Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Woman's Day/Indian woman


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As the International woman's day approches on 8th March, my mind thinks about an article written in the webpage of Bangladeshies living outside bangladesh. It is about the Ayahs of victorian england in 1870. The Britishers serving in india used to go on furlough to Britain to spend the summer. As the white memsahibs used to stay in the upper deck of the passenger decks and as the time taken for the journey was unusually long, they needed relaxation without their kids to be on their side. In comes the AYAH mostly recruited from poor of Bengal as Calcutta used to be the capital those days. They used to make a deal that the ayahs will not only look after the kids during the journey but also in England and also they will be paid for their return journey. But Britishers as usual broke their promise and left the ayahs to fend for themselves in victorian england. An uneducated woman in their teen, in alien land without knowldge of english and in biting cold must have been a torture. But these Ayahs SURVIVED and stayed behind in england to open curry shops and even work as ayahs till they got a return journey provider. This seems to be the origin of bengali immigiration to england. what fascinated me is the sheer survival of these woman in 1870.
Now i see the same sheer grit of indian woman who is sent to Africa in the first all woman battalion of the UN peace keepeers.
I also see the same grit and survival instinct in the woman of india who run Auto rikshaws in the dusty chaotic traffic of some of our metors and looking after their families and drunken husbands.
But as our western educated media talk about Indira Nooyi ,sunitha williams and biocons Shaw, i hope they will also cover the auto rikshaw drivers if not the AYAHS of 1870 victorian
england!!!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Schizophrenia/handling a relapse/ A schizophernic's advice

The following advice from a sufferer is very useful in giving insight into the relapse of schizophrenia .

wrote:Hi, this is Tiffany again. I just got a new cat. Her name is Dusty, and I took her in, because my mom couldn't keep her. She is SO beautiful. It's unreal. I'll have a picture of her up soon.Her eyes are the prettiest blue I've ever seen. Currently, she's adjusting to her new home, so she's hiding behind the couch. That's the way cats are, I guess.

HANDLING A CRISIS:/RELAPSE: BEING PREPARED:1.) HAVE A DISCUSSION entailing what might happen during the crisis so everyone knows what to expect.2.) KEEP A JOURNAL so that you can keep track of recurring patterns in behavior, so you'll know what to expect.3.) MAKE A PLAN of action with the neighbors to make sure that children, pets, and other individuals can get out of the house to someplace safe when the episode occurs.4.) BE READY TO CALL FOR HELP - this means keeping a charged cell-phone, or some other means of communication, along with a list of important phone numbers.B: TAKE ACTION:1.) GET EMERGENCY MEDICAL HELP as soon as possible. The person having the episode could be a danger to themselves and the people around them.2.) CALL YOUR DOCTOR, therapist, or mental health center immediately. If those aren't options, call 911.3.) STAY CALM4.) ELIMINATE DISTRACTION (such as TV, radio, and shutting windows if outside is noisy)5.) ASK THE PERSON TO SIT DOWN. Don't crowd them. Just ask them calmly ("Let's sit down and talk.") Take a seat also.6.) HAVE ONLY ONE PERSON IN THE ROOM7.) AVOID CONTINUOUS EYE CONTACT AND DON'T TOUCH. On a personal note, I remember earlier in my life that, when I was having an episode, anyone touching me made me extremely stand-off-sh. Didn't like making eye-contact because it made me nervous and upset. It felt like I was being invaded somehow. In my opinion,this is one of the most important factors.8.) SPEAK SLOWLY, calmly, and in a normal voice. In my experience with this disease, nothing would work better than my mom talking tome. Although I still felt scared, when she talked to me like that,it let me know that everything was going to be alright, and that this wouldn't last for long. Also, in my opinion, it helps if the person handling the crisis has a very strong bond with the person having the episode.9.) REASSURE THE INDIVIDUAL and REALLY listen. If anything that person needs at that moment, it's to know that no one is going to hurt them, and everything is going to be okay. It's also important to listen to their fears and what they have to say, even if it sounds ridiculous. Out of every "crazy" thing that might come out of their mouth, it's important to note that some of those things might carry a bit of truth to them, or a connection to a reasonable fear, situation, etc. I know this because I've been there, and,believe me, there's a reason why they think the way they do.10.) TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS NEEDED in spite of what's being said. While the person might be scared and want something, that something isn't always healthy. Just as a kid who's allergic to certain foods might want one as a tasty treat, a schizophrenic might want something that may not be healthy for them, and may be base doff of pure delusion.11.) DON'T USE PATRONIZING OR AUTHORITATIVE STATEMENTS. DO NOT CRITICIZE OR THREATEN. This is one that I cannot stress enough.It's not going to help the person having the episode if they become more scare or angry. In fact, it will make things worse. Try to avoid doing that sort of thing. I remember when things like that were done to me. I would become scared, and sometimes, even violent, BECAUSE I was scared. Not a smart thing to do.12.) REPEAT IF NECESSARY and use the same words. If the person isn't paying attention, it might be because the voices are getting in the way.13.) KNOW that the person may not be able to be reasoned with. When was having an episode, I often became scared and nothing would make any sense. I would think that everyone was against me.14.) DON'T BLOCK THE DOOR!!! This is also another one that I'm stressing. My mom did that once so that I wouldn't go out and hurt myself. It only made me feeling like I was trapped and that the people inside with me wanted to hurt me, like I was in a cage and Couldn't get out, even though my mom was only trying to keep me safe.***

