Punjab farmers suicides come alive on screen in US….Amrita Chaudhry
The farmers suicides of Lehragaga in Sangrur district found a voice in the US when the short film Toxic Tears was screened at the Global Wake-Up festival during last week of October in Chicago.
The film, made by political scientist Tom Dieters and activist Hilbert Kamphuisen, was an entry from the Netherlands at the festival of film, literature and creative arts.
Lehragaga is one of the worst-hit areas in Malwa belt of Punjab, which has witnessed farmers suicides after the failure of cotton crop in early 200 due to American ball worm attack.
Near six years ago, Dieters had come to Punjab to carry out research on farmers suicides, especially in Lehragaga area.
I was inspired by a book called Staying Alive written by activist Vandana Shiva. The thesis basically showed how the global agricultural system is affecting small farmers. So, it dealt with the Green Revolution and globalisation and using the case study of farmers suicides in Punjab, to show how farmers are affected by policies made by people who have no real experience of farming on the ground level, he said.
During my stay here, I had made the documentary Toxic Tears, about these farmers suicides, Dieters, who held various shows of this film in Punjab last year including the Punjab Agricultural University, said.
Last year, Dieters toured Punjab with Toxic Tears and tried to create a group of farmers who had opted for organic farming.
I am trying to raise awareness through the film and especially in schools of villages of Lehragaga area and other places in Punjab. Childrens minds are more flexible than adults and I try to engage the students to think about the chemical agriculture systemm, debt issues and also try and tell them the importance of moving away from this negative spiral and look for positive solutions. I feel organic farming is a far better way of farming. It is a more holistic way of thinking, promoting biodiversity, focus on quality rather then quantity, health, community etc, he said.
We also try to find organic or natural farmers in the area and make a map. Collecting data through interviews, addresses and phone numbers. We are finding some inspired individuals in different villages who have a inner motivation to change. Many of them have only in the past two to three years converted some of their land to organic farming, Dieters said.
Many farmers also have vegetable patches but they make a mental distinction between this and the rest of their economic productive landcash crops. For me, this separation is only a mental construct and for me all of the land, trees, water, structures, animals, beings, humans are all integral part of being a farmer. Instead of working against nature we should work with nature, becoming co-creators instead of destroyers, he added.
Global Wake-Up Festival is organised by the United Nations Association-USA Greater Chicago Chapter in support of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.