“If you see an animal in trouble don’t keep quiet” – this is the motto of a small non-profit called Animals Matter to Me. I ended up visiting this non-profit, tucked away in the suburbs of Mumbai in December 2013. Every year my family donates to a different cause and this year we decided to support stray dogs – a pervasive part of the city. There are two sides of the issue. On one side there are people who want to get rid of these ‘nuisances’ (imagine men and women biking to work in the early hours who are continuously chased and attacked by seemingly rabid dogs). And on the other side there are animal activists who want to save these dogs from being tortured and dying. AMTM is one of a few non-profits focusing on rescuing dogs (and other animals) and providing services like vaccinations, with the intention to make the streets of Mumbai ‘safer’.
This was the issue I wanted to ‘activate’ initially. But a story told to me by the cofounder of AMTM resonated even more – it’s the common story of extortion. Most non-profit workers often have thankless jobs, and any publicity of their work and the cause they serve is welcome. However, in this case (and many more I’m sure), publicity from a famous Indian actor ended up threatening the lives of these cofounders. Upon news of the actor’s support and assuming a hefty donation was made, several political gangs (or parties) harassed the non-profit for money. It took several months before the harassment stopped, and thankfully no one was injured in the process. This is shocking yet unsurprising given the prevalence of corruption in the country. It saddens me that such selfish acts hinder the positive societal change that can be made, and it certainly does not make the streets of Mumbai safer. Extortion is a much more dangerous encounter than stray dogs, I’d say. Yet it is encouraging to see that social workers still persevere despite such roadblocks.