Spoken Word: "I am in Everyone, Everyone is in Me"
Reimagining Justice in Tomorrow's World
Editor’s Note: This Spoken Word poetry was created by six members of the 2021 cohort of Agamishaala. A special Shaala that ran online as the Second Wave of the pandemic engulfed us all, it is the group’s response to how they thought of reimagining our justice system. One that is empathetic and aims to heal. It was shared in the closing circle of Shaala that year.
These powerful words bring to life a world visible and invisible from each of their vantage points:
Swapnil Shukla, from Zenith Society for Socio-Legal Empowerment
Shabani Hassanwalia, from Third Eye
Avanti Durani, from Artha Global
Jhanavi Jayanth, working at the intersection of mental health, social justice and education
Swagata Raha, from Enfold Proactive Health Trust
Shivani Singh, working on building digital security solutions
They brought promises of hope, they came with inspiration
We stayed where we were - is this our fate?
Do I cease to be a child because I have done the unspeakable?
Do I have to bear the cross of justice and send my father to the gallows?
Do I not have the right to love because I am not an adult?
I am a protector, but who protects me?
I am responsible, but do I act responsibly?
As I support others, who supports me?
As I build networks, where is mine?
I am unheard by you, and you are unheard by me
Does my reality threaten yours?
I am so much more than the labels you have slapped on me,
I cannot be reduced to the worst thing I have done or experienced,
I am who I am because of those unlike me,
I am defined by the contours of differences between you and me,
I am in everyone, everyone is in me.
So, what is the point of “othering”?
Is there anyone who has never hurt or harmed?
How can I be humane if there is no humanity for me?
Who has the final say, to govern all lives,
I am in everyone, everyone is in me.
Let’s listen and bear witness
Put our ears on the ground and soak the wisdom around us,
Invert the knowledge flow,
Investigate the ‘I’,
Build evidence around what works and doesn’t,
Hold space for difficult conversations,
Be empathetic and inclusive,
Be willing to unlearn,
Show up no matter how hard it gets,
Speak up, especially when silence is the norm.
The Justice system must understand those it is meant for,
It is time to bring the ‘margins’ to the centre,
To share the mic,
To harness the wisdom that already exists,
To create a space to learn from within and without,
To be conscious of our own power and privilege,
To break down barriers and challenge prejudices,
To build unlikely communities, discover unlikely leaders,
To bring different injustices and realities to the fore,
To question the power that doesn’t empower,
To turn the structures inside out,
It is time to reimagine justice beyond the binaries of right and wrong.
In tomorrow’s world,
Structures will not freeze like ice,
But respond and flow like water.
Identities will be respected,
Not targeted.
Power will be exercised “with”,
And not “over”.
Justice will grow beyond fairness.
In tomorrow’s world,
Justice will blend with healing.