I was at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) for the last three days. It was an amazing experience and it was great to meet so many indigenous people, not only from India and from all over the world. I will try to blog my experience here in many small posts.
On the first day, as soon as I entered the main UN premises, I was struck by the number of indigenous people there. This sounds funny because of course the permanent forum on Indigenous Issues was going on, so it logically follows that they would be present there - but to actually see people, my own people, from all over the world, gathered together in one place, so that we can discuss our own issues was just phenomenal. The feeling of unity and belonging and that I am not alone was simply overwhelming. The line was long and all the people in the line were talking to each other in whatever languages they could manage. Most everybody was dressed in their traditional clothes. Right from the beginning their was an environment of exchange and dialogue.
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