Christmas among Tamil Nadu's most marginalised communities
The Thurumbar, a caste providing laundry services who are discriminated even by Dalits, can send their children to study at the Life Empowerment Center in Acharapakkam. Thanks to the latter’s foundress Juliyes, who grew up among this marginalised group, solidarity is also extended to the Irula, an equally poor tribal community.
Chennai (AsiaNews) – In Acharapakkam, the Thurumbar are the last of the last. Their name, which refers to their work as washers, was given to the dhobis in Tamil Nadu, a scheduled caste whose members perform laundry services for the Dalits, once known as untouchables.
In India’s rigid caste system, the Thurumbar are the “unseeable”, discriminated even by Dalits (whether Hindu and Christian), who often inflict upon them the discrimination they themselves still endure.
Yet, the light of Christmas also shines for the Thurumbar in Acharapakkam, and is so bright that it extends to the Irula, a scheduled tribe equally poor and marginalised by society.
In this town, located in the Diocese of Chengalput, the miracle of solidarity is made possible by the Life Empowerment Center (LEC), a place where, on weekends, Thurumbar children gather to study, learn English, and acquire general knowledge.
Mrs Juliyes, who hails from this same community, is the driving force behind the LEC. She was born into a Catholic dhobi family; her parents washed clothes for Dalit families.
As is often the case for the Thurumbar, in a social system marked by violence and exclusion, they often received no wages but were paid with scraps of food for their work: in addition to washing clothes, their tasks include hairdressing and performing other occasional work at births and deaths in Dalit communities.
As a child, Juliyes accompanied her mother at night to beg for food and help her wash clothes in the village pond. Today, the LEC serves students, youth, and families from 25 villages, offering education, counselling, and economic development programmes.
Juliyes is unmarried, lives with her mother, and has adopted a child. She runs the place with the help of friends, welcoming not only Thurumbar students, but also Dalits and ethnic Irula.
The Irula own neither homes nor land and shelter under tarpaulin. They hunt permitted animals and rats in the fields. Most of their children do not continue their education beyond Grade 8.
In this corner of Tamil Nadu, Juliyes shares the Christmas spirit by distributing gifts to tribal families living near the town of Acharapakkam.
Rice, saris, blankets, children's clothes, and food parcels were handed out to 25 families living in extreme poverty.
Several individual donors and Christian institutions are helping Juliyes run the LEC: Father Benjamin Chinnappan, the Heralds of Good News, the Sisters of Cluny, the Marian Shrine of Acharapakkam. Some of the town’s merchants and restaurateurs contribute by donating money or providing goods at greatly reduced prices so that the poor can benefit, including the Irula.
Juliyes has decided to help the latter so that they can experience the joy of Christmas and understand its meaning.
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