Kira (Thailand): Put some more shoes on the fire

So much has happened since last post, I don't even know where to start. I feel like I've been changed so much by what I've done and seen, but I'll never be able to convey the significance of all of it, and I'll just come off sounding somewhat cliche. I guess I'll try anyway...

We (well, half the group) just got back from two nights spent with the community next to the landfill. Almost all of the adults in the community make a living by scavenging through the trash that the garbage trucks drop off. They look for certain kinds of plastic and glass bottles, plastic bags, cardboard, cans and other things. They then sort the materials and sell them to a middle-man (usually ethnic Chinese) who sells them at a much higher price to the recycling center. The people in the landfill community have been making less and less money in recent years due partially to the increase in the number of city and truck scavengers, and partially due to the increase in recycling. When people recycle bottles and cans themselves, the scavengers do not get a chance to earn any money. It is strange to think of a negative side to recycling.

The community we stayed with was warm and generous, despite the fact that they have very little (they earn an average of 104 baht, or $3.50, per person per day. Minimum wage in the formal sector is 152 baht, and these scavengers actually made 700-800 baht per person per day 10 years ago). They also seemed genuinely happy much of the time. Actually, they were pretty much the happiest-seeming group of people I've ever come across...

The kids in this community were adorable. They all love playing together, and with us, and they LOVE having their pictures taken. I started calling one little girl "monkey" (in English) and she would repeat it. She also took my camera at one point and she and her friends shot a whole bunch of pictures of each other and us.

But anyway... this morning my host dad took me out scavenging (we went out yesterday morning too). My little host brother (around 5 years old) came too, and he was cold. So his dad made him a fire out of shoes from the landfill. Whenever he would complain, my host dad would just add more shoes to the fire. The smoke was black and probably full of toxins that would be illegal in the US, but the little boy was warm and happy, which I guess is what matters in the short-run. And part of me wished that I could take him home and buy him new clothes and make him wear a bicycle helmet and a seatbelt, and teach him to speak and read English, and send him to "good" schools and soccer practice, because that is how I have been conditioned to want to treat children. But I can't really do that, and even if I could, would he really be better off without the support of his community?

The parents in the community want their kids to get educated and leave so that they can have better lives. One woman told us about how her son stopped going to school in 9th grade without telling her. She was very disappointed because she wanted him to have everything she didn't have. But other villagers actually had kids who were getting educations and leaving. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have or need scavengers, and there wouldn't be anyone who needed to scavenge to make a living.

But for now, these scavengers are focusing on earning a living and petitioning the government for things like cleaner drinking water. Actually, CIEE students have helped them begin to create a network with other groups of scavengers. They've also established an emergency fund and a microcredit project called the piggy bank project. Families can get a pig for free and give back two piglets. They feed the pigs with food they find in the landfill. According the the leader of the community, it was the association with CIEE students that made them realize they had rights in the first place, and CIEE students have helped plan and implement all of these projects. I hope that I'll be able to contribute as much as my predecessors have...

On other topics: Before this homestay, we went to a Buddhist funeral. It was the funeral of our driver's mother-in-law. The Buddhist approach to death is very much different from the western approach. Basically, Buddhists view death as a natural part of life, and so it is not necessary to be sad. Before the body was cremated, we all went up to put paper flowers on the coffin, and then we were given handkerchiefs and lip glosses and... favors? I'm not sure what that was about. When the body was sent into the crematorium, fireworks went off and small candies and coins were thrown into the crowd. Little children (and some grandmas) ran for the treats. Apparently, this gives good merit to the deceased... it was sort of like a pinata. Very different view of death.

Before that, we all went on surprise homestays with people of Khon Kaen. We had no idea where each of us was going until we got there. I went to stay with a traditional Thai herbal doctor! It was fun. I got to make herbal remedies with the doctor's wife. I also got to sleep in the examining room, which was good because there were no lizards in there (there was a HUGE one on the wall of the waiting room).

I feel like this entry is hopelessly long...
I Love and miss you guys.