Lived experiences of surveillance at the margins during COVID-19 in India
Page 6 Salma *
Nurse and a Muslim woman
“Lockdown was imposed so suddenly that we were in big trouble… We are facing a lot of issues in the area where we live on rent… People do not have essential supplies at home… Some people do not have vegetables, others do not have oil… If someone is unwell then they are not getting medicines. If people tried to go out, there was drone surveillance. People were so fearful that they went back home. Suddenly I got a phone call, “Sister, we are having a baby, labour has begun unexpectedly.” So I had to go stealthily. I am a nurse. It’s my duty to save lives.”
“Our street was so sealed off that people were scared to peep out of their windows. At every step, there were police present, and drones were being flown overhead constantly. From 10 am in the morning till 11 – 12 pm at night. Police were also beating up people using batons and sticks. They beat up a woman, I saw it myself… It’s not written anywhere that I am going for work. That’s why we were afraid. But because of the profession I am in, I cannot ignore my duty. So I took God’s name and left…”
“A drone was keeping an eye on us, the police force was also there dispersing people using batons… It was around 8 pm or so when I got that phone call… So we went to the end of the street, where the blockade was, [the patient’s family members] came till there, moved the barricade a little, just enough so one person could pass through, I crouched and somehow crossed to the other side.”
“I completed the work I went for, and they left me back where they had picked me up from. The drone was constantly flying, it didn’t stop even for a bit… We kept some distance [between each other] while walking. [The phone call] came at night, the street lights were off, so we took advantage of that and walked close to the walls of the houses.”
*Name changed as per request
Translated From Hindi