Anoyara Khatun, the feisty 19-year-old from Ajgara village in the Sandeshkhali area of the Sunderbans, is just back from attending the UN Nations Sustainable Development summit in New York, where she met world leaders and was on the same panel with some.
She was at the summit, held between September 25-27, as the sole youth representative from India. All 193 countries of the world had sent a youth representative.
Anoyara, who herself had been trafficked to New Delhi from her village but was rescued, writes a diary of her New York days. She was accompanied by Susmita Guha, an activist from the NGO Save the Children, which organised the visit of 19 youth delegates from different countries. Guha was Anoyara's interpreter at the event. Anoyara recounts her UN days.
Day 1 (Sept. 21): The Save the Children team met Caleb Otto, an official from Palau (a tiny country in Oceania). He told us that education is compulsory and free in Palau till 18. I asked him what happened later. The state also sponsors higher education, but the one who gets it has to either work in Palau or return the amount spent on her, so that the scheme can continue.
Day 2: I am part of a panel, with Sohaila from Tanzania, on the UN global strategy journalist briefing. Two of the other panellists are Bill and Melinda Gates. A journalist asks me if indigenous practices are a help or a hindrance to my work. I say a practice like sending daughters from our village homes away to work to other cities, apparently for domestic work, was something that stood in our way. But the trend is going down now.
Bill Gates said that in perhaps 10 years India will make enough progress not to be regarded as a developing country.
Later the Save the Children team is asked how it would prioritise the 17 goals of sustainable development that the summit would adopt later. For me the top priorities are poverty and gender inequality eradication. I am also discovering that I do not much like American food: no spice, no salt. I only like pizza. I am collecting salt sachets.
Day 3: We visit the UN headquarters to rehearse inside the General Assembly for the real event on September 25. The 193 youth delegates are told that when Malala (Yousafzai, the child activist who received the peace Nobel) arrived, we shouldn't rush towards her. That there were video cameras all around; we shouldn't fall asleep - it wouldn't be good for our country. Everything, not only seating, is meticulously planned.
Day 4: We meet the president of UN General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and Marta Santos Pais, special representative of the UN for Violence Against Children and rehearse again. We are asked to be at the UN building at 5am the next day.
Day 5: It's dawn and we are running to reach the UN building by 5am. Once in, we are given a lovely breakfast. Towards the end, Malala joins us and asks us to take back home the message from the summit.
We take our seats. With us the youth delegates in the audience are also the leaders of the 193 nations. Pope Francis speaks to us in Spanish and his speech is later explained to us. Taking our cue from Malala on the stage, we stand up and switch on the solar lamps that had been given to each youth delegate. It is our light.
Shakira sings. UN secretary-general Ban ki-Moon speaks.
Later in the day I meet Indian additional secretary in the health and family welfare ministry C.K. Mishra and an official Amit Narang.
Day 6: We visit the EU commission office.
Day 7: UK Prime Minister David Cameron meets us. I speak at the UNICEF media hub on gender inequality. I strongly feel that girl children are not given a chance: taken away from school, married off at an early age, which leads to early motherhood. All these make girls vulnerable.
Day 8: My work is over. I visit the Statue of Liberty. I buy perfumes and watches! And I also taste a pretzel! But I had been on a city tour before and seen the Central Park. A bit confused which day!
I remember how we all communicated without knowing each other's language. I am back and thinking how I will use all that I saw and learnt and felt at home.
