Seeing the light....

Sunday, 20 February 2011

25th november: photogenic malnutrition

beyond the shy and not-so-shy smiles, beyond the wrong-size, filthy ragged shorts, beyond the dirt stained faces and rough bare feet, beyond the cute curiosity and snotty noses, beyond the photogenic biodegradable simplicity of the village crouches the quiet nagging reality of malnutrition. I notice the distended bellies, flies settling unswatted on the weak and the sick. We carry out our questionnaire and between our vasah-centered questions pour the real issues; can we give them a job? How can they repair their houses if they can't take wood from the forest? If they can't slash and burn the forest they are forced to farm barren land – how will they feed their families? The huts are hot, dusty and smoky. They have barely any possessions and the flies are continually landing on my lips and eyes, eager for moisture. I sit there, recording answers, maybe to make myself feel a little useful. My mind slowly spins in hot, midday circles, because the answers I want aren't there. There are too many people to support with the tiny fragments of forest remaining, yet their livelihood depends on the forest. What is the answer? Reforestation takes away crop growing areas. The mining company, Rio Tinto, are probably going to destroy it all anyway, mining ilmanite so we can have all our whites white. It contains the additive (titanium dioxide) that they put in things like toothpaste to make it more attractive. I'll settle for grey toothpaste and keep the more attractive forests thank you.

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