VIOLENT STORM WITH LIMITED DAMAGE

Saturday, October 12, a violent storm hit the east coast of India mainly Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states. It was the most powerful to hit the region since 1999, when more than 10,000 died.

This time the authorities said they were better prepared and less than ten people died. The authorities made massive efforts to force hundreds of thousands to flee and spend the night in makeshift shelters but many were reluctant to leave their homes so the police had to forcefully move them to safe places. Finally about 800,000 people were evacuated. The government said that their efforts appeared to have paid off. The cyclone destroyed many coastal homes, uprooted trees and blocked many roads. There were winds of up to 200 km/h and the water reached three meters deep. Many villages are still surrounded by water. The government said that the evacuation was the biggest in India's history for such an event.

Léa

Violente tempête mais des dégâts limités

 Samedi 12 octobre, une violente tempête a frappé la côte est de l’Inde, principalement les états d’Andhra Pradesh et d’Orissa. C’était la tempête la plus puissante qui ait touché la région depuis 1999 où il y avait alors eu 10.000 morts.

Les autorités étaient mieux préparées et moins d’une dizaine de personnes sont mortes. D’importants efforts ont été faitspour encourager des centaines de milliers de personnes à fuir et passer la nuit dans des refuges de fortune, mais certains d’entre eux étaient réticents à quitter leurs maisons et la police a dû les déplacer de force. Au final, environ 800.000 personnes ont été évacuées. Le gouvernement a déclaré que ses efforts semblent avoir porté leurs fruits.

Le cyclone a détruit de nombreuses maisons côtières, des arbres ont été déracinés et de nombreuses routes ont été bloquées. Il y avait des vents allant jusqu'à 200 km / h et l'eau a atteint trois mètres. De nombreux villages sont encore cernés par les eaux. Le gouvernement a déclaré que cette évacuation a été la plus massive de l'histoire de l'Inde.

Léa

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24510464

http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2013/10/13/cyclone-phailin-en-inde-un-bilan-tres-positif-grace-a-l-evacuation-massive_939103

Camille's portrait

The first time that I saw Camille was the first day at school in Paul Lapie. I met a kind and engaging person. She is dedicated to other people, that is why she is our classroom delegate. She is always smiling and that it’s a part of her charm. We can talk and discuss quietly, so we enjoy spending time with her. She is also calm and open-minded. She loves biology, this is why in the future, she wants to be a researcher. She does horse-riding and she plays the cello.
Léa

House of surrogates

In 2002, India legalized gestational surrogacy and the Akanksha Infertility Clinic - a clinic assisting surrogates opened in northwestern India, at Anand in the Gujarat region.

The director of the clinic is Nayna Patel, a gynaecologist, has established massive business. She has already created a sort of code which specifies that surrogates must already have a child, have the written consent of their husband if they haveone, have to be aged between 21 and 35 and renounce all rights on the baby. The women can be surrogates only two times and the birth of triplets is forbidden.Choosing the gender is impossible. This type of “control” is supposed to avoid excesses like in the USA.
Clients must also respect some conditions: They must be heterosexuals and married for three years.

The clinic is thriving and currently receives more than one hundred surrogates. 700 babies have been born there for10 years and the number of births is increasing rapidly each year. Women come from poor villages around the clinic. Becoming a surrogate is paid 4,000 to 5,000 dollars, which represents twenty years’ salary for a poor couple.

Would-be surrogates can’t leave the clinic for 9 months to avoid any risk for the baby. On arrival two or three embryos are implanted to increase the chances of success. Surrogates meet biologics parents only after the delivery, which are often caesareans. A third of clients are Indians and the remaining two come from the entire world as a surrogate in India costs five to six times less than a surrogate in the USA.

Nayna Patel said that she has a feminist approach and she has a lot of new projects. She said that women come if they want and the money they get may help their family realize their projects.

But on the other hand, back in their villages, women hide their pregnancy because it’s a big taboo.

La maison des mères porteuses

En 2002, l’Inde a légalisé la gestation pour autrui et une clinique d’un genre nouveau a alors ouvert ses portes: l’Akanksha Infertility Clinic est située dans le nord-ouest de l’Inde, à Anand dans la région du Gujarat et est spécialement conçue pour accueillir des mères porteuses.

Pour la directrice de cette clinique, Nayna Patel, gynécologue, les affaires tournent.Elle a d’abord mis en place un code de bonne conduite qui stipule que les mères porteuses doivent déjà avoir au moins un enfant, qu’elles doivent également avoir le consentement écrit de leur époux si elles en ont un, qu’elles doivent avoir plus de 21 ans et moins de 35 et qu’elles renoncent à tout droit sur l’enfant. Les femmes ne peuvent être mères porteuses que deux fois et les naissances de triplés sont interdites. On ne peut pas choisir le sexe de l’enfant.
Le cadre est donc contrôlé et ne peut donner lieu à des dérives comme il en existe aux Etats-Unis par exemple.

