of 44 last year compared to just 11 in 2010. Hyundai Motor and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering filed the most patents between 2007 and 2016.

    Such futuristic technology, however, has a long way to go in practically helping people with physical impairments. “Most of the robotic equipment being developed today cannot be worn or taken off by disabled people on their own,” said Prof. Kim Jong-bae at Yonsei University. “I wonder if they can be really called a practical invention for the disabled.”

    Accessibility is also a problem. “People with impairments are generally not financially affluent,” said Shim Jae-shin of Todo Works. “It is critical to develop something that can be used right away, which is what we are doing.”

    “We already experienced information gap problem when the internet and PCs first emerged,” Professor Kim said. “If technology of the so-called fourth industrial revolution doesn’t consider accessibility among the disabled population, it will end in a serious ‘technology gap.’”

     

    This story by Jin Eun-Soo was originally published by Korea JoongAng Daily on March 12, 2018.

     

    BEHIND THE STORY

    Published on March 12, 2018, business reporter Jin Eun-Soo’s story in JoongAng Daily drew attention to the plight of people with mobility impairments in South Korea and the technology that improved their lives. Listening to the difficulties of parents with disabled children in South Korea inspired her to shed light on the issue in a society so inattentive to their needs. She said: “It wasn’t an intentional violence, they say, but this ignorant attitude was what eventually lead to hostility and discrimination towards disabled people.” Her conversations with these parents revealed how small changes, such as information about which subway exit has ramps and an elevator, could help tremendously. The journalist then searched for people behind the products and services making these changes. They were eager to talk, because despite how useful their service was, nobody seemed to care. After running the story, Eun-Soo received many messages from people with disabilities and parents of disabled children thanking her for telling their stories to the world. She said: “They did not wish for immediate changes, but were thankful that the story could act as a pathway to elevating social awareness on disabled people and letting them know that small changes could really have big impacts on these disabled people.”

     

    ORIGINAL STORY LINK:

    http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3045471

  • The voice from the jungle

    As he usually does in the morning, Madu greets his listeners. Madu runs his broadcast from a community radio station, Benor FM Radio, located in a remote area in Bukit Suban Village.

    The village is located in the Air Hitam District of Sarulangun Regency in theJambi Province.
    Benor Radio was initiated by an NGO called the Indonesian Conservation Community Warsi.
    Benor Radio, that started its broadcast since 2013, priorities its radio program forthe Anak Dalam, who are also known as the Orang Rimba ethnic group.

    The group is scattered amongst the Bukit Dua Belas National Park area.
    The Orang Rimba is a native Jambi community who live nomaidcally in the forest as a group.
    Madu is a native broadcaster from the Orang Rimba ethnic group. Beside Madu, there are five other native jungle people who are active as broadcasters.

    For the children of the Suku Anak Dalam, it is not easy to learn to be an announcer. However, their willing attitudes have now made them broadcasters whose voices are eagerly awaited by The Orang Rimba in the forest and local residents.

    “Well, the first difficulty was learning to operate a laptop. When I first broadcasted, I spoke stiffly, but after two weeks it went smoothly,” said Madu.
    By broadcasting the radio show to cover an area of 30 kilometres, Benor Radio program can be listened to by 80 percent of the entire 2,546 jungle people in the national park area.

    In addition to fighting inequality and enabling equal access to media and information, Benor Radio was established to deliver information to people who live in the forest and who are difficult to reach physically.

    “To get information, Orang Rimba access is very limited. By the radio, it can provide information to the jungle people and the radio can be a learning medium for them,” said Jauharul Maknun, responsible person for Benor FM Radio.

    “Benor is also expected to become a media platform that bridges the gap between the jungle people and the surrounding community, reducing the negative stigma of outside communities towards the jungle people. we can provide understanding to the outside community about the jungle people,” He added.
    For The Orang Rimba, radio is the only medium they are able to get information from.

    “I got the information about earthquakes, floods, and also elections (through the radio). So we got the information about who wins and loses in the election,” said Perabung, as member of Suku Anak Dalam.
    Moreover, Benor Radio provides information about the arrival of health workers to the national park area.
    This is important to the Orang Rimba whos secluded and nomadic livs in the forest often rob them of health facilities.

