First the home of ten year old Oscar-winning film star from Slumdog Millionaire, was ordered out of his home early in the morning, by a bamboo stick wielding policeman.
Moments later the area was bulldozed by the authorities, destroying dozens of other shanties, in the Mumbai slum, without any prior notice.
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, who lost his pet kittens and a family hen in the chaos, said, “I was frightened”. Reports say that Ahazar was smacked by a policeman with a bamboo stick before ordering him out.
Azhar rides through the rubble in a fancy black and red helmet, on a shiny new bike, a fan from Britain had given him. Azhar’s parents say the filmmakers have budgeted $30,000 to get them a new apartment, but is it not enough in Mumbai’s pricey real estate market.
An official with the city’s Bombay Municipal Corporation, said, “The latest razing was part of a pre-monsoon demolition drive.” He was not aware the Slumdog Millionaire star lived in one of the shanties. The authorities claim the families were squatting on land that was owned by the government.
Less than a week later the home of Rubina, the other child star of Slumdog Millionaire, also suffered the same fate. Dozens of police with bamboo batons and guns patrolled the area to be demolished. Policemen beat Rubina’s father for 15inutes shortly before the demolitian began. He had to go to hospital for treatement. Rubina’s pregnant stepmother found no shade in the scorching summer sun.
A railway official said the shanties swept away because they were in the way of a planned pedestrian overpass.
Many of the owners of the destroyed shanties have already taken out a 20%-a-month interest loan to put up what little they had. The authorities claim the families were squatting on land that was owned by the government. Azhur’s mother has lived in the shanty town for fifteen years and as such should have been given some kind of home to live in.
The film Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars and has earned $326 million in box office receipts, but it has done little to improve the lot of one of its major stars. Azhar’s life in the ‘city of the poor’, has changed little. Producer Christian Colson says they have donated $474,500 to a charity to help slum kids in Mumbai.
Question: What became of the two 20,000 pound homes that were promised to the two child stars of the eight Oscar winning film, by Director Boyle and Producer Christian Colson?
The officials of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority also said they wanted to give the children a new flat each.
Azharuddin and Rubina attend Aseema, a non-profit English language school for underprivileged children, where most of the pupils need substantial help to cope with even the most basic life skills.
Less than a week after the destruction of Azharuddin’s shack, Rubina Querish’s slum shanty was also destroyed by bamboo bamboo wielding policemen. Dozens of policemen patrolled the area as the shanties were torn down, by crews with sledge hammeres and steel bars. This time it was to make way for an overhead pedestrian walkway, according to a railway spokesman.
Rubina’s father had go to hospital for treatement to minor injuries, after being beaten by the policemen. Her pregnant stepmother tried to find shelter from the searing summer sun.
It would appear the two child stars had great difficulty settling back into slum life, after five days of glitz and glamour in Los Angeles. Rubina says “I don’t want to sleep on the floor anymore. I want a proper bed and live where the air does not smell of poo. I have seen what it is like in America. Here, there is garbage everywhere, people get angry, swear and shout. I have realized how bad life is here. I just want to get out.”
Dinaz Stafford, a clinical psychologist who who helped direct 22 street kids in the 1988 Oscar-nominated film says: “You cannot help disadvantaged children by making a film or giving them vast quantities of money. They’ll just spend it. The money is a nightmare. It throws them off.”
Nelson Mandell said the only way to make long term changes is through education.
You can help educate a child from a third world country, by participating in Win A Resort. You can really make a difference!
