T is a thin stately gentlemen living in one of the wooden shacks towards the rear and further away from the creek's toilet. He says this area has been here for 48 years. The government leaves them alone and they leave the government alone now.
He is hoping for foreign help, for "Kerala builds only for the navy." He points to the row of pink apartments and then to a barbed wire strung low to the ground. "Government owns."
Rashid has been here many times. He keeps a canister on his TV and everyday he adds a 10 or 20 rupie note. "I don't have much, but I give." Rashid, T, everyone is looking for an answer. T tells me of Rebecca who is honchoing more toilets, Sarah who is working with the Germans, Lydia from GVI. The issues are many from funding, to taking on responsibility, to follow through, to getting the land perked and septic tanks built, and working with the government without dealing with the politics or bribes or confiscation issues. This is a horrendous situation. And it is our first glimpse into what we will probably witness time and again during the next few months.
He is hoping for foreign help, for "Kerala builds only for the navy." He points to the row of pink apartments and then to a barbed wire strung low to the ground. "Government owns."
Rashid has been here many times. He keeps a canister on his TV and everyday he adds a 10 or 20 rupie note. "I don't have much, but I give." Rashid, T, everyone is looking for an answer. T tells me of Rebecca who is honchoing more toilets, Sarah who is working with the Germans, Lydia from GVI. The issues are many from funding, to taking on responsibility, to follow through, to getting the land perked and septic tanks built, and working with the government without dealing with the politics or bribes or confiscation issues. This is a horrendous situation. And it is our first glimpse into what we will probably witness time and again during the next few months.
(Additional photos will be added soon)
But it's not just in India. While we sit here overlooking a tree lined mountain near the tea plantations in Munnar, we speak of the slums in LA, SF, Mexico DF, Oaxaca, Rio, Nairobi, Quito. It's a worldwide situation. People left the countryside and farming and smaller community tribes decades ago looking for a better way of life, and milllions haven't found it. We go to these slums not to punish ourselves but to remember the human condition upfront. Unobstructive responsibility and follow through are in the back of our minds. Personally, it's been over a year now since we have been part of a wide thinking community. It's time.
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