    This story by Perwiranta, Syahrudin, Amir Musa and Sandy Arizona was originally published on ANTARA Indonesia News Agency in May 2019.

    BEHIND THE STORY

    Suara Dari Rimba is a documentary video made by the ANTARA TV team in May 2019. The documentary video is about the lives of the Anak Dalam tribe, or who are also known as the Orang Rimba, whose live nomadically inside the forest area. The current presence of Radio Benor is their only source of information. The Anak Dalam tribe community has been limited to receiving information and in voicing their anxiety. Their forest home is still being destroyed. The Orang Rimba have been pushed from their homes in Bukit Duabelas National Park because of deforestation. The team took a six hour road trip to where they stayed. It was challenging for the team due to the rocky and unpredicatble roads. There was also a lack of facilities as the park was situated in a very remote area. The place and the people were isolated from any mode of transportation and cut off from any communication with the outside world. Thus, those who lived there spoke in a different dialect as they only used their native language. We therefore required a translator. They used firewood to cook simple food from the jungle, such as cassava, and drank water from streams. Living in such a closed and secluded area, they were quite protective and wary when our team arrived for the documentary video.

  • Tales of sorrow from electricity consumers

    Looking at Mr Innocent Okparah, as a smile lights up his handsome fair face, it is hard to imagine that just some months ago, he was battling to stay alive in the hospital.

    But that was exactly the case. For almost two weeks, Okparah danced between earth and the great beyond.

    But he is now full of life.

    Okparah pulled up a chair, sat down and looked straight into the eyes of Juliana, our crime journalist. His smile slipped as recollections flashed through his mind.

    Settling further into his chair, he recounted his bloody encounter with the Americans and military men, saying: “I was beaten with guns, boots and fists. It was just too much for me. I couldn’t fight back. They overpowered me.”

    Okparah may have forgotten many unpleasant events, but he will never forget the day armed soldiers – allegedly working for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) – gave him the beating of his life.

    The assault intensified after Okparah attempted to use his smart phone to take snapshots of the soldiers and BEDC officials. For his temerity, he had to spend weeks in the hospital fighting to live.

    Aside from Okparah, other victims have also claimed to have experienced the same encounter with soldiers and white men. BEDC officials also tried to disconnect the power supply to their homes.

    Despite sounding irrational, the beatings were discovered to be over the struggle for possession and ownership of electrical wires, ladders, power disconnections and estimated billings.

    Consumers wanted their electrical wires handed back to them after they were disconnected, insisting they had purchased them. However, the BEDC refused to release the items.

    For many Nigerians, it was abnormal to see DISCO officials, armed soldiers and white men coming to disconnect power supplies , but residents of Benin, Edo State, alleged that it was an everyday occurrence, which they had now got used to.

    The acronym DISCO refers to electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria.
    Our correspondent gathered that many electric consumers are petrified of going to the media, fearful that the soldiers might pay them an unscheduled visit.
    This was even after human rights activists dented the trend after ferociously fighting against such practices.

    Recalling the encounter, Okparah said: “We had been hearing about it, but that day was my first experience. The BEDC officials came with military men and white men! After disconnecting the light, we told them that we wouldn’t allow them to go with our wires.”

    “Four Nigerian soldiers fought me. They tore my clothes, flogged me, used their boots on me and hit me with their guns. I resisted to an extent, but I finally succumbed because I couldn’t contend with the power of four military men, who were fully armed.”

    Okparah added that the new chapter opened by BEDC was difficult and consumers couldn’t cope. He explained that BEDC was urged to return to the original operating system, but it allegedly refused.

    He said: “They became mad and we joined in their madness, and then they brought soldiers. They disconnected our house, we told them no problem, but that the ladder and wires belonged to us. We bought them with our hard earned money. The only thing that belonged to them was the energy.”

    Okparah disclosed that the fight with BEDC started in 2017 after a court case, where DISCO was instructed to stop disconnecting consumers until further notice. He said that BEDC failed to recognise and respect the judiciary, so consumers also decided not to obey and respect the company.

    “BEDC was doing illegal billing. The court judgement was given in Lagos and we wanted them to adhere to it, but they refused. We decided to protest their billing system. We decided to pay what we feel we consumed. Most of us know our billings and nothing was removed or added in our electrical consumptions, so how come the billings increased?

