The Darkness That Lies Behind The Beauty
India. It is such a beautiful place. It has an immense culture that everyone is proud to be part of. It is a destination that has so much beauty and every time I go there I just feel so happy and so free. And because both of my parents were born and raised there I go there every other year. When I look around, all I see is beauty but behind that beauty there is some darkness that needs to be uncovered. I always go there during my summer holiday which means they have just started the year there so I expect that I am the only kid walking around the streets having adventure during the day. But that isn't the case. At the corner bakery instead of an adult behind the counter there are two what looks like to be 14 year old boys taking the money and working the cash register. They should be at school. They should be getting an education. Why are they here??? And they are not the only ones. On the streets there are many parents working for the housing developments that are happening in the area. Those hard working parents are heaving stones and bricks and by their side there are children that look like they should be in primary school playing in the sand and dirt. There parents don't have the money to put them in school. There are no free public schools around. If they want their children to get an education they have to pay at least 60,000 RS for a kindergarten class and the prices get higher as the children grows because they need more things. But not only can they not pay for an education for their children but they live in shacks that they have made with leftover parts near the house they are building. They have mud floors, no running water, no electricity, nothing that we take for granted. I want to do something to help them but I have no idea what. This is bothering me so much. And I can't get it out of my head. When I was driving to the airport from my grandpas house there was a crap load of traffic and while we were stuck in that traffic kids were coming from car to car trying to sell newspapers, tea, flower necklaces, and anything else they could grab a hold of and it gave me a sick feeling. When I go to a store I can just pick up whatever I want without it having an effect on me while these families don't even have enough money to make sure they sleep with their bellies full. Every year things just seem to get worse and worse.....Ankita x
0 comments: