IT SOUNDS LIKE A FAIRY TALE, BUT IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE
- I am going to India! This is what Bente Haulund Madsen told family and friends. The 57-year old woman was until now not known for being bold and adventurous or travelling alone to far and distant places. Something dragged Bente to Mijwan, a village in North India with only 560 inhabitants. Mijwan is the birthplace of Late Kaifi Azmi, a well-known Urdu poet and the father of Bollywood movie star Ms. Shabana Azmi.
Bente went to Mumbai in the spring of 2013. First she wrote to Shabana Azmi, and told her that she would be coming. Then the famous actress helped Bente plan parts of her trip in India. The Azmi name works as magic in India. All doors were open for Bente.
Bente’s brush with Mijwan and Shabana started at the time when she was not able to walk and therefore spent much of her time watching movies. Among them were some classics from Bollywood. She noticed a particularly excellent actress. When she googled her name, the first hit was Mijwan Welfare Society, an organization which supported a village. The actress was Shabana Azmi, and the village was Mijwan in North India.
Mijwan Welfare Society was founded by Shabana’s father in order to initiate welfare and development programmes in his native place. The actress, who is regarded as one of India’s finest actresses, is deeply committed and engaged in women’s issues, education and the battle against poverty. Shabana Azmi’s name is also strongly connected to Mijwan Welfare Society. Via Internet, Bente was able to find a lot of information, both regarding the actress and about her struggle for the weakest sections of the Indian society.
In Mijwan Bente lived in a guesthouse for almost two months, experiencing the struggle of living in an Indian village and also getting first-hand experience of the development projects being carried out by the Mijwan Welfare Society. She saw how girls are married off much too early and how they turned into obedient wives and mothers. There was a girls’ school, a computer center and a centre for embroidery. However, Bente saw the potential for her supporting the organisation. She realized that so much work needed to be done, in order to give the girls a better life. While she was at MWS's girl's college she got the idea of starting Denmark-Mijwan Friendship Association.
Bente decided to devote her life for supporting the village. Two months later, at home in Beder, south of Aarhus, Denmark, she invited family, friends and neighbors. She wanted to start an association. The only objective of this association was to support Mijwan with friendship, cooperation, funds and dissemination of knowledge about Mijwan in Denmark. Now the organization is real, and the work has begun.
Then, what does Shabana Azmi think about the Danish Friendship association?
I consider it an honor and a privilege to be a Patron of the Denmark-Mijwan Friendship Association. This is a unique attempt to connect global citizens who live in strikingly different milieus. Mijwan is a tiny village in Azamgarh UP and its inhabitants will benefit greatly by their exposure to Denmark. On the other hand it is also an opportunity for Denmark to learn about people who live in disparate conditions and yet manage to retain their dignity and selfhood. I congratulate Bente Haulund Madsen for her initiative because it is in connecting people that we find the road to Peace.
DET LYDER SOM ET EVENTYR, MEN DET ER DEN RENE VIRKELIGHED.
- Jeg skal til Indien! Sådan sagde Bente Haulund Madsen til familie og venner. Den 57-årige kvinde var ellers ikke kendt, som en der dumdristigt og eventyrlystent rejste rundt alene til fjerne himmelstrøg. Der var noget, som trak Bente til Mijwan. Den lille fattige landsby med kun 560 indbyggere. Mijwan er Kaifi Azmis fødested. Han er en berømt digter og far til Bollywood filmstjernen Shabana Azmi.
Og Bente rejste til Mumbai i foråret 2013. Først skrev hun til den indiske filmstjerne Shabana Azmi og fortalte, at hun kom. Siden hjalp den berømte skuespiller med at planlægge dele af Bentes tur i Indien for hende. Azmi-navnet virker som magi i Indien. Alle døre åbnede sig for Bente.
Bente Haulund Madsen var i en periode ikke særlig mobil, og derfor så hun mange film. Deriblandt også nogle klassiske film fra Bollywood. Hun bemærkede en særlig strålende skuespiller. Da hun googlede navnet, var første hit en organisation, der støttede en landsby. Skuespilleren var Shabana Azmi, og landsbyen var Mijwan i Nordindien. Shabana Azmis fars fødeby.
Mijwan Welfare Society blev skabt af Shabana Azmis far for år tilbage for at kunne skabe fremgang og udvikling i fødebyen. Skuespilleren, som anses for at være en af Indiens fineste skuespillere¬¬ er dybt engageret i kvinders vilkår, uddannelse og bekæmpelsen af fattigdom. Shabana Azmis navn er stærkt forbundet med organisationen Mijwan Welfare Society. Via internettet fandt Bente Haulund Madsen masser af oplysninger både om skuespilleren og om hendes kamp for de svage i det indiske samfund.
I Mijwan boede Bente i en gæstebolig i næsten to måneder. Her så hun med sine egne øjne, hvor hårdt livet kan være i én af Indiens tusinder af landsbyer. Hun så, hvordan piger blev gift alt for tidligt, og hvordan de blev til lydige hustruer og mødre. Men Bente så også, at Mijwan Welfare Society var godt i gang med at skabe udvikling i den lille landsby. Her var der en skole for piger, et computer-center og et broderi-center. Bente så også et stort potentiale for at kunne støtte op om landsbyen. Hun så hvor meget, der manglede at blive gjort for, at pigerne kunne få et bedre liv. Mens hun opholdt sig på MWS pigeskole fik hun den ide at starte en Venskabsforening mellem Danmark og Mijwan.
Derfor besluttede Bente sig for at vie sit liv til at støtte denne landsby. To måneder senere, hjemme i Beder syd for Århus igen, indkaldte Bente familie, naboer og venner. Nu skulle der stiftes en forening, der som eneste formål havde at støtte landsbyen Mijwan med venskab, samarbejde, midler og formidling af viden om Mijwan i Danmark. Nu er foreningen en realitet, og arbejdet kan starte.
Og hvad mener Shabhana Azmi så om den danske venskabsforening?
– Jeg anser det som en ære og et privilegium at være protektor for Venskabsforeningen Danmark – Mijwan. Det er et unikt forsøg på at oprette forbindelse mellem globale borgere, som bor i markant forskellige miljøer. Mijwan er en lille landsby i Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh og indbyggerne her vil få store fordele af at blive kendte i Danmark. På den anden side er det også en mulighed for danskere at lære om mennesker, som bor under meget forskellige vilkår. Alligevel formår de at bevare deres værdighed og deres selvopfattelse. Jeg takker Bente Haulund Madsen for hendes initiativ, fordi når man forbinder mennesker, finder vi vejen til fred.
