On October
10th, 2008, I boarded a plane with 14 strangers for a two-week
adventure. But this was no Caribbean cruise we
were taking. Having been selected to be part of a documentary, I was one of
seven women who would take part in an experience of a lifetime - in India.
This team of women, with nothing in common with the exception of our willingness
of spirit and love of learning, would be followed by a camera crew as we were
challenged to come to grips with the contradictions of India, our views on
poverty and injustice, and what - if anything - we would personally do about
it.
After a 20-hour
plane ride from Dallas, we landed in Mumbai,
previously known as Bombay.
Affectionately referred to in India
as "Bollywood," this would be the most cosmopolitan city of our four-city tour.
As we drove out the gate of our luxury accommodations near the airport, we were
immediately confronted with debris, poverty, and some of the most inhumane
living conditions we had ever witnessed.
As I sat in
the air-conditioned bus, I looked out the window at men, so skinny you could
see their ribs, sat helplessly and hopelessly with their heads in their hands.
I watched out the window as a beautiful woman, dressed in her immaculate hot-pink
sari, emerged from a gray lean-to slum home; she gracefully walked around the
human waste spilled out on the ground. But I looked away as children walked the
crowded streets alone, some totally naked.
As extreme
as these conditions were, it was still not quite real to me as I peered through
my impenetrable window. Until we stopped and stepped out of the bus.
On the
ground there was no buffer; the experience - first witnessed as someone else's
misfortune - became personal. Life in India became real. Real fast.
As we enter
a brand-new year, I would like to share with you what I learned about the world
- and about myself - during the most enlightening two weeks of my life. And to
challenge you to step out of the bus with me, in 2009.
Life is your current
view of things. Change your view, and you change your life.
- Virginia Satir, New People Making
Forever
changed,
Ellen
Posted by Ellen on January 13, 2009 6:01 PM
| Category: On the Ground
Ellen, that was truly moving, thanks for sharing that. I can only imagine how life-changing that trip must have been for you. What is the documentary? Are you going to go back? Do you have a sense for what is the best course of action for folks like me to assist? I work with 2 vendors in Mumbai - and I just hope our workers have a better life. Did you have a sense for the impact of the outsourcing? Has it helped/hurt? Thanks again for sharing, truly touched my heart.
