Yesterday, Antoine, my son, who lives in a penthouse apartment in the heart of downtown, while "skyping" with him went out on his balcony and had us see a view of downtown Miami!! The sky was just perfect! Blue with just a few beautiful white clouds! First major case of nostalgia followed! So to feel better, we had Pizza Hut dinner! It helped at first, but then came another major case, this time, of guilty conscience!! To show "Le bonheur parfait n'est pas de ce monde!"
Today educational movie after morning assembly. It was about the kids or Slumdogs of India. The movie was there again. But this time Bollywood was not involved. It was the real thing. Heart wrenching! The strange thing is as they tell their stories, as you see them going over these piles of garbage, looking for what?! they seem matter of fact. Their smile is genuine. They hug each other, they push each other around to have their beautiful faces in the camera, they play around, you really feel not for the camera's sake but because that's what kids do. Did I see this in their eyes so I can feel better and go about my business as usual?! I don't know folk, but these kids were genuine. They were just telling their story not to make us feel pity for them, just to tell it. "I wake up at 3 AM to get to the garbage dump early." "This water is contaminated, so we don't drink it, we just wash in it." :-/ We're talking sewage water, folks! we're talking young kids, starting at it seems 5 years old. One had a wish to become a policeman. They said they had to bribe the garbage controller sometimes so they would be allowed to go through the garbage. What are they looking for? My question is still out there! The bag they collected looked to me to hold just garbage! The poverty issue is one that I will never come to grip with. I know it is not an India problem, it is a world problem. I am very familiar with it in Haiti. But somehow because the population is so great here, it seems to be multiplied a hundredfold!! To solve it would require an amount of good will on the part of humankind that we don't have yet. An hour after watching the movie was tea time, the kids went about their usual business of taking their pastry, some eating half of it and throwing it away. I tasted the cookie, didn't like it and left it. Would they be interested in bettering their situation? I am not asking the question right. What I mean is, do they feel the injustice? Is there a solution? Again that missing goodwill!
Everyone I have asked here what they had thought of "Slumdog Millionaire" said it was exagerated, not reallity at all. Well, from what I saw today, it was too soft if anything! The garbage dump. Looking for what?! The "benefactor" position, we saw at Khajuraho. All these young kids calling you to "their" store, with all the tricks - if it is not a missing eye, it was a broken leg, a missing hand, or another aproach, knowing a couple of sentences in any language to catch your attention. Then making sure the owner knew who had sent you there. The fierceness in their approach. It was all there. But just like in the movie, the impression that they are not calling for your sympathy, they are just telling their story. Remember the brother at his final moment?... "God is good."
I like India.
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Bello, it is so sad what you say but written with such humanity. I feel the pain of it all because it is so much more real when you recount it. Yet, it somehow remains somewhat unreal. Because, if it were not so we could not live with our own selves. The human spirit shatters in the face of it all and we feel so much helplessness because this misery is so vast. It hits us in the face sometimes as it does YOU because YOU are not so far away AND TELL IT SO PROFOUNDLY. Humankind is a cross between the hopeful, the greedy, the hateful and the Loving. Someday, as Our Lord has said, it shall all be redeemed in his name. Live, love, laugh, and do the best we can in our path, according to our level of spirituality; some of us have a long way to go yet and others are more ready but let's remember as they do and as we say in our country GOD IS GOOD! I am not sure I have made any sense here but if not, I'll just cry. I just came from Bobby Philippeau's son's wake, and feel greatly saddened. Take care, much love. Miss you!
ReplyDeleteI miss you too. So much to talk about when I get back. You made perfect sense to me, Danie. As much sense as this whole matter can make! love to you and your two camarades!! :-)
ReplyDeleteIsabelle - I didn't log in for a week and I feel I've missed so much! Your blog is fantastic - There's a spirituality you describe about the place and people that is tangible! I am also shocked to hear about the poverty as India is considered the largest democracy (in terms of people) and yet it fares no better than Haiti!
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