Les clients doivent également respecter certaines conditions : ils doivent être hétérosexuels et mariés depuis au moins 3 ans.

La clinique connaît un succès florissant et accueille actuellement plus de 100 mères porteuses. 700 bébés sont nés dans cette clinique depuis dix ans et le nombre augmente de plus en plus chaque année. Elle viennent toutes des villages pauvres aux alentours de la clinique. Louer son ventre pendant 9 mois rapporte de 4.000 à 5.000 dollars, ce qui représente vingt ans de salaire pour un couple pauvre.

Les femmes entrent dans la clinique pour 9 mois, elles n’ont pas le droit de sortir pendant cette période pour éviter tout risque pour le bébé. À leur arrivée on leur implante deux embryons ou plus pour augmenter les chances de réussite. Les femmes ne rencontrent le couple pour lequel elles portent un enfant qu’à l’accouchement qui se déroule généralement par césarienne. Un tiers des clients viennent d’Inde et les autres viennent du monde entier, en effet, une mère porteuse en Inde coûte cinq à six fois moins chère qu’une mère porteuse aux Etats-Unis.

Nayna Patel affirme s’inscrire dans une démarche féministe et a beaucoup de nouveaux projets. Elle dit que les femmes sont libres de venir et que cela leur permet d’aider leur famille et de réaliser leurs projets.

Mais dans les faits, les femmes cachent leur grossesse dans leur village car c’est un vrai tabou.

Camille

Lien : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14138394
           http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/l-enquete-de-l-obs/20131024.OBS2655/meres-porteuses-        bienvenue-dans-l-usine-a-bebes.html

Aurélie's portrait

- Hi Aurélie!

- Hi!

- Thank you for granting me this interview for this big magazine everybody knows.

- My pleasure because I love this big magazine that everybody knows!

- Can you give me some details about your personality?

- Yes of course, I think I am courageous, honest, a good friend, humorous, imagi…

- Wow! I can hope that you are not the most modest girl in the world…

- What does that mean?

- No I just… Forget it. So, I can read on my cards that you like drawing and painting, would you like to be an artist in the future?

- I don’t know… I don’t think I have so much talent.

- Hey, you’re making progress!

- What about?

- Nothing… So, you don’t want to be a painter but do you play an instrument?

- I played the violin a little when I was very young but it wasn’t my passion. Oh, I wanted to tell you that there aren’t my favourite flowers in my lodge so I am stressed out, can you please bring them?

- Ok but what are your favourite flowers?

- Orchids. Please bring them immediately otherwise I will have a fit!

- Yes we will do it (Please bring these stupid flowers! She is uncontrollable!!!). Calm. Think about a happy and relaxing souvenir.

- Ok, I will try … Oh! I know! It was when I was very young, when I went to my grandmother’s house, I used to dance with my grandmother, and it was a very happy and fun moment… I loved to do it in the rainy afternoons; it brings a kind of sun in my heart…

- Aurélie, do you agree if I say that you are a good person and you don’t hesitate to help your friends at any time?

- Yes, I am. And I want to thank you for this… interesting interview!

- Good-bye Aurélie!

- Good-bye!

(This is an invented conversation and should not be taken at face value!)

Camille

Lea's portrait

To me, Léa, you are somebody just exceptional, and I am at loss for words to describe you to someone else, as well as I have known you for about approximately 9 or 8 years, so I will try to describe you through a painting.

I want you to imagine all that I may say, ok?

Well, are you ready?

Imagine you, an attractive girl, in a long white dress, leaning back against a tree. This tree has intermingling branches. Imagine the wind flying through your hair. A light breeze. You are at the top of a cliff. You hear the rocking of the sea, just in front of you, at the bottom of this cliff. There is the sun, with a light purple cloud curtain.

If I had to paint you, I would represent you with your long white dress, because you are pure and whiteness evokes freedom and wisdom. . In the top-right-hand-corner, I would draw the sun with some clouds because you are also stressed a lot. I will draw the rough sea behind you and the branches which represent stress too.

I would place you behind a tree because you are a little bit shy, and the tree can evoke nature (who ignores that you are fond of environment?). And at the bottom, I would draw an ear. It is a good representation because you are a trustworthy girl. The cliff represents power, and freedom, because it is dizzy. I also will draw the seagulls flying because it is as well a sign of freedom.

