Re: [ALOCHONA] You cannot eat coal

I have gone through both the articles on coal incident in Phulbari appeared in New Age recently. I read the book of Anu Mahmoud on the subject issue and most of the articles appeared in the media on our coal.   The COAL become a curse for our people specially in Phulbari.   The writers Rahnuma and Tanim made great affort to narrate what happened during the incident. What then. What is the alternative, what is the course we should take, should we extract the coal, if we  do by what method, shaft or open pit and how we do that?   One long year is passed, so much were moved on many fronts but nothing happened to either coal policy or the fate of our mining.   Having coal, diamond underneath their bedrooms or rice field, nightmare only runs after people of Phulbari. They certainly can not pin their hope on the Tel gas protection committee or on the governement. None so far came out from the woods to matarialise their hope with a specific structure and strategy.   The great people served Asia Energy as their Law counsellor, Water expert, environment expert etc., now, in great details pain of those people being put in long essays - I can not fathom their objectives.   Poverty's ugly and unkind implications afflicted these people who lives on less than national average and will continue to live through the foreseeable future, I do not see any hope from any quarter to augement the process of development or eleviate their poverty level.   I can not see what is in their heart but I do not see in thier stipulations or in their writen wisdom.   --- On Tue, 19/8/08, Farida Majid <farida_majid@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Farida Majid <farida_majid@hotmail.com> Subject: [ALOCHONA] You cannot eat coal To: Date: Tuesday, 19 August, 2008, 7:50 PM       Extract from featured article by Rahnuma Ahmed: 'You cannot eat coal': resistance in Phulbari Zaeed and Farzana's film, �The Blood-Soaked Banner of Phulbari', was released soon after the killings in 2006. I watch the beginning sequence. A crowd of men stand at the long-distance bus stand in Phulbari town, they talk to each other and to the film crew. �We are poor people,' says a man, probably in his late-thirties. �If I lose my home, how will I earn a living? What use will be the coalmine?' Who will it benefit? I return to clips from their uncut footage. A younger woman is sitting in her courtyard, �No, I don't have a husband, I live with my mother, I work with her. In the same place. If the coalmine comes, we, that is, us mothers-and- daughters, where will we go? We will be scattered from our relatives, we will lose our ties.' �Where will we go?' This question is repeatedly raised by villagers, by both men and women, old and young, by farmers, day-labourers, petty businessmen, schoolchildren, college-going youths, both Bengalis and adivasis, who belong to Santal, Oraon, Pahan, Mahali and Munda communities. By Hindus and Muslims. Full article at: http://shahidul. wordpress. com/2008/ 08/19/ Earlier article that deals with Phulbari: http://shahidul. wordpress. com/2006/ 09/04/ Get ideas on sharing photos from people like you. Find new ways to share. Get Ideas Here!

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