Humanity

Another day and another reminder that despite two months of working with Gita that I still need to listen more. I don't hear the 'blank' in Humanity's voice when I ask how his day was. Or maybe I do hear it, but maybe I don't know how to give it meaning. Eventually Humanity finds the space to fill the blank. Eventually Humanity tells me of the third dead man he 'meets' in just over a week. His blankness is a silence which shows Humanity is still 'affected' and it is because he is still affected by the passing of the living to the body of the dead that he finds his day difficult. To me this shows that for Humanity death still has to be normalised and I am relieved, because I cannot really imagine what strength it must take to do his work every day.

Today Humanity found a group of street children jumping for biscuits. Then they jumped to the Dead Man – an old dead man, dirty and destitute and covered in flies. With flies flying out of his mouth and eating him from the inside out. With flies showing that he must have been laying on the platform for more than a day and for more than a night. With flies warning that the dead man was newly diseased from dying. And yet the dead 'flying' man was still surrounded by the life of the day. The porters laying by his side – sleeping or chatting or drinking chai. Of the street children pointing and then playing. Of the passengers walking around him because he smelt to much to walk over. Of the police who never came to move him, but who surely knew him.

Humanity was still trying to understand the attitudes of those around him. As for myself; all I can think of is that this is a city where the border between the dead and the living is too blurred. Where the fight for life is too widespread to spread to fight for the dignity of the dead. And I guess I am writing this because I want you to realise that for the destitute who live and who die here their suffering would be enough to kill 'us' within days. The destitute who walk with worms eating them; who live with diseases that should have killed them. That survive with disabilities so severe it seems impossible to live 'alone'. And they don't complain of pain because there is no point. They don't seek help because they don't think it will be given. They don't respect the dead because they die every day – in the streets where they live. And because as they are known as the living lower castes or the untouchables and even when they are alive they are not always familiar with what 'respect' should be. And there should be no them and no us but just a much much more humane way to Live.

Humanity protect your strength. Those who are still trying to live need it. You work to save lives - everyday. But please be careful. Everything can be taken.