Hmmm... so I thought that I would feel like writing about Thursday's visit to Bin Qasim town (but upon re-reading this entry, I realize that I have in fact written about it quite a lot -if you're not feeling like reading something 'heavy' for now, skip down towards the end to read tales of Pakistani barbeque instead -don't worry, I understand, it's hard stuff, this slum news)
Harjaga Bache hai Bache, lekhin bohot jaga mein bohot mushkil or masla hai or khushi nahin... I mean, can you blame 'em? You probably wouldn't be happy with challenges and problems like that either!
Right, so Bin Qasim 'town' -a real slum, with lots of little villages in such extreme poverty, where women really suffer a lot of oppression under a strong patriarchy (this is not based on any assumptions, but according to one of the main coordinators at the local Primary Health care Centre (PHC), which itself is the product of an AKU Health & Development branch and Community Based Organization (CBO) partnership... local input = more sustainable, and it has been there for over 11 years now!), where the babies enrolled in our study are benefiting from the food we provide, but constantly getting sick with diarrhea / abdominal infections and respiratory infections... it's no wonder with all those flies (often all over the baby's mouth, in the clothing, in the food and water... it's pretty sad) and animals and very poor hygiene, and all the mothers are addicted to paan (which is various spices and beetlenut mixed into a leaf, and they also add tobacco and heroine and various other drugs, and essentially toxic chemicals, like that sweet red sauce -don't get me wrong, it is possible to also acquire paan that is more or less drug-free, but these people eat the hardcore stuff) and so their teeth are red, and they're so ignorant that they don't even realize that they're addicted to something that's not good for you, so some probably even feed it to their children and it's just such a mess...
But so, I don't really want to talk more about this. I think the photos speak for themselves (and if you're wondering, consent was obtained for the close-up photos of the people in their homes, with their babies -and might I add that the older kids absolutely loved having their pictures taken, they were laughing and excited and smiling and it probably made their day... I was thinking of printing some of those out to give to the families at the next field visit because they don't have any 'family photos' and it might be nice for them to have one in their home -because we need them for a presentation I'm helping out with that one of the supervising doctors is making in Dhaka in August to get funding from the World Bank for another nutrition intervention... of course these photos are not for my personal use and so to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the study and the photos taken for that purpose, there are eyes and half faces, and arms all separated from bodies and mixed up together in that first collage). And well, what can I say -it's like seeing those documentaries you watch on PBS or National Geographic or those give-money-to-our-charity-which-will-feed this-poor-starving-child-with-rickets phone-a-thon things... except it's real in front of you.
I didn't feel badly about my own privileged life -but the strange reality just hits you that really it's all about luck whether you're born into one kind of life or another kind of life, or one part of the world or another part of the world, and the resilience of these people is remarkable. We have so much to learn from them. And as to the disparity, nothing is gained by feeling badly, or sadly or shocked -we just have to do what we can to try and help make things better, right? Still, it's unfortunate and abominable that anyone should have to live like that in this day and age with the amount of wealth there is in this world. And really, I'm sure when I visit Dubai in August, the absurdity of that kind of opulent, over-the-top kind of wealth and consumerism will compare quite starkly.
Lighter Brain Fodder...
Anyway, on to talk about brighter and lighter happenings. I finally went to Bar-B-Q Tonight (apparently the best restaurant in Karachi -and it's huge, with 3 or 4 floors and gets packed up around 10 pm every night and I've heard on the weekends you have people literally standing over you as you eat so that you're pressured to hurry up and leave! T.I.P. indeed!) yesterday evening with my mami's mother, brother and his family (in the South Asian tradition, since family and extended family are so culturally valued, there are more names for the different kind of relatives, so rather than just 'uncle' and 'aunt, your mother's brother is your mama and his wife is your mami; your mother's sister is your masi, your father's brother is your chacha, and your father's sister is your fui... etc). Anyway, we had a wonderful time -great barbeque chicken tikka, and hot, fluffy naan, and spicy Seekh kabab and a delicious rose-essence-y and pistachio-y kheer (South Asian rice pudding... you know how I am when it comes to rice pudding!) and the kids are so cute =)
Now, I'm back home at our good family friends' again for the weekend, getting taken care of after an exhausting week that culminated in me pulling out my back =( so just trying to rest up and get better for Monday... eating good food (chicken paratha wraps, daal, different pickles) and fruit (mango, apricots -so yummy!), and working from home today...
much love and more love and more love and hugs, and a big kiss to all of you!
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