Who are the green curtains hiding from the G20 leaders?

Brut India

These Indians were covered from sight, corralled inside, and told to not come out during the G20 summit.

Transcript

00:00Behind this green veil, where posters of G-20 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi hung,

00:06is a place where residents say that they've been hidden away from the world.

00:11They think we're insects.

00:13There's suffocation. We can't even breathe because of this.

00:17It's our duty to contribute to the country.

00:22The government has covered our shoes so that they can hide us.

00:26This is Coolie Camp.

00:29It's a slum in the heart of South Delhi's Vasant Vihar,

00:32just a stone's throw away from luxury hotels like Vasant Continental.

00:36About 10 days before the capital hosted the G-20 summit,

00:40wooden scaffoldings went up around the slum, and it was covered by green sheets.

00:45The people who are coming from abroad,

00:48should understand that this is Delhi's capital.

00:53We're here because of G-20.

00:56We'll show you the main road.

00:59We won't show you the condition of the people inside.

01:03Away from the scaffolding, as we went deeper into the slum,

01:07the residents there had another story to tell.

01:11We're not animals. We're humans.

01:14We need things, but we can't find anything here.

01:18If we go for a few things, they'll say we live on the road.

01:23If we go for a few things, they'll say we live on the road.

01:26If we go for a few things, they'll say we live on the road.

01:30We're not humans.

01:32We have a small job.

01:34We should be able to live in a house.

01:37If this is happening in your country,

01:39we should be able to live in a house.

01:41Why did you cover it up?

01:43We'll find out later.

01:46The majority of the people living inside this green cocoon were daily wagers

01:50who needed to venture out to find work.

01:52How will you go to the market?

01:54He's a daily wager. He earns Rs. 500 a day.

01:57All the labourers go to work from here.

02:00They're the ones who are harassed.

02:03We're going for a job.

02:05If we don't, we'll sit on the road.

02:08You can't go for a job?

02:10No.

02:11For those who lived within these narrow lanes,

02:14this had been home for generations.

02:17But now, they said they couldn't breathe.

02:21Ever since we installed this,

02:23there's been suffocation.

02:25We can't even breathe.

02:27That's why there's so much suffocation.

02:29It's suffocating.

02:31It's suffocating.

02:33It's suffocating from all sides.

02:35Ever since we installed this,

02:37there's no cleaning.

02:39There are insects coming out of the drains.

02:41We don't even look inside the lanes

02:43to see how the cleaners are doing.

02:45If you want to buy things, you can go outside.

02:48We've already bought things.

02:50You have?

02:51Yes.

02:52For a week?

02:53Yes.

02:54We have lentils and vegetables.

02:56This wasn't the first time these people

02:58had been hidden from the world.

03:00We installed it once more.

03:02When?

03:03It's been 15-16 years.

03:05When it was sold,

03:07which one was it?

03:09At that time, we installed 70.

03:1170.

03:12The iron ones.

03:14These green curtains were a part

03:16of the central government's beautification project

03:18in Delhi ahead of the G20 summit

03:20on 9th and 10th September.

03:22They refurbished roads,

03:24constructed underpasses

03:26and commissioned murals on the streets.

03:28The coolie camp fell on the travel route

03:30of the G20 leaders

03:32and now found itself hidden away.

03:34But not everyone was upset about this.

03:36For some people,

03:38whose livelihoods were also run from the coolie camp,

03:40it felt like national duty

03:42to shut shop for three days.

03:44It is our duty

03:46to contribute to the country.

03:48So what will you do?

03:50We will shut shop for three days.

03:52We will stay clean in Delhi.

03:54Delhi will be clean.

03:56People who come from outside

03:58will say,

04:00Delhi is clean.

04:02No problem.

04:04We don't have any problem.

04:06The government has covered the coolies

04:08so that they can hide us.

04:14For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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