Now, I am going to talk about the colours that I will use for my painting which is starting to look like something.

If I had to paint you, I would use blue (sky, sea), because it stands for optimism and you are always optimistic.

I will also use green (grass, tree) because you are an ecologist, you love nature and flowers.

My painting will be my favourite and the most beautiful I have ever painted because this is you. I want everybody who sees my painting to say “Oh my god, what a beautiful painting! Just like an artist!!”

That’s how you look to me.

Aurélie

Organs missing

  An eight-year-old girl suddenly died after being injected with an unknown liquid in India. Gurkiren Kaur Loyal is from Birmingham UK. She was in India for her holiday and was admitted in the clinic Khanna for dehydration on 2 April. After she died an autopsy was made in India to returning the body in the United Kingdom. But once in UK the family was told that the cause of death was impossible to determine because of organs missing. Indeed all the organs disappeared except the eyes.
 The family is demanding answers and called for an investigation in India in the hospital.

Opinion

The bodies with missing organs are not uncommon in India, especially with an organ traffic still there. Consequently, Gurkiren Kaur Loyal's family could wait a year before getting the answers they are demanding.

Organes portés disparus

Une jeune fille de 8 ans est décédé soudainement après s'être fait injecté un liquide inconnu en Inde. Gurkiren Kaur Loyal vient de Birmingham RU. Elle était en Inde pour ses vacances et a été admise le 2 avril à la clinique Khanna pour déshydratation. Après son décès, une autopsie fut effectuée en Inde afin de pouvoir rapatrier le corps au Royaume-Uni. Mais une fois rentrer au Royaume-Uni, la famille a été avertie de l'impossibilité de déterminer la cause de la mort du fait d'organes manquants. En effet tous les organes ont disparus sauf les yeux.

  La famille demande des réponses et a appelé à l'ouverture d'une enquête en Inde dans l’hôpital.

Opinion

Les corps ayant des organes manquants ne sont pas rare en Inde, surtout avec un trafic d'organe toujours présent. Ainsi, la famille de Gurkiren Kaur Loyal pourrait attendre encore 1 an avant d'obtenir les réponses qu'ils attendent.

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/14/family-girl-died-india-organs

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/16/parents-plea-india-missing-organs-gurkiren-kaur-loyal

Suspects identified in Mumbai Attacks

  Four witnesses identified people who helped terrorists in the Mumbai Attacks in 2008.
On Saturday 7 April, a witness identified a Pakistani man during proceedings behind close doors at Adiala jail by anti-terrorism court judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman.

The man called Shahid Jamil Riaz is accused of having bought inflatable boats used by terrorists in the assault on India's financial hub in Mumbai in 2008 as well as ten other people who bought 11 boats to go fishing whereas the witness declared during a hearing that they never came back with fish. Two others witnesses told the judge that they also sold another boat and six pumps to the accused and identified 10 other men.

Opinion

The Mumbai Attacks in 2008 caused and unprecedented event. The death penalty, which is hardly ever enforced and that India wanted to abolish, was allowed for the culprits.

For the victims' families and public opinion knowing that the researches continue and that the terrorists will be punished is reassuring.

Attentats de Mumbai: des accusés identifiés

  Quatre témoins ont identifié des personnes ayant aidé les terroristes des attaques de 2008 à Mumbai.

Ce dimanche 7 avril, un témoin a identifié un Pakistanais lors de la procédure à huit clos à la prison Adiala menée par le juge du tribunal anti-terroriste Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rahman.

L'homme s'appelle Shahid Jamil Riaz est accusé d'avoir acheté les bateaux gonflables utilisés par les terroristes lors de l'attaque du centre financier de l'Inde à Mumbai en 2008 comme 10 autres personnes ayant acheté 11 bateaux pour selon eux partir pêcher, le témoin déclarera durant l'audience qu'ils ne sont jamais revenus avec du poisson. Deux autres témoins ont déclaré au juge qu'ils avaient vendu un autre bateau ainsi que 6 pompes aux accusés et ont identifié 10 autres hommes.

Opinion

Les attaques de Mumbai de 2008 ont provoqué un événement exceptionnel. La peine de mort, qui n'est presque jamais appliquée et que l'Inde voulait abolir, a été rétablie pour les coupables.

Pour les familles des victimes et la population, savoir que les recherches avancent et que les coupables vont être condamnés est rassurant.

Sources:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-13/pakistan/38511143_1_mumbai-attcks-hamza-bin-tariq-witness
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/26/11-pakistani-witness-identifies-one-accused_841857.html