Born Into BrotHELL

Our great political science teacher Dr. Afroz Alam, showed us a documentary film, which was named as "BORN INTO BROTHEL

To bestow an overview or outline of the documentary, which have different dimension is very intricate. Still I want to share...a fraction of what I have grasped.

Every fiendish incident is going on before those sinless, innocent and naïve eyes. But nobody cares, even their father or mother. People drunk and came to their houses, they shout and swear. Those women over there also incite the little children.

There is a brief introduction of those children and their character in a different way by Puja. After the introduction there is a glance over their work. Those little arms and legs have to work day and night. Nobody is there to say ‘no.’ ‘come up its enough.’ Instead of that these words, the people want the highest level of work to be done, in return of the money which is paid to them.

At this moment the foreign lady ‘Zana,’ who had a crucial role to play throughout the show, came into their life. She came there and takes photographs of the people, though it was very difficult in those red light areas because everyone is terrified and don’t want to come before the camera. So she stay with them, lived with them and understand them from very close. She understands the life of those children and tries to bring them out of the life, which they were living. Lastly she was able to convince those children, on whose words the entire show speaks, on whose smile the show laughs, on whose tears the show cries. People of those locality suspect the lady, from where she came, what is her intension, which things make her come here, this, that and many nonsense.

But however there comes a turn in the life of those children. She taught them the skill of taking and editing photos. She wants to look this world in their eyes.

After that the foreign lady taught them how to take and edit photos, they took photos. She sent them to the boarding school although she is harassed by the people. She made an exhibition of their photos; publish their photos in the news paper etc. Avijit who was among those children also be able to go to the WORLD PRESS PHOTO exhibition. Lastly he returned to Calcutta and chose to enter the Future Hope School. Kochi chose to stay at ‘Sabera Foundation’ and others left. Their life is once again thrown into that dark region, where it is even prohibited to dream for the same. May anyone come once again like Zana Aunty and their life once again…

IMPLIED MESSAGE

I used to have a conception in my mind, ‘they are, what they are today because of themselves’. They don’t want to be free from that. But no I was completely wrong. What can’t poverty do? The documentary has opened my eyes. Really who don’t want a blissful life? All my wrong perception went away from the very beginning of the show. A bulb is lightening and all the insects’ desires to be with that light. Similarly the human and those children nobody wants poverty.

I think the message in the documentary ‘born into brothel’ is education. The situation in the brothel is so, due to the uneducated bulk of population over there. By education we do not mean only learning A for apple or difference between classical and contempory ideologies, but an intelligence elevated by honour, purified by sympathy and stimulated by a sense of duty to the community. Education makes people responsive and responsible. It develops the quality of value judgment in the life.

Secondly the message was that the world only recognises the natural talent. So in the case of Avijit. ‘I want to take their photos, who has gone away, died or been lost and have something that I will be able to look at for the rest of my life.’ All the children were taking photos. But why only Avijit was selected not others. I draw pictures because I want to express what is on my mind. I want to put my thoughts into colours.-Avijit.

Thirdly, the message was towards the State. Social workers may come and go but the condition of the people will remain the same, until and unless the State interferes.

After showing the same my teacher had a question for us.

Are the children subject to real Victimhood?

By hearing the very term ‘brothel’, there is some sort of negative reaction in the mind of so called ‘civilized society’ including myself. There was soot in my mind that the environment is bad, the persons are bad, and the children are bad and so on. But after watching the documentary the first question came to my mind, why those children? Who were not asked before they born, who suffers without any wrongs and who embarrassed the identity, not having the alternative of other.

Before giving the statement that the children born into brothel are the real subject of victimhood, I would like to discuss on the point that what is victimhood? Victimhood involves the belief that being a victim renders a person or group powerless, a mere object, lacking in agency and thus the capacity to exert independent action. (John Hoffman) Who is a victim? Victim is s/he who suffers physical/emotional/ rational harm in/directly either by means of violence or misfortune. Are not these children born into brothel, suffering from this kind of harms? Nobody can deny.

Victimhood arises when victims cannot understand why violence has been exerted against them, or why they are in difficult and sometimes degrading circumstances. (J.H) Similar circumstance is seen in the part of the children in the documentary of ‘Born into Brothel’. As I have told just before why they suffers without any wrong, why the people screech at them. There is no answer to their question why they are poor? Why his/her father drinks and beat his/her mother and them? Why they are forced to go in this line? Why their fathers sell them? Why they are neglected from the rest of the world? and many more violence which has been exerted against them.

Victimhood involves a belief that the violence exerted against an individual or group or the suffering they experience, is tragically unavoidable. (J.H) The thing which I could able to point out is that there is the Culture of poverty. (Oscar Lewis coined this concept in1959) in the brothel. Children of the brothel have a strong sense of marginality, helplessness, dependence, and inferiority. Poverty originates from experience growing up in such an environment of poverty. They have the belief that this violence or poverty can’t be avoided. It was and is with them and will remain with them also for the times to come.

Victimhood paralyses agency in that it promotes a belief that the victims are powerless to resist their oppressor in meaningful and realistic ways, or act in ways that might alleviate, if not eradicate, their symptoms. (J.H) The children have the belief that they can’t resist their oppressor. They have to work for their obstinate stomach.

Poverty is the perennial characteristics of the brothel. Due to poverty they are being sold for money. ‘To live miserable, to have the dread of hunger, and to work hard yet get nothing’(R N Mohanty) is the hard reality which can’t be denied after having a look on this show.

From the words of Avijit it is very much cleared, my mother used to say to me, ‘I will go to London…’ But we are poor, so I can’t. Is not this the tone of victimhood? Yes, what I think they are the subject of real victimhood.

MY MESSAGE (hope it will reach to the children)

IT IS NOT A SIN TO BORN IN A POOR FAMILY, BUT IT IS SIN TO DIE IN A POOR FAMILY. My dear friends struggle, till you die. Remember LIFE IS A STRUGGLE NOT THE BED OF ROSES.