    “Assuming your bill before was N5,000(US$13) or N10,000 and you’re suddenly given a bill of between N30,000 and N45,000, what will you do?”

    That was our case. Part of the court order was that if a bill is being contested, the consumer should be allowed to pay what he or she was being billed before.”
    He claimed that some bills even surpassed the consumer’s rent.

    Some apartments had bills that increased from N1,500 to N5,000 while the rent for the apartments cost N3,000.

    He added: “The court asked them to return to the original billing system, but BEDC refused. While we were busy paying our normal original billing system, they were busy compiling their new system of billings for us, which we had earlier refused to pay.”

    After Okparah walked out of hospital, he embarked on a quest for justice, supported by the Edo Civil Society Organisation (EDOCSO).
    He reported the situation to the Nigerian Army, the Police and Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). He demanded that the white men should be investigated for human rights violations and be repatriated.

    Okparah shared that he filed a complaint against the soldiers at 4th Brigade of the Nigerian Army and also petitioned the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki.

    It was discovered that the white men were working closely with some DISCO officials in three different states. The soldiers were attached to the white men.

    Okparah also learnt that the white men were in Nigeria under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Power Africa Project.

    “We heard that another company brought them to Nigeria and the arrangement was that each white man should be escorted by two soldiers. So, they are now using those military men to molest people. We are law-abiding citizens because we obey the court order,” Okparah said.

    “When the Army called me about the matter, they asked me if I wanted the soldiers to be sacked, I responded that they were my brothers. There was no way I could watched them being laid off just because they became stupid by obeying total strangers. The truth is that I expected the soldiers to realise that as Nigerians, we are all brothers,” said Okparah.

    Shaking his head in disbelief, the man said that despite everything, BEDC’s crazy billings have not stopped.

    The New Telegraph learnt that because of BEDC rights violations, human rights activists in the state teamed up and embarked on a series of protests, often staged at the front of BEDC’s head office in Benin, demanding that the firm and its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Funke Osibudu, should go.

    The Coordinator General of Edo State Civil Society Organisations (EDOSCO), Leftist Omobude Agho, also had an encounter with the soldiers, white men and BEDC officials.

    Agho said he received a call that power to his apartment was about to be disconnected and immediately rushed over to his community, to find out what was going on.

    He was shocked to see armed soldiers, white men and BEDC officials.

    Agho said he initially tried to reason with the delegation, but the situation soon snowballed when he was barked at and ordered to sit on the ground.
    He was speechless with outrage. The incident occurred on Medical Road, Benin, where Agho lives.

    He said: “I was in the middle of the meeting when I received a call that some white men and soldiers were at my house and wanted to disconnect my light. They said that I owed electricity bill.

    “When I got there, I was annoyed. I went to meet the sales manager of BEDC, later identified as Mr. Ayiayi, who was also there. I asked what led to white men, who are foreigners, coming to our land with soldiers to harass us. He said that he was sorry; that the white men were from BEDC headquarters.”

    “I was still speaking with him when one of the soldiers pointed his rifle at me and asked the sales manager if I was the one. The next thing I knew, the soldier placed the nozzle of his rifle at my chest and ordered me to sit on the ground. I didn’t know if the gun was corked or not.

    According to Agho, when he started writing petitions against the military men and reached the DSS office, the DSS boss said his men were not attached to BEDC.

    Agho said that although he had heard of such incidents, his own experience was an eye-opener. Armed with this experience and knowledge, he petitioned the Nigeria Police Force, DSS and Nigerian Immigration Service, to call for thorough investigations of the activities of the white men.

    “Initially, we found such stories hard to believe until it came to our doorsteps. Nobody had been brave enough to take snapshots of them in operation. Mr. Innocent Okparah who tried it was almost killed. The soldiers and BEDC workers do not want to be captured on video or picture. Okparah spent two weeks in the hospital.”

    Agho said that customers’ challenge with BEDC was not getting better, with everyone angry and the atmosphere tensed. According to him, Edo State indigenes no longer want the contract of BEDC to be renewed.

    Agho, who said that the only solution to such human rights abuses was for the revocation of BEDC’s licence, added that opportunity should be given to someone, serious about providing power supply to take over.

    Mr. Kelly Osunbor Omokaro also has a story to tell, but not as shocking as that of Okparah and Agho.

