The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Distraught family of DSK accuser look to God Posted: 24 May 2011 08:47 AM PDT  Guinea home village a world away from the financial centres and luxury suite of the Times Square Sofitel. — Reuters pic "I heard the news on the radio and honestly I do not know what happened," the man, called Mamoudou, told Reuters at a village in the Labe region of Guinea, a hard day's drive north of the capital Conakry. "I want to speak to my sister." Mamoudou, whose family name and home village are withheld to protect the identity of the alleged assault victim, said he had not heard from his younger sister for several years. But he had no doubt that she was the 32-year-old Guinean widow who filed the complaint in New York. Her name has appeared in local media. In the community of devout Muslims, religion provides solace for those with troubles far away, and for poverty at home. A hamlet of 20 dwellings lost in the rural depths of this impoverished West African country, Mamoudou's village is a world away from the luxury suite of the Times Square Sofitel where the now former chief of the International Monetary Fund and French presidential contender is accused of trying to rape the maid.  Dominique Strauss-Kahn at his bail hearing in the New York State Supreme Courthouse: Protesting innocence. — Reuters pic "In our family, we are above material things," said Mamoudou, who is aged about 50. "Even if you are a billionaire, we don't care. The most important thing for us is how you follow God's path." Following up on details of his client given by US lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro, Reuters spoke to people in the Guinean expatriate community in New York, and to people in Conakry with roots in the Labe region, to trace Mamoudou and his family. Widow's journey Sitting with his half-brother Aboubacar, he points to a slightly out-of-focus photograph on the living room wall of a young woman in traditional West African dress looking at the camera, with little expression. "After the death of her husband . . . she left the village because none of his brothers was old enough to marry her," Mamoudou said of his sister, referring to common local practice for widows to marry a brother of their late husband. As the eldest of their parents' six children, it fell to Mamoudou to ensure his younger sister was cared for: "That's when I took her to Bambeto to learn to sew," he said. Bambeto is a suburb of the capital, and offered the young widow the chance to learn a trade that could feed her and her child. "(She) never created any problems for this family," Mamoudou said. "She was the quiet one. That's how she was brought up." From Conakry, his sister made her way to the United States some years ago. Her lawyer has said her daughter is now aged 15. Few Guineans have seen much benefit from the country's role as the world's top exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite. Per capita average annual income is US$407 (RM1,240), or just over a dollar day. It was last year before Guinea held its first democratic election after half a century of independence from France that has been marred by coups, corruption and oppressive misrule. Religion loomed large in the family under his father known locally as an Islamic scholar, Mamoudou said. That background, he said, made it hard for them to relate to the world of global finance, luxury hotels and allegations of sexual misconduct in which his sister has found herself embroiled. "We have trouble understanding all this because it is not something we are used to," he said. "If my sister is saying what she is saying, given how she was brought up, I believe her." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Cookies, potato chips, shirts help Indian inmates to new life Posted: 23 May 2011 06:23 PM PDT  An inmate packs rusks at a bakery inside the Tihar Jail complex in New Delhi on May 11, 2011. — Reuters pic Yet efforts by the Tihar Jail complex in New Delhi to transform the lives of its inmates and prepare them for a fresh start through vocational training in diverse fields has created the successful TJ'S brand of goods. Herbal products and school desks are also among the many products being manufactured and sold, well enough that prison authorities have set up a website to boost sales still further. Sanjivan Rai, who is serving a term in Tihar Jail for marijuana trafficking, said the skills he was acquiring would help him find employment outside to earn a living with dignity. "We can start our own business once we get out of here. We can maybe start a small snack-making unit," he told Reuters Television inside a bakery at Tihar Jail, as he took a break from frying potato chips. "Even if we decide to seek work somewhere, whatever we learn here will only help us." Life outside jail is still tough for former inmates, since they have to counter the stigma of having been in prison, which is seen as a place for social outcasts and hardcore criminals. This makes re-integration into society virtually impossible.  Inmates pack cookies at a bakery inside the Tihar Jail complex in New Delhi. — Reuters pic "You are going to buy goods made by prisoners ... He is going to get wages, so in turn you are going to help a family out there. A few thousand people are working in prisons so this way their families are benefited," he said. "They are getting gainful employment, they are passing their time instead of idling around in the jail and they will be learning some kind of a skill and getting out of the jail with some worth(y) living conditions ... It is something which is good for the humanity." "Made in Tihar" products had a turnover of 110 million rupees (RM7.35 million) last year, and this year it is expected to rise to 150 million, Sharma said. Next year's target is an ambitious 230 million, reflecting growing acceptance of the jail brand. At first, the bakery began to help fulfil the jail's massive food demand from its 11,500 inmates, who live in 10 prison blocks. But gradually operations were expanded to keep the inmates busy and channel their energies. Mohammad Sajid, an inmate serving a life sentence, said that his newfound skills would help him once outside. "The advantage of doing all this work here is that once we get outside, we can start earning through honest means and leave the path of crime," he added. Officials say vocational training is just one of the roles being fulfilled by the jail as it strives to play the role of a correctional institution. Inmates are also taught meditation and yoga for their overall growth. Prison authorities said the products were finding favour with buyers because of their good quality and competitive pricing, as profit is not their driving motive. They are currently sold at prison outlets and shops situated in various Delhi courts, but officials plan to make them more widely available through tie-ups with retail stores. "The people who make these products, they get some work and employment, which keeps them busy and benefits them," said Ruby Bagga, a customer at the Tihar shop. "So instead of buying these products from somewhere else, why not buy them from here?" — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan