“Namaste” from Pune!
November 18, 2025: Correspondence from the Culture and Public Relations Team: Namaste can mean ‘hello’ or “goodbye.” The word essentially means “I bow to you.” The 3rd International Automotive Workers' Conference in India will open the day after tomorrow! Since Saturday, more than 20 people from two guest countries have already arrived to help with the preparations on site. Our Indian colleagues have already done a lot of important work here.
House of Trae union Shramik Ekta Mahasangh (SEM)
The Indians are very hospitable. Some participants had problems with their hotel upon arrival. We worked very well with our colleagues from the Indian union SEM. They are extremely committed to our well-being.
Pune is a modern city. However, people also report problems such as fine dust and noise. We live in a slightly better area, but have not seen any other tourists yet. We are asked nicely “foreigners?” and people are very interested in talking to us. The working-class neighborhoods are 5-6 km away. We have a mild climate here with temperatures of 28°C.
Our young colleagues were also able to exchange ideas today. The youth secretary of the SEM reported that he himself works for a two wheeler manufacturer. He plans to attend the conference for two days.
The teams have started their work under the leadership of the Multilateral Organizing Staff (MAS). However, we are also aware of the political situation we find ourselves in. A few days ago, there were fascist attacks against the Communist Party of India (Marxist). We are outraged by the visa refusal against Gabi Fechtner and the bureaucratic hurdles for participants from Congo and Tunisia. Today, at 4:30 p.m. local time in Pune, we learned that we have succeeded in obtaining visas for the delegation from Congo! This is an important success! With the participants from Congo, official representatives of the International Miners' Conference will also be able to attend.
With this in mind, “Namaste” from Pune. We look forward to the arrival of more participants and the start of the conference on Thursday.
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