    Omokaro explained that he was able to achieve peace, because of his vast experience in working with security agents and understanding their minds and psychological dispositions. The incident occurred at Oko GRA, Airport Road, where Omokaro lives.

    He said: “The time was about 11am. I was at home when I heard my security guard knocking at my door. I opened my door and saw BEDC officials standing at the gate; I went out to meet them. I noticed that two soldiers and some policemen were with them. The policemen were not in uniform. They said we bypassed our meters.”
    “On that day, they asked why my meter was bypassed. A BEDC lady led the delegation, but a soldier was the person asking questions. They were 13 people, including soldiers, policemen and BEDC officials.

    “I explained about the court injunction on ground. I presented them with a copy of the court’s judgement and where BEDC was asked to revise the N13.50k, which they added on the tariff. Before increasing, BEDC was supposed to call a meeting where we discuss and negotiate the price increment. Thus they failed to do so and refused also to obey court order.

    “If I was not well-grounded with the rules and regulations of the military, I would probably have started shaking and begging at the sight of the military and other uniform men.”

    Omokaro said that he knew and had cordial relationship with some military commanders in the state. He said that when the soldiers noticed how he spoke, they were taken aback.

    They soon relaxed their hostile stance.

    The soldiers decided to return to BEDC office, insisting that Omokaro made a lot of sense with his argument.

    According to Omokaro, the Edo State people’s argument is that before such increase, BEDC should call a stakeholders’ meeting.

    He said he went to BEDC headquarters to register his displeasure and renew argument, where some of the staff he meant on the ground told him that some of them were even suffering more than the consumers because, “their salaries had been slashed with almost 70 per cent.

    They said that their welfare was now quite poor compared to the era of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA).”

    Omokaro said that he made efforts to report the soldiers and also to find out about their connection to BEDC. But the Army in the state only promised to look into the matter.

    He said that even BEDC’s MD, Funke Osibudu, had military details attached to her. He said that Osibudu was the owner of BEDC and actually did buy it from the government.

    “She is guarded night and day by soldiers. She stays at Protea Hotel in Benin. Go there right now; you’ll find soldiers everywhere. Even if you go to BEDC headquarters, you will see soldiers there. According to our law, the only person entitled to be guarded by soldiers is the Nigerian President. Even the Edo State governor is not guarded by soldiers. He is only guarded by police and DSS operatives. But to be guarding a private citizen, even down to the hotel she stays is against the law,” Omokaro fumed.

    He added: “If you are spending more days in Benin and move around, you will hear a lot of stories. The major problem is that because soldiers are involved, victims shy away from speaking out. They are all afraid.”

    The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of EDOCSO, Comrade Osazee Edigin, said the fight against such rights violations by BEDC had been on for years.

    He remembered that on December 25, 2015, BEDC officials with soldiers went into a community at Country Home Road, off Sapele Road and attempted to disconnect the community transformer because some people owed electricity bills.

    Edigin noted that the BEDC officials stormed the community in two trucks filled with soldiers. The disagreement was over estimated billing.

    On August 15, The New Telegraphs’ correspondent, Julia Francis, went to the BEDC headquarters to see Osibudu, but the effort was futile. She was directed to the Assistant General Manager (AGM), Corporate Affairs Office.

    At the BEDC headquarters, there were three soldiers in full uniform. One of them, patrolling the outside perimeter of the building, was armed.

    The Head of Public Affairs, BEDC, Mr. Tayo Adekunle, was not around, but Mr Ibeh Odoh, his assistant, attended to the Julia.

    Reacting to allegations that their company uses soldiers to harass, intimidate and brutalise energy consumers, among other atrocities, Odoh said it was a pack of lies.

    He said, “ Those white men are USAID members working with BEDC. They are not our staff; they are more like technical partners, under USAID Power Africa Project.”

    When asked why BEDC officials in company with the white men and soldiers struggle for possession of electrical wires with their consumers, Odoh explained: “We collect the wires to discourage customers from reconnecting illegally. Before we embark on disconnection, we usually give first, second and third warnings.”Speaking further on soldiers brutalising customers, Odoh said: “If there are victims, let them come to our office to complain and we shall carry out investigations.”

