Jyotsna, mother of one of the 17 girls raped at a Factory School in India
Dear Jack,
We need your help. Will you email India's Minister of Tribal Affairs to protest the brutal schooling system that's destroying indigenous communities?
Right now, one million tribal children in India are being “educated” in Factory Schools – schools that “reprogram” tribal and indigenous children to fit the dominant society.
In these schools they’re taught to feel ashamed of who they are and where they come from. Frightening numbers are subjected to neglect and abuse: almost 1,500 children have died in such schools in the state of Maharashtra alone.
Recently, at least 15 girls were repeatedly drugged and raped in a Factory School in Maharashtra. None of the senior figures at the school have been arrested.
An inquiry found that the residential schooling system for indigenous children in Canada constituted cultural genocide.
But in India, more Factory Schools are being built today, including residential schools where children see their families just once a year.
Tribal and indigenous peoples' education must be under their control. It must be rooted in the people's own land, language and culture, and give children both a sound education and – vitally – pride in themselves and their people.
Please write to the Minister of Tribal Affairs to tell him so.
Thank you for your support, Stephen Corry
Director
If the button doesn't work for you, please write your own email using the details below.
If you have time to adapt the text it'll make even more impact.
I call on you to stop the expansion of residential schooling for tribal children in India. These schools aim to reprogram them to "fit the mainstream" rather than respect their culture and identity.
Please launch an inquiry into the alarming levels of abuse in schools and hostels for tribal children and ensure that all those responsible, including senior officials, are brought to justice.
For the sake of the tribal children of today, and the tribal peoples of tomorrow, please invest instead in local schooling that is respectful of tribal languages, cultures and ways of life and is under the control of the communities concerned, as enshrined in the Constitution.
P.S. Unlike many NGOs, we reject government funding so our integrity is never compromised. We rely entirely on your donations to keep fighting for tribal peoples worldwide. Please donate today. Without you, there can be no Survival.
Survival International USA, PO Box 26345, San Francisco, CA 94126 | A 501(c)(3) organization tax I.D. 26-3208869
Survival International, 6 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7ET, UK | Charity no. 267444
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive updates from Survival International. If you're unhappy with the frequency of our emails you can unsubscribe from this list at any time.
