Auroville is one of the most effective development projects in India

Home > Response to BBC broadcast - Georges Van Vrekhem

Dear Sirs,

I have been a resident of Auroville since 1978. I have been teaching for fourteen years in several Auroville schools to children of many nationalities, a great number of them from the Tamil villages. I am also the author of several books, for which I have been awarded with the Sri Aurobindo Puraskar for 2006 by the Government of West-Bengal.

I am deeply hurt by your report on alleged child-abuse in Auroville. Auroville is not only an international idealistic city-in-the-making, it is also one of the most effective development projects in India . One reason is that we are not involved in it for a short time, but for the further duration of our lives; another reason is that to us all human beings are equal, literally.

That your journalist who put the report on Auroville together had no idea of the background against which she was moving, is one thing. Quite another is that, if qualified, she should at least have been aware of the disgruntled and malicious character of her "witnesses".

But worst of all is the decision of the persons responsible for programming this totally unfounded report, without checking whether or in how far it was justified. As BBC-professionals they must have been aware of the harm muck-raking sensationalism of this kind can cause the targeted people, organisations or communities.

Your slogan is "putting news first". Indeed -- and I should have known better -- this does not mean "putting the truth first".
Georges Van Vrekhem
Auroville
India May 25 th 2008 Home > Response to BBC broadcast - Georges Van Vrekhem