    The New Telegraph’s correspondent also contacted the US Embassy, Lagos to question it about the allegations of human rights violations.

    On September 5, she contacted Mr. Sani Mohammed, Senior Information Specialist, US Embassy, Public Section, Abuja.

    He replied the following day, asking for further information about the journalist and the story she was working on.This information was provided and emailed to him.

    However, as at the time of filing this report no response has been provided.

    This story is a compilation of articles from Oct 18, 2018 to Oct 25, 2018.

    BEHIND THE STORY

    The story is about the energy crisis in Nigeria with special focus on victims of the Benin Electricity Company (BEDC), a firm that handles power distribution in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states. The report detailed the pains of the consumers in the hands of BEDC using the military to intimidate and brutalise them. New Telegraph’s Crime Editor, Juliana Francis, who went to the Edo State to speak with the actors involved. The saga began after a court case in 2017, where DISCO (electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria) was instructed to stop disconnecting consumers until further notice. The BEDC failed to recognise and respect the judiciary, so consumers also decided not to obey and respect the company. After the publication of the report, the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, openly decried the capacity of the electricity company. Also, the Benin traditional leaders have visited President Muhammadu Buhari to make similar complaints. Already, BEDC have told electricity consumers that it is working hard in addressing the challenges. However, no punitive measures have been taken against the soldiers used to deal with the electricity consumers. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has declared that the electricity firms lack the capacity and infrastructure to provide power supply to Nigerians. Consequently, the Federal Government has vowed to look into the entire privatisation process.

  • Reunited after 37 years

    Angelle Burrus (nee Udo) was just months old in her mother’s womb when her father Ndubuisi Dele Udo, a Nigerian-American athlete, was killed in Lagos.

    With the help of The Nation, Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper, Angelle reunited with her long lost kin 37 years later.

    An interior decoration professional who lives in St Louis, Missouri, United States, Angelle grew up and married without knowing her father or any of his Nigerian -based family.

    An international sprinter, her father was in Lagos for a tournament when he was shot by a policeman during an argument in traffic.

    Based on all she heard about her father from her mother and what she read from a collection of 32 newspaper articles, stories and pictures, Angelle’s desire had always been to reconnect with her father’s relatives, especially the Udo family back in Nigeria.

    A chance meeting in St. Louis Missouri last December with Taiwo Abiodun a US-based journalist who writes for The Nation presented Angelle the opportunity she had been looking for. 

    Expressing her desire to the paper, she told her story well enough to get what she had always wanted.

    “My name is Angelle Burrus (nee Udo). I am 37 years old, please I want to come to Nigeria to locate my father’s family and see where he was buried,” she said in the report titled ‘I Want To Know My Father’s Family in Nigeria, says late Dele Udo’s daughter’ that was published on Dec 30, 2018.

    “Please write my story. All I want is to meet my father’s siblings and see my father’s grave in Nigeria,” Angelle declared.

    Within hours of the publication’s release, the hitherto hard to find Udo family members who read about Angelle reached out to her on Facebook.

    In her Facebook post, an excited Angelle wrote about the link she had looked forward to finding for years:

    I FOUND MY NIGERIAN FAMILY.

    “Dec-7th met Taiwo Abiodun in Missouri

    “Dec-9th interview conducted about the death of my father 37 years ago.

    “Dec-30th article published in Nigeria.

    “Jan-3rd FaceTimed w/her, uncle Luke Udo and cousin Oke ( Nkechi’s brother).

    “On this day I find out Oke lives 1hr away

    “Jan-5 First in person meeting with cousin Oke and his wife Dami. He’s the first person EVER to meet me in person from my Nigerian family.

    “God is amazing I am so blessed and happy!”

    To help Angelle accomplish her dream, The Nation’s correspondent in South-Eastern Nigeria where the late Udoh hailed from, Okechukwu Nwankwo ,was briefed by the Lagos headquarters and went in search of her family members back home.

    After a series of enquiries, he found Angelle’s stepmother, younger brother, close friend and other acquaintances who were glad to know that the baby Angelle’s mother was carrying when she attended her husband’s burial was indeed alive and keen on meeting them.

    A second story was published on Jan 13 titled ‘Late Dele Udo: We are eager to receive his American daughter, wife – Family members’.

