Recently someone left a comment on one of my blog entries asking what are we doing here. I sometimes get this question from family members and friends and I must admit that at times I find myself asking that same question. Life here is often frustrating, like when it is minus twenty degrees, or when I can’t get the things I need, like children’s Benadryl, or more commonly when I am confronted with situations that I cannot make sense of. The
The thing is, this wasn’t the first time. A fire destroyed the school in 95. The village doesn’t have a fire department, in the 95 fire they had a tanker but it was frozen because the public works building that was supposed to house it had never been finished. This time the truck wouldn’t start, although it is unclear why. However, even if a village has a fire department or a working truck, they still cannot adequately fight a fire because there is no adequate water supply. I find myself mulling over the fact that these are not acceptable conditions for a place where people live, but it is not an irregular situation in the region in which I live.
These issues are complicated, and unfortunately the results are sometimes devastating. Racism, social inequality, and cultural misunderstanding are so prevalent here. So I guess what we are doing here is trying to learn about these things, trying to understand how all of this happened, is happening.
– Megan
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1 comment:
Dear Megan,
It seems to me that you are helping as well as learning. Both of your jobs are about service to the people of the Delta. And I think Jamie will be prepared to recognize and resist "racism, social inequality and cultural misunderstanding" in a powerful way because of the experiences he is having.
But it must be hard. The post-fire picture breaks my heart. I know you are having to deal with a lot of things even sadder. I admire you.
Molly
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