June 3rd, 2025
Humanity has become accustomed to everything, even and above all to losing what makes it human – the heart.
With this value, the heart, I went to India 33 years ago and with this I have continued my fight in all these years even if since 2020 the fight has become more and more difficult.
Partly due to objective problems, partly due to growing indifference, we have struggled forward. You must remember the construction of the harbor, the anxiety that they would take our school away, then the little economic support during Covid, even though we have still managed to help the poorest of the poor – I mean that before it was difficult for them, but during and at the end of Covid sustenance became impossible, there is no Caritas there, if you have nothing to survive, it is difficult for other poor people to help you (unlike the tribal people, whom I have had the chance to meet in these last years in Orissa and archetypically have a very important social aid system.)
After all these years, I still have not got used to poverty. I have become strong, stronger, but I have never got used to it and I thank life for this. The indifference that rules more or less everywhere has spared no one, but I must happily say that our school, Plato, is still SAFE.
The teachers and our Lawrency, the cook, with us since 1999, work hard to save children from being devoured by the phone, from falling into the mechanical trap that has invaded the entire world… it’s incredible, but despite the poverty even in groups of 3 – 4 children have a phone, maybe they do nothing else, they can’t afford anything else, but they are on the phone all day. In our school phones are not accepted.
Just as I was writing this letter I received another one from India from my beloved Shaiju, the person in charge of Plato, the first student who came in 1999, who has been working with us as a teacher for years now… even in Italy I tried to talk about this topic with the middle school teachers, I did research, meetings to clarify ideas, but with very little success.
Below you can find Shaiju’s letter.
Namaste mom,
I would like to talk about Vizhinjam and its people, nothing is the same as before. There is Vizhinjam before and Vizhinjam after the coronavirus. You know very well the pre-coronavirus phase, in our village even if very poor there were good people, good families. But after coronavirus everything has got worse and is getting even worse. Most children have started having cell phones, even if they don’t have food, even if they are very poor they have cell phones. Attention to social media has increased to enormous levels. Children have become addicted to phones and social media. Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp have become part of their lives. Children have met the wrong people through these means and they have made mistakes, and they have felt normal and believe they are right, they have thought that adults are wrong.
Children have become involved in drugs, sex, etc. and have not felt guilty for what they have done.
Some children are addicted to games like Pubg and Free Fire. The focus of the game is killing: if the participants want to win the stages they have to kill the opponent and they have different types of weapons for this task. Every day children play this type of games and use weapons (sticks) to hurt anyone they meet as an obstacle. After playing this type of games, children develop the mentality that even in real life, if they meet someone as an obstacle, they do not hesitate to kill or attack them, even if they are close relatives. Lately there have been many cases of murders and beating by adults and teenagers. Also riding a motorbike is the craziest thing that most teenagers do even without a driving license, causing accidents and killing themselves and others. Licenses do not limit children and teenagers and we mourn the losses. We have managed to preserve our school from cell phones, but I also need more help from you mom, in addition to the one you have always given me.
The main topic and news of Vizhinjam now are about these tragedies and the harbour. The inauguration is over and it has started working, shipments are taking place daily. The trade of goods by sea is going well and for the land route, roads and railways are being prepared. Recently, I think it was last Saturday, a ship heading to Kochin carrying containers sank in the sea and the containers ended up drifting in the Arabian Sea. There were reports of some cargoes of dangerous chemicals floating in the sea and there was a warning not to touch them. The workers on board the ship were rescued. Because of this weather, the fishermen were told not to go fishing, then how will they eat?
Please help me mom, I have been with you for 26 years, even when I was little I was taking bad paths many times and you stopped me. Let’s stop this tragedy mom.
Shaiju
This is the reality even if I don’t want to blame the phone, but the use that people make of it.
We are working hard at school to talk about it in depth and from next week two of the girls, the teachers of my granddaughter, who have been traveling to India for years, will organize meetings and video call conferences with Plato India.
The title will be Plato Italia calls Plato India…
We will talk to the children and parents, teachers and fishermen.
We hope to open a breach at least there and to be able to continue to protect the school as we have done so far.
I thank you with all my heart hoping for your support.
Any idea is welcomed.
The Founder
Valeria Viola Padovani