Friday, February 09, 2007

FIRST WOMAN PEACE keepers/They are Indians!


Is not every indian should be proud of our all woman battalion peacekeepers.When the nations print and electronic media is full of stories about how sanjay gandhi is getting his bail,aishwarya/abishek getting their sins cleansed,Samuels talking to a bookie,out of work shilpa shetty arranged sparring with out work british model, THIS WONDERFUL ACHIEVMENT OF OUR WOMAN POLICE OFFICERS should make every indian proud of them.




All-Female UN Peacekeeping Unit Prepares to Begin Duties in Liberia
By Kari Barber Dakar07 February 2007
The first all-female United Nations peacekeeping unit sent on a foreign mission will soon begin duties in Liberia. The unit of more than 100 Indian police officers, which arrived last month, is receiving training and say they are eager to begin work. U.N. officials say they hope an all-female unit can inspire and help Liberian women. Kari Barber has more from our West Africa Bureau in Dakar.
The all-female peacekeeping contingent is preparing guns and equipment for exercises.
Commander Seema Dhundia with her contingent of UN peacekeepers in LiberiaCommander Seema Dhundia says she is feeling pressure from the international attention her unit has drawn.
"Getting so much attention is definitely making me a bit apprehensive because now we have to exert more to prove our worth, to prove ourselves," she said.
Dhundia has been a peacekeeper for 19 years. She says she and her team are well-experienced after serving in tense regions of central India and Kashmir.
"Most of my girls are quite experienced," she said. "They were deployed in these areas and they have already put in considerable years of service. They are experienced, they are trained and I think they will be able to handle this situation."
Dhundia says expectations are steep for how effective the all women's unit will be in Liberia, a country still reeling from recent civil war.
"The biggest challenge is to rise to the expectations of the U.N. authorities as well as my own home-country people," she said.
The first all-female unit of UN peacekeepers arrives in Liberia
She says morale is high among the the women as they eagerly wait for their orders.
"I am still to get whatever duties are to be assigned to us. We will carry out the orders," she said.
A U.N. spokesman says the role of the all-female unit is not particularly different from that of the Jordanian, Nepalese and Nigerian units that have been working in the country. The armed unit is to specialize in controlling difficult crowd situations.
Hopes have been high that the presence of the all-female contingent will encourage victims of rape - which is rampant in the country - to report the crime and that it will make more women interested in becoming police officers and peacekeepers.