brain chatter

On a daily basis everyone in Calcutta either sees or experiencees poverty on the streets of Calcutta. Usually I walk or ride by, without much thought. Usually I see the adults and children living on the pavement and begging or shining shoes or selling gum and I recognize the unfairness of my position, but I don’t usually give money or do something else that might help in some minimal way. Sometimes I even pull my limbs away from the grabbing hands of children crying “auntie auntie please” and gesturing to their mouths or pulling at my bag. I haven’t figured out how one is supposed to live here and watch everything, and actually care about the larger issues, but choose to do nothing for the individuals other than pack up leftovers from a restaurant. Although, I don’t know how one is supposed to live in New York City and do the same, where the issues may be more obscured from view but still exist in reality and in one’s mind. I don’t think there is AN answer, but I know the answer can’t be what I do- which is virtually nothing or worse than nothing- pulling away. When I am away from the streets and at home or at a coffee shop I sometimes think about the situation, but rarely does it actually upset me. However, for some reason last night, as I sat in a car which stopped at a traffic light it upset me. A boy of 8 or 9 was weaving through the stopped cars selling balloons. For some reason seeing this affected me more than usual. I think it was observing the futility of his efforts- this kid was trying to sell balloons at a traffic light at 9pm. He was probably doing this for his own livelihood, and the livelihoods of his family members. And noone- at least at our traffic light- was buying.

The US and India have many similar problems when it comes to adequately caring for its people and dealing with larger issues of poverty, injustice, and poor social conditions. However, it seems the magnitude of the population in India, combined with things like caste discrimination, distinct gender inequalities, and colonial leftovers make the problems more severe and/or difficult to address effectively. At the same time, the NGO world here is well developed and, in many cases, ahead of its time (at least compared to the U.S.) in thinking about how to solve problems holistically and inclusively. But without any sort of safety net for people, it is impossible for NGOs to help most people.

On the way to a site visit last week, I was talking to my colleague Malika, about how since I've been here I have seen many plastic and glass office buildings being built and old buildings being renovated. I asked what she thought the city would look like in 10 years, and whether she thought the new liberalization of state policies toward outside firms would lead to a pushing out of the poor people in the city. She said that of all the major Indian metros, Calcutta is the last to get a cosmopolitan facelift and the poorest. She said that the poor are already being pushed further and further outside of the city, and she imagines that this will only accelerate with time, as it already has in other metros. Already Calcutta has banned hand pulled rickshaws, although whether the law will actually take effect is another question.

One final note. I went on a site visit last week, in which Malika delivered two trainings on malaria and dreams to teenage girls who live on the train platforms. The training was in Bengali, but the first part of the conversation was translated to me. One 14 year old girl said that she had just gotten married last week. Malika asked her who she married, and the girl said she didn't really know the boy. The boy was 17 and had no family. The three Bengali speaking adults in the room talked quickly and worriedly to each other and the girl. I heard the word "trafficking." They explained to me that when a girl is married so young to a boy she doesn't know, it is often a sign of trafficking- especially if the girl is sent away to meet the husband. [Incidentally, if I remember correctly, trafficking is illegal in India, but prostitution is not.] Malika talked to the girl for some time in Bengali- and the girl answered sheepishly. Apparently the girl was in a love marriage (as opposed to an arranged marriage. It's an Indian word distinction, not my own), and while it might not be a case of trafficking, Malika said she would bet anything that the girl's husband will leave her within a few years. She said that when girls are married so young and to people they don't know, this is a regular occurance. The implications of getting left by a husband are much more severe than they are in the US as a result of stigma, the low position of the daughter-in-law within the household, and the lack of education/skills of many girls, particularly those who are homeless and/or poor.