Untouchability; Kolkata, India

As my time here in Kolkota is ending, I find myself reflecting on what has impacted me the most on this trip. From day one, walking the streets of Kolkata, all of my senses are overloaded with the sights, smells and sounds of the city of joy. The things I have seen just walking on the streets, volunteering at Mother Teresa homes and the many different types of poverty will stay with me forever. However, there is one aspect of Indian culture, one that I knew about before coming on this trip, that I will never fully understand and it fills me with anger--the Idea or belief of untouchability in India. This is an issue that I have a lot of trouble wrapping my head around. 

From my understanding, the "untouchables" or 'dalits" of India are the poorest of the poor who work for little to no money, and who are illiterate and neglected by society. They are modern day slaves, in my opinion. I see them all over the streets of Kolkata and in places like the brick fields where families, with children as young as five, pack 2,000 mud bricks each day, drying them in the sun, and carrying them in towers on their head to the piles that will go off to construction across the city. And there is one scene in particular of a woman who would be labeled "untouchable" that will stay with me forever. Once while I was on an auto rickshaw ride back to BMS after dinner, I saw an old lady with starchy white hair that hasn't been washed in a long time. She was crossing the railroad tracks as our eyes caught each other. When I caught glimpses of her empty silvery eyes, I felt the biggest divide I have ever felt with anyone. There I was staring at someone who had lived a very different life than me. I couldn't help but think to myself, "who's taking care of her?" and "Why is she alone?" Since that first interaction I have seen her lying in the same exact spot multiple times. 

I can not imagine the hurt and sadness of those who are socially and economically impaired because they are labeled from birth as untouchable. This, like the never-changing polluted grey, hazy sky of Kolkata, India, is one of the many umbrellas of oppression you find here. One way this can change is through educating young children in inclusiveness of others and empathy. I'm glad I was able to see the work that the Loreto School is doing with the children on the streets of Kolkata and the brick fields. It truly filled me with hope and peace of mind that there are people dedicated to change. 

What I have witnessed on this trip will forever be engraved in my mind and heart. This experience has been humbling, thought provoking and emotional.

Namaste, 

Edmilse Diaz, '15