What is a War Crime? Who is the victim and who is the victimizer? Where do we draw the line?
I came across this video on CollateralMurder.com. It shows the indiscriminate killing of two Reuters journalists in an unprovoked trigger happy frenzy of US soldiers in Baghdad. The wounded included two kids. The soldiers shot at what they thought were terrorists carrying guns. As it happens, they couldn’t tell the difference between an AK47 and a camera. They then shot at a van that tried to rescue a wounded journalist.
They cheered the shots. Whooped. Joked about how a Bradley tank had driven over a body. Shrugged off the news that kids had been shot at. Then there was a cover up. Reuters demanded the video footage and they couldn’t get it. Wikileaks.com let it out. Brace up. And think.
I’m not sure if I want to take sides. I have family in the armed forces in India. I get to hear their part of the story. My friends in Kashmir have shared their bit. Philip Zimbardo in the Lucifer Effect writes about what makes people evil. What makes a perfectly ordinary person commit crimes and then go back home and sleep it off.
It’s the operating system of the world we exist in that is flawed. It’s the apparatus of the human mind that is corruptible. We are the plague on the planet. And we hate each other. If only we could have an exodus of current ethical standards and if only empathy was more important than oil or bombs or water, we would probably stand a chance of getting better. We as a race our unwell. Empathy is the cure. That’s where it all begins.
Every ideological system has a seed of good intentions behind it. And I mean “every” system without exception. Then we start to think about it. And more people think about it. They discuss it. Meanings get lost in linguistics, signs are muddled in semiotics. We make it human. Then shit hits the fan. I guess that’s how it is every time.
I might be stirring the hornet’s nest here. So be it.
Late last year standing outside my office in Mumbai, surrounded by a posse of alms seekers, and feeling no empathy for them (we are pretty immune in India), I had a couple of quick thoughts.
Every human being should serve a purpose if she or he is willing and physically / mentally able
Over population can also be read as an opportunity to tap massive human resources (credit for this reasoning goes to Amit Varma of India Uncut)
Energy resources are depleting
What can we do with this posse of alms seekers?
BANG!
Get them to generate power!
How?
Rig up a power station with treadmills and get the homeless / under privileged but otherwise healthy adults to run on them for 2-4 hours a day and create electricity to power Mumbai.
Offer incentives like proper housing, schooling for kids, medical treatment and overall rehabilitation. Let them earn their living as the so called privileged class does.
Mumbai had 300,000 estimated beggars in 2006. If every person generates 100W, think of the energy potential. I’m no mathematician but I’ll be damned if that doesn’t light up a bulb.
However, the idea has gone through a few iterations. As it turns out, treadmills are rather power hungry with 1500W needed to run them. Using exercise bikes or bicycles are a more feasible solution.
Also, there are a few raised eyebrows. Is this in some way akin to slavery or perhaps is it a human rights violation? Perhaps not. If rehabilitation is thought out intelligently, and with more empathy than I can muster, this might just prove beneficial to the underprivileged. There is a give and take involved. A man who no one would hire (socialite aunties can snub their noses now) pedals 4 hours a day and the state offers him a better standard of living. Employment opportunities are created and energy requirements have a rather large finite range. Everybody gets a job, albeit a temporary one till the person can stand on his own two feet and hopefully not too wobbly from all that exercise.
This doesn’t end here. Communities can set up their own energy camps. With the proper state sponsored rig, small societies can power their own homes and offices.
Out of the way, stuck in the wilderness villages, forgotten or ignored people, can power their own region with this rig. Schools can be powered up. That light bulb that lets the child study after sun down can be powered up. Think about it.
So what are the questions still pending?
Well… one biggie is of the human condition. How does one motivate a beggar to accept this opportunity? Rationally, if she’s able, there is no reason why she shouldn’t. But then, rationality isn’t really our strength.
Also, how can the bicycle rig be designed to be cost effective? Think of it from a third world perspective. We have so many engineers, if you know anyone who might have an idea, please ask them to get in touch. I really do want to play around with this thought. The target to be generated is 100W or more with 2-4 hours of pedaling.
Finally, will the local government be open to this? What are the barriers it can put up? Let’s discuss this point. Seriously.
Frankly, human generated energy is not a new idea. Nor is using bicycles for that matter.
Village schools in Africa are powered by 45 minutes of play on a see saw.
A merry go round enables village women to draw water from a well.
A gym powers its air conditioners with the use of treadmills.
Dancers in a nightclub help generate enough power to keep it running all night long.
The solutions are everywhere. They are fun. And they are human. Need some more inspiration? Check out this post from GreenDiary.com.
Have an opinion? Share it with me and the rest of the readers. Hate this idea? Let’s slug it out. Love this idea? Let’s work on it.
A quirky little film with a big message. Spread the word. Embrace the cause. And as for your chewing gum… Just Bin It.
The chewing gum industry is worth 250m pounds and the cost of cleaning the gum from the streets is 150m pounds. You do the math. How many hospitals can you build with 150m pounds? How many schools? How many homes? This is our take on Changing the World with a Fiver- an MA Design Studies class project at Central St Martins, that culminated in a funny little film.
We had five pounds to try and change the world. How would you use five rupees, or dollars or dinars?
Check out WeAreWhatWeDo.org for some nifty ideas on how to change the world with well… a fiver. They even have a nice little book that you can buy from Amazon.
I might be stirring the hornet’s nest here. So be it. 
A quirky little film with a big message. Spread the word. Embrace the cause. And as for your chewing gum… Just Bin It. 
