Brothels Plaintiff

Following are some moments from the Defense Direct Examination and how the Plaintiff’s responded in their Cross Examination. 

1. Sargent Shriver: “We (The Peace Corps) dont ask to go in specific countries, they must ask us first”

Taylor Galla responds: “Zana was not asked to enter Sonagachi, so wouldnt you agree that this directly opposes the protocal of the Peace Core?”

2. Salil Shetty: “Their (the children in in Sonagachi) basic human right to get an education was denied by their circumstance. It was not okay”

Taylor Galla responds: “In one of your organizations, Amnesty International, one of the two key rights that you fight for is the right of life and right to be left alone, isn’t this correct? Isn’t it true that the “right for life” was taken away when the children were sent to boarding schools leaving their parens with no one to support them?”

3. Ambassador Susan Rice: “United States defines human rights as what people need to live a happy life”

Isn’t a “happy life” subjective? As heard from both Puja and her mother, they are leading a happy life on the path that Zana Briski undoubtedly bashed and deemed “grim”?

Taylor Galla confidently responds “The better path is indisputable”

4. Danny Boyle: (director and filmmaker of Slumdog Millionaire, speaking to the two young children that he employed from an Indian slum) “We wanted to improve their lives, not take them out of their orignial lives”

Taylor Galla questions: “Wouldn’t you say that giving their parents giving little information about the allegid trust fund, not paying the children as much as they deserved for their hard work, and abandoning them in worse condition than they started out is not an improvement?”

Please take a moment to read some of these powerful quotes recorded during the Plaintiff’s Direct Examination. 

Mohandas Gandhi: “Only bad can happen from interveining in another’s culture, children should not be taken away from their families and inherited culture”

Avijit’s Mother: “Briski violated my choices as Avijit’s mother. I did not appreciate the negative tones in the film.”

Pope Benedict XVI: “‘Honor thy father & honor thy mother’ Briski should not have disrupted this; it’s one of the greatest sins to break this bond”

Martha Sears: “Zana Briski’s actions led to the distruction of a family’s physical, sacred bond”

E.M. Forester: “It is wrong when the foreigner is unaware of the countries values and morals and impresses their own beliefs on the country”

Cornell West: “I believe that in order to understand, Briski must have been a part of Sonagachi’s culture.”

James Nachtwey: “One must have the complete trust of ones subjects. The role of a photogournalist is to bring awareness to a situation, not to intervene”

“One must remember to keep their emotional opinions out of their work, Briski failed to do so.”

Indira Gandhi: “I have witnessed India through its complete transition to who she is today. I can say that foreign influence has done her no good whatsoever.” 

“She had noble intentions, wanting to improve the childrens lives, but she went about it in the wrong way, causing more damage than good.”

Partha Banerjee: (surprise witness) “I think Briski shedded a negative light on what was going on in the brothels. There are many workers and activists who work tirelessly, working to create a better society in Sonagachi. Briski omitted this from the film.”

Rakhi Mukherjee: “We are better off in our current situation. Prostitution is something that is embedded in Calcutta’s culture. I am aware that there are a lot of negative connotations surrounding prostitution amongst other cultures, yet in Sonagachi the job is not look upon in the same way.”

Preeti “Puja” Mukherjee: “What I have come to realize is that the pictures she asked me to take were extremely personal and candid accounts of my family. In further thought I was far too young to understand the implications of displaying my family’s hardships.”

“I realize that she had good intentions but didnt explain to me what the implications of my actions would be, she never told me the implications of leaving my family. We followed her blindly.”

Well done witnesses!

“I think that Ms. Briski was shedding a light on the society in the brothels that was not accurate…There are many workers and activists who work tirelessly, working to create a better society in Sonagachi. We have created a financial institution to create sex-education centers, health clinics, financial institutions. All of these things were omitted from the film, making Briski seem as if she were the only hero.”

“I belive that  in order to understand, Briski must be a part of Sonagachi culture”

–Cornell West