    “When the news about Angelle trying to reconnect with the father’s family members surfaced in your newspaper, we were very happy. You know at that time, it was only Dele that was the breadwinner, but now, his siblings are doing well in their endeavours. We will be happy to receive her,” said the late Udo’s step mother, Joy Okechukwu.

    Udo’s younger brother also spoke about Angelle’s interest in meeting the family: “I think her quest to meet with her father’s family is genuine. 36 years of not knowing any members of her father’s family is long. We had expected this to happen before now, but we are happy she is alive and willing to reunite with her family”

    Angelle’s mother, Angella who was initially reluctant to speak with Abiodun about her late husband, was eventually convinced to do so. Her interview titled ‘My lasting memories of Dele Udoh’ was published on Aug 25.

    She is happy that her daughter eventually found her father’s family. She had always told Angelle that it was up to her to look for her father’s family and she (Angella) could not do that for her daughter.

    While she would be happy to come to Nigeria if invited by the government, Angella who still retains her marriage name, said emotionally “I was (a) bride, a woman, mum and a widow in one year. I am going to write a book on it.”

    Comments on Angelle’s social media post on finding her Nigerian family incited excitement amongst relatives and friends as well as highlighted the impact the publication had made on her life.

    Some of the comments included:

    Janet Burrus: Wow. Angelle this is awesome …exactly what you have been seeking. You know you are part of our family, but now you know your roots, have blood relatives, you can talk with and answers.

    Gail Feldman: I cried when I read this article. Finally after all these years- answers, stories, connections- your dad is alive through you and through your relatives. Beautiful

    Luke Udo: We’re all excited my dear, it’s just the beginning, you definitely going to Nigeria soon with me to meet the rest, can’t wait for the trip

    Lilian Ify Udo: Can’t wait to meet U and your lovely family. Thanks to all my family member’s for their effort and response to the search/media. Y’all did amazing beautiful in reaching out to Angelle. This is the Lord’s doing.

     

    This story is a compilation of articles by Taiwo Abiodun and Okechukwu Nwankwo was originally published by The Nation from Dec 30, 2018 to Aug 25.

     

    BEHIND THE STORY

    Angelle’s re-connection with her father’s family would not have been possible if not for US-based Journalist Taiwo Abiodun’s article, which enabled the first contact between both parties in 37 years to happen within twenty four hours of publishing the first story. The Nation correspondent, Okechukwu Nwankwo, also aided the reunion’s success as he spent the last days of 2018 searching for Angelle’s family through various contacts. 

    Nation journalist Abiodun had gone with his wife to the African Palace Restaurant in St Louis owned by a Nigerian when she was introduced to Angelle, daughter of late Udo, who was also visiting the restaurant at that time. 

    With the support of a friend and his wife, Abiodun was able to book an interview with Angelle at a Mcdonald’s eatery after several phone calls.

    Convincing Angella, Angelle’s mother, to speak was much more difficult as she initially declined.  With his persistence and support of his wife, Ronnie, Abiodun was finally able to get the 74-year-old woman to eventually open up and talk about her late husband. Through the effort of these reporters, Angelle was able to understand the family she had always longed to meet.

  • Philippines: Ghost patients, scammers haunt Philippine health system

    As a member of Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth), patient Maria (not her real name) was getting free dialysis treatment at a city centre in Quezon, Philippines.

    The state insurer’s health insurance coverage entitles each PhilHealth member to 90 free dialysis sessions a year.

    But even though Maria died in March 2016, PhilHealth continued to pay for the rest of the dialysis treatments at P2,600 (US$49.60) each.

    Dead patients undergoing kidney dialysis, ghost patients getting cancer treatments and fake members are just some of the fraudulent schemes that led to at least P154 billion (US$2.94 billion) losses in PhilHealth.

    The state-owned corporation manages health insurance of public and private employees and their dependents, as well as indigents or poor beneficiaries. 

    In June, The Inquirer uncovered massive corruption in the health insurance agency, bleeding billions of pesos from health premiums paid by its 105 million members and beneficiaries. 

    Former employee of WellMed Dialysis & Laboratory Center Corp, Edwin Roberto disclosed how he filed PhilHealth claims using the names of dead patients for non-existent dialysis sessions since March 2016 upon the instruction of one of his employers.

