Friendraisers and solidarities
Some Sapan meetups, Apoorva and Ria's Faiz renditions, Malinda's article, and more
Dear all,
Some of us recently met up in New York, Princeton NJ, and Washington DC areas. It was great to connect with new friends, reconnect with old ones, and hear the comments, concerns and insights. Missed those who weren't able to make it.
Apoorva Mudgal and Ria Modak: Singing Faiz for inspiration and solidarity. That does not make them Pakistani. Photo: Beena Sarwar
We reflected on the irony of being unable to meet in our own region because of the difficulty in obtaining visas to each other’s countries - which appear to be in turmoil for the most part. Got the sad news today about yet another Indian fisherman dying in a Pakistani prison - tragically, this happens routinely on both sides.
All the more reason to sign the petition for a visa-free Southasia, or at least a region where border crossings aren’t criminalised. If France and Germany could be part of the EU, why can’t we be part of a Southasian setup?
As Apoorva Mudgal movingly sang, accompanied by Ria Modak on guitar:
Nahi nigaah mein manzil, toh justju hi sahi
Nahi visaal mayassar to aarzoo hi sahi
(What if the destination is not in sight, at least the desire exists
We may be destined not to meet, let the wish to meet live on)--Faiz
See more photos and videos from these ‘friendraisers’ to use a term coined by media guru Sree Srinivasan, who founded the South Asia Journalists Association, among other thing - links to New York, Princeton area, and Washington DC photo albums.
Much gratitude to friends who facilitated these meetups in various ways, and those who traveled long distances to join - Sree Srinivasan, Salil Tripathi, Andy McCord and Emily Singer, Saad and Nausheen Abbasi, Eemaan Samdani Siddiqi, Zaineb Majoka, Sarita Bartaula, Saman Shafiq, Fauzia Deeba, M. Hamza to name some.
Malinda’s article on Sapan
“There’s so much to gain from cooperation and so much that meaningless antipathies take away,” writes Sri Lankan journalist and poet Malinda Seneviratne in his thoughtful piece in the Daily News, Colombo - Sapan and voices that borders will not stop. Since February this year, he has participated in several virtual Sapan events. Currently visiting the US, he attended three of our meetups.
After dinner in New York one evening, architect Apoorva Mudgal wowed us with Faiz’s poetry, accompanied by Ria Modak on guitar. Here’s the Instagram post by Apoorva:
The latest Sapan last-Sunday-of-month discussion on the trafficking on women included my old friend, journalist-activist Ruchira Gupta, author of the recently published compelling novel I Kick and I Fly (Note: I want to start a ‘Sapan Bookshelf’). Sigma Huda in Dhaka, the first UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons noted the “disappointing” implementation of the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, signed in 2002.
This was Sapan’s 18th online discussion in the almost-monthly series ‘Imagine: Neighbours in Peace’, taking up all kinds of issues. As Malinda notes in his piece:
The call is not for a borderless larger South Asian Union, but an invitation to consider the fact that this side of that ‘ideal’ which perhaps some dream of, there’s much to be won for all peoples in the region
There’s commonality and that’s not only about history. Large sections of the populations in these countries suffer from similarly pernicious structures of domination and exploitation. Climate change is border-insensitive. Identity-politics is not the preserve of a single nation in South Asia, it is a plague at times which holds and pushes back in various forms.
The birth of Sapan
Sapan, the Southasia Peace Action Network was launched at an online meeting of over 80 activists across Southasia and the diaspora in March 2021. The Founding Charter has since been endorsed by over 50 organisations and many more individuals. If your name isn't on the list, please go to https://southasiapeace.com/founding-charter, and endorse it. We need your help to take this further.
Sapan News is a syndicated features service launched in August 2021. We aim to produce reliable, nuanced, non-partisan journalism that covers and connects Southasia, the Indian Ocean, and the diaspora, with academics, activists, journalists, policymakers, the younger generation and the public. We provide incisive critiques and features that amplify the narrative of peace, dialogue, and regionalism.
Our pieces have been published in around 30 media outlets worldwide, mostly in Southasia, besides Australia and the US. We need to reach more and will appreciate any connections to make this happen.
We are trying to build something that is in the public interest, preparing the ground, seeding the soil for a future breakthrough. Every drop counts. This is something worth doing.
How you can help:
Visit the websites SapanNews.com and to SouthAsiaPeace.com (both built by Sapan volunteer Aekta Kapoor, founder editor of eshe.in). Enter your email to receive Sapan News reports and updates in your inbox.
Follow Sapan on social media - @southasiapeace and @sapannews on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.
Write or make video reports for Sapan News. See writer guidelines here. Email editorial@sapannews.com to submit a pitch.
We need to raise $12,000 by year-end. Please chip in and/or ask friends to help. No amount is too big or too small. More about this and my Media Transformation Challenge fellowship at the Poynter Institute, at this note online.
Everything I've done seems to be coming together in this venture, including my research into the 1950s student movement led by my late father Dr M. Sarwar when he was in medical college. He was in prison when he got his degree. From his work, I learnt about the importance of a developing a minimum common agenda, coalition building, and documentation, plus context, process, and taking the long view. Here’s a link to my documentary about the movement.
Together we are stronger.
Look forward to your feedback, ideas, and involvement.
Ciao for now
beena