[afro-nets] In preparation of People's Health Assembly II - part 29 (2)

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

In preparation of People's Health Assembly II - part 29 (2)
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From: Debabar Banerji

Dear Dr Werner

Your writings and actions in taking the side of the oppressed of
the world have been a source of inspiration and strength to nu-
merous workers who are involved in similar work. This work is in
line with that trend. It is good that you start by showing 'con-
cern' at the present state of affairs. It is heartening that you
have underlined the enormous power of the vested interests,
which use weapons of misinformation and disinformation to per-
petuate their grip over those who live on the other side of the
moon. You rightly point out that this is a long grinding (and
thankless) task

These bring to my mind your 'fortuitous' visit to Bolivia in the
midst of a massive protest and struggle of the oppressed. Such
experiences of struggle have additive effect on the pool of the
efforts of the oppressed to break the stranglehold of the op-
pressors. I will include the movement of liberation theology,
Paulo Ferrier's Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Ivan Illich's
Deschooling Society in that category. I have a vague memory of
the series of books written by Maxim Gorky dealt with similar
issues. Here, in India, we have rich material on experiments on
education by our greatest poet, Rabindranath Tagore. He refused
to get shacked by the conventional school education and went on
later to set up qualitatively different schools for the indige-
nous people and followed it up by setting up a 'different type
of university' called Vishva Bhariti. Gandhi and others involved
in the anti-colonial struggle also had experimented with school
education.

As the freedom movement gave way to a new political setting, as
you have pointed out, the new ruling class almost consciously
ignored the big task of providing 'proper' education to the
poor. When they were impelled to do so, they packed it with tons
of misinformation and disinformation. While I am not familiar
with the ideological moorings of the counter movement, we have
been having Naxalistic/Maoist movements by the oppressed people
in the forest belts resided by ethnic groups since the 1970s. It
is estimated that this group has 'infected' almost one third of
the total area of the country. You might have read about similar
movements in Nepal, which has spread its activities over three-
fourths of its population.

I remember your insightful analysis of the fate of the Alma Ata
Declaration. This enables us to study the nature of the PHM.
there are those in PHM who work at the grassroots, 'where there
is no doctor'. At the same time there are many in PHM who tend
to defend the indefensible. The latter group pay only lip ser-
vice to the People's Health Charter. I hope the PHM takes a more
coherent for when it meets in Ecuador later this year. Unfortu-
nately, as in the case of the Dhaka Conference, I will not be
attending this conference.

Sincerely yours,

D Bannerji
Professor Emeritus, JNU
New Delhi