    Owners of the clinic prepared the claims and told the centre’s employees to copy the patients’ signatures from their medical records so that these claims could be submitted to PhilHealth, he said.

    Edwin told reporters that he and fellow ex-employee Liezel Santos went directly to the PhilHealth office in January to follow up on the status of their complaints about WellMed, but the visit was futile. 

    Apart from turning a blind eye to payments for kidney dialysis treatments of dead patients, the list of fraudulent acts that corrupt PhilHealth officials and personnel knew about include cancer treatments for fictitious members, fake payment receipts of overseas workers as well as hospitals overcharging by declaring ailments like cough and common colds as pneumonia.

    Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Marveleca Bautista-Jauod is just another victim embroiled in the schemes of conniving PhilHealth employees and fraudsters.

    Hours before her flight to Kuwait on Aug 12, 2015, the OFW discovered that the PhilHealth benefit package which was supposed to cover the hospitalisation cost of her 8-year-old son, who had been stricken by dengue, was invalid.

    But because her PhilHealth member data record did not reflect any payment made by her hiring agency, her family had to shell out around P12,000(US$229.30)for the hospital fees.

    Her mother eventually found out that the PhilHealth official receipt(POR) Marveleca received was fake.

    “Eli”, a PhilHealth employee who monitored cases of fake PORs until September 2018, had recognised the same scheme in at least 48 hiring agencies handling land-based workers.

    However, since the scam was first spotted in 2015, the lack of political will and general “inaction” of top PhilHealth officials hindered its speedy resolution, Eli said.

    The case files have been passed on to five PhilHealth presidents, illustrating the bureaucratic red tape plaguing PhilHealth’s inquiries into irregularities, he added.

    Eli cited the case of Dennis Mas, then the regional vice president of PhilHealth’s National Capital Region (NCR) office. Mas was supposedly concerned that picking up the issue of the fake PORs—which by that time was already being reported in six provinces as well—could affect his chances of promotion.

    This widespread corruption in the public health system is an injustice especially since most Filipinos can barely afford hospitalisation and medicine.

    A 2016 study by the state University of the Philippines found that six out of 10 Filipinos die without ever seeing doctors. The country’s doctor-patient ratio is 1:33,000, a far cry from other countries which have an ideal ratio of 1:1,000.

    In 2018, the newly-passed Universal Health Care Law which mandates universal health coverage of all 110 million Filipinos set aside a budget of P171 billion (US $3.27 billion).

    However, these efforts are nought if PhilHealth does not undergo a major overhaul.

    Documents obtained by the Inquirer showed that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was made aware of the loss caused by PhilHealth’s overpayments and other fraudulent schemes in November 2017, a month after he took office.

    Minguita Padilla, former head executive staff of former Health Secretary, Janette Garin said:“There is a culture of fear. You can’t blame them. Once in a while, there would be motherhood statements denouncing the fraud, but nothing happens. Those who really try to fix it, they get removed, end up being called troublemakers. I really feel sorry for them.”

    After the Inquirer’s series of reports, President Rodrigo Duterte asked for the resignation of a dozen top PhilHealth officials and ordered the arrest of the Wellmed Dialysis Center owner and the others involved in the scam on June 7.

    He replaced the PhilHealth president with a retired military general to undertake sweeping reforms in the agency. 

    In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, the President singled out the Inquirer’s PhilHealth expose as an example of corruption he wanted to weed out.

    The Philippines president said: “The recent uncovering of the massive fraud perpetrated against the public health insurance system proves that corruption is pervasive. Huge amounts of medical funds were released to cover padded medical claims and imaginary treatment of ghost patients. I am grossly disappointed.”

    On August 14, the Senate blue ribbon committee opened an investigation on the Philhealth scam after several senators filed resolutions calling for an inquiry.

    Two months since the Inquirer began the series, the story is still unfolding with more revelations of corruption in PhilHealth. 

     

    BACKGROUND

    The Inquirer investigative team first scratched the surface of the massive corruption in PhilHealth upon receiving documents and interviewing two whistleblowers. The former employees of Wellmed Dialysis Center exposed their employer’s scheme of charging kidney dialysis for dead patients. 

    Five reporters from the team spent weeks pouring through voluminous documents, interviewing insiders and taking out-of-town trips to find victims of the scam. The team took more than a month to launch the series of investigative reports.

