In the third of the four part series Altaf Shaikh's thoughts on some of the important issues. Interview by Charu Bahri of IndianMuslims.info

Part III

On Fundraising

Fund-raising for child endeavors is very easy. However, funding for 16-18 year olds is a different ball game altogether. Such efforts are questioned and doubted. We too, were asked to change the name of our project such that it would use the word “children� not “youth.� Since we were unwilling to do so, fund-raising became all the more difficult. In truth, we were paving the way for a change of mindset. I believe we were the first organization that received a UNICEF donation for a youth camp. For us, this represented a major breakthrough.

prejudice because of religion

Interacting with local agencies such as the police and certain government departments that require one to be fluent in Marathi, which I am not, is difficult. You’re usually totally rundown and made to feel like an outsider. However, my worst humiliation followed an invitation for an Earth Symposium in Vancouver in May 2004. My visa was rejected for no reason, inspite of all the documents being accurate. On inquiry, I realized that every Muslim participant, whether from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran or Africa, had been refused a visa. The person we had communicated with for the conference spoke to the concerned Canadian minister, as it appeared that all our visas had been purposely refused. He replied saying the problem was within each country, not at the level of the department of external affairs. Evidently, he was not truthful. The lady wrote a few articles highlighting the problem and these fortunately made their way to leading newspapers causing a furor and eventually leading to the visas being issued.

I however, had additional trauma in store for myself when I landed in Toronto. My visa was not stamped. Instead, I was issued a letter which simply stated my entry in the country. Apparently, the authorities did not want my passport to reflect my entry to Canada. To add insult to injury, I was grilled at the airport in the presence of armed guards. The fact that I was born in Sudan made the grilling more intense. Consequently, I missed my flight to Vancouver. However, I finally made it to the symposium and put the questioning behind me to enjoy the experience.

Acceptance of Saathi by Hindus and Muslims

Saathi has always been well and easily accepted, in both Hindu and Muslim dominated areas. In Muslim pockets, language is sometimes a barrier, such as when implementing literacy programs. But we surmount this by providing an Urdu language teacher to help our team.

Muslims in the Indian mainstream

Self-belief and dependency would go a long way towards achieving this aim. I often hear Muslims voicing their expectations, saying “Government ne nahi kiya.� If instead of expecting they do things for themselves, they’d automatically integrate better. It’s important not to wait for things to happen, but make them happen yourself. I also feel certain Muslim religious leaders encourage this attitude. They’d do better not to mislead Indian Muslims and instead encourage them towards a proactive role.

For more on Saathi, stay tuned for part IV, A Closer Look At Saathi’s Endeavors