“The fisherman know that the sea is dangerous and the storm is terrible but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore”- Vincent Van Gogh
I knew this trip wouldn't be easy. It never is.
But I did think it would be easier. Having been my 5th trip to a developing nation. Considering myself “well read” when it comes to social disparities, social inequalities.
But I quickly learned that it doesn't get easier to see garbage sprawled across open fields, children playing amidst the filth- normal.
I doesn't get easier seeing children in torn clothing, lighten hair- not from sunshine but from lack of nutrition- distended bellies, sullen eyes.
It doesn’t get easier to stare in the eyes of a woman who fights day in and day out to give her children a better life, to keep her children alive and “well”, and lastly to keep herself alive.
It doesn’t get easier to learn about the disparities and know that in a short while I get to go home, home to a comfortable house, a nice neighbourhood, clean running water, a secure future.
It’s not easy to hear that what provides us comfort here- clothing, accessories, sugar, fruit- are made and produced through the sweat and tears of those less fortunate- less fortunate to have simply been born into a different country- this week I saw that for the first time with my own eyes.
The posts to follow over the next couple days will be my logs from my most recent trip to the Dominican Republic. I hope they provide some insight into what I saw and experienced.
Yes the sea is terrible, but the shore is no place for me.
Wow Brittnei, well put. It is very upsetting knowing that we were soon returning to Canada, our home; a place where those children we spent time with wish they were. It's also upsetting to think of what they had to go home to when we had to leave them. Your insight is amazing!
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