    After the first series came out on Jun 6, 2019, more documents and whistleblowers came forward about PhilHealth’s systemic misconduct. The Inquirer ran a total of 24 stories on the issue. The unravelling corruption included an exclusive report on the Secretary of Health’s conflict-of-interest, as his family corporation was found leasing a building for PhilHealth and supplying medicine for the Department of Health.

     

    This story is a compilation of a series of articles by Leila Salaverria, Jovic Yee, Mariejo Ramos, Marlon Ramos and Melvin Gascon originally published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer from June 6 to June 21.

  • India: A girl’s journey from slavery to activism 

    For 25-year-old Pachayammal, freedom tastes like biryani. That’s the dish she first ate after being rescued from six years of bonded labour in Tamil Nadu. “We were finally able to eat a meal in peace,” she said.

    Now a feisty activist, Pachayammal, along with her husband Arul, has rescued over 100 people from slavery, advocated for homes and work for them, and has rehabilitated them.

    Pachayammal’s story is one of ten first-time women voters featured as a part of The Quint’s “Me, the Change” campaign. The campaign, presented by Facebook, sought to put focus on a demographic usually ignored by mainstream media — the first-time woman voter. Launched in October 2018, the campaign highlighted the issues and aspirations of the first-time woman voter in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    Pachayammal married Arul when she was barely sixteen years old.She married willingly, for love.But little did she know that she married into slavery. The days would be hard and long, breaking and carrying rock from 4.30 am to 9.00 pm. There would be only one meal a day, of watery rice gruel.

    Speaking of her ordeal, Pachayammal says, “My husband’s parents had a debt, which he had to repay. The ‘owner’ decided to get me married to him so that we form a ‘pair’(easy to manage, won’t run off, lower pay). We didn’t know this. I too really liked my husband, so I married him.” They faced physical, verbal and sexual abuse daily. Paid 200 rupees(US$2.79) a week, Pachayammal slaved for the quarry owner with more than 25 bonded labourers for six years.

    “At 4 am every day, the owner would call us to break rock. Some days, the men would have to work till midnight”, Pachayammal says.

    Until, she was rescued.

    According to The Quint, over 1 million people were bonded labourers in Tamil Nadu, India in 2018. After Pachayammal was rescued at the age of 23, she turned to activism. She draws from an unending well of self-confidence, to seek out from the government basic rights (homes, electricity, work) for rescued bonded labourers. 

    And she rescues those still under the throes of slavery. She stakes out quarries, brick kilns, carpentry units for months on end. She goes in to work in those units, to get close to the bonded labourers to ascertain the truth, ropes in government officials and organises a raid.

    Pachayammal is now part of the SRLM (State Rural Livelihoods Mission) and gets a steady monthly income. Occasionally, she does daily wage work. Her husband, Arul, earns a living by driving an auto-rickshaw he received from a corporation as part of their CSR. Both of them are doing very well today.

     

    This story by Vikram Venkateswaran was originally published by the Quint on Nov 30, 2018.

     

    BEHIND THE STORY

    To find Pachayamal’s story, a team of three reporters at The Quint reached out to International Justice Mission, a global NGO, from where many case studies were sourced before zeroing in on her. Before The Quint’s video, Pachayammal, was a true inspiration, but her story wasn’t covered in mainstream media. The sight of a camera, or a journalist pushed her and the entire colony into what can only be described as the ‘camera effect’. All the responses were rehearsed and interactions were formal. Pachayammal, and the rest of the colony were expecting to be fed the words, which they would then rattle off. This had been their experience of journalists and the media and what had always happened. To tackle this, The Quint’s reporter Vikram Venkateswaran made several trips to Pachayammal’s village with a cameraperson; but without any equipment. The team got to know them, and spent time with Pachayammal, her husband and the children of the colony. It was only on the fourth visit that the reporter took a camera along. On the sixth visit to Ullavur village, which is a three-hour drive from Chennai, the camera was finally rolled. Over a kerosene stove, as Pachayammal prepared a ‘sambar’ (a local dish) for her husband and herself, the reporter started a conversation with her about food — what she liked to eat, and what she got to eat while a slave. And so, began a genuine retelling of Pachayammal’s inspirational story, which the team managed to capture on camera, minus the inhibition.