Tuesday, May 7, 2013

No Days Off

One young man who I know quite well now (he speaks Thai) came to the wedding and we spoke but after 1 hour he left and after saying good bye. There are no days off in the dump, people have to work to survive, I later photographed him digging in the fresh garbage (he had changed to his work clothes), he was shy, maybe a bit ashamed as he worked, glancing at me in quick glances. The people do not want to be here, they do not want to do this kind of work (who would?) but they have no options, no choices and no opportunities, the dump work is the best option of those they have.

This place is filled with sadness and desperation but there is also a strange beauty here. Goodness comes from the heart, how people respond to the abuses they face can make them sink or swim, many of the people I have met are not only swimming but thriving in unbelievable hardship.