Why do human beings have to clean shit
Bezwada Wilson has spent his life organising safai karamcharis. He tells Aditi Phadnis that every Indian has the responsibility of ending the dehumanising practice of manual scavenging.
When did you start working on the campaign to end manual scavenging?
uk canada goose I was born in Kolar, Karnataka home to the Kolar gold fields; the second city in Asia to be fully electrified because of the Sivasamudram hydel power project. Also, a city served by manual scavenging. uk canada goose
I was canada goose outlet toronto address born in a community of manual scavengers. My parents did that work, as did others around me: They would have to go to dry latrines, fill buckets with human excreta, load it on to tankers, which would then canada goose jacket outlet sale take it to the open outskirts of the city for dumping.
My parents, my brothers, my sisters they all did this work. Everybody used to drink a lot. Their stock answer was: ‘If we don’t drink, how do we do this?’
Canada Goose Outlet I started thinking about this issue in 1982. I began talking to my community. They would challenge me when I said, ‘You should not do this work.’ Canada Goose Outlet
canada goose clearance sale I was one of them, and they were like children, putting their hands into it, like a child plays with mud. canada goose clearance sale
cheap canada goose uk It came on a hot summer day in 1982. On hot days the excreta canada goose outlet online uk hardens; it is difficult to scrape off. I was talking to some of them when they were working. cheap canada goose uk
Then, something came over me. I was 17 or 18. I was full of anger and frustration. I was trying to tell them they must stop this and they were humouring me.
buy canada goose jacket cheap canadagooseisverige.com I suddenly lost control. I ran towards the buckets of excreta, broke them, then rolled on it, on the ground, screaming. I shouted and I cried and I picked up the night soil with my hands and threw it. buy canada goose jacket cheap
My relatives saw this canada goose outlet store near me and suddenly sober, realised something was happening to me. When I was exhausted, they calmed me and then said, ‘Let us go and have some tea.’
I was crying. At that age, you have a lot of arrogance. My canada goose outlet arrogance was meeting a brick wall. I was telling them they must stop and they were canada goose factory outlet vancouver telling me they would, but were continuing to do the same degrading, horrible work.
I said, ‘You have to promise me you will never do this.’ I was such a fool: What did I expect them to say? That they would give canada goose outlet website legit up their livelihood, the only thing they knew how to do?
canada goose coats The only thing society tells them they can do? But at that time, the women could see I would have a breakdown. canada goose coats
So they pacified me. ‘Okay,’ they said, ‘We won’t do it, you stop crying and calm down.’ They said: ‘We will explain it to you.’
Canada Goose online When they sensed I was a bit calmer, they said, ‘He should not be alone.’ They escorted me to my parents. I reached home and I was numb. Everyone at home tried to counsel me. My parents said, ‘Why should you make such a fuss about this? What we do is nothing extraordinary. Other people do manual labour, canada goose jacket outlet uk we do this. Why are you taking it to heart?’ Canada Goose online
There is a massive tank near our house. It has big pumps and the water is pumped up. When it comes back, it is very hot. It is a favourite place for those who want to commit suicide. When we were children, we were told never to go there because ‘the Devil lives there.’
I went there. I thought I would jump and meet the Devil. What’s the worst that could happen? I sat all night. Then at dawn, the birds started twittering. I talked to them. I heard the hiss of the water.
I spoke to it. They said, ‘Don’t do it.’ I told the birds, the water, ‘Nobody is giving me any answers on why they can’t stop doing this work.’
I thought, land can be divided, but what if I speak to the sky? Nobody can divide the sky! It is one unbroken expanse that covers the whole world.
Maybe it was my cowardice. But I did not do it. However, I left home soon after that.
How did you build the argument against it?
It was difficult, initially. How do you tell women you should not do this. If you tell them, ‘your salary should go up canada goose parka outlet and that is what you should fight for,’ they are very happy, and ready. You tell them, ‘we should demand a house to live in,’ they are even happier.
But how do you tell them, ‘what you have, you should give up’?
Then I developed the counterargument. Now, we don’t say, ‘don’t clean.’ I tell them my story how when I went to school, others looked down on me. Then, mothers start crying, relating to it and saying that it happens even today.
Then I tell them: ‘You have to take your life in your hands. You stop, your children will never do this.’
What were the other counterarguments?
Canada Goose Coats On Sale The thing is, it isn’t that they haven’t tried to give it up. They have tried many times. But people around them will tell them, ‘What else can you do? Life outside is very difficult.’ So they are forced into doing what they have been doing for three, four generations. Canada Goose Coats On Sale
canada goose store There is so much internalisation: ‘What is wrong with this? What we are doing is keeping society clean. Doesn’t the prime minister also clean himself? Cleaning is not bad canada goose outlet shop work.